NBA Basketball Wiretap

Nancy Walton Laurie and her husband, Bill Laurie, are considering a bid for an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, according to three people familiar with the league's process, according to Sportico. The couple, worth $17.8 billion according to Forbes, live just outside Las Vegas in Henderson, Nevada.

Walton Laurie is the youngest daughter of Bud Walton, who co-founded Walmart with his brother Sam. She and her sister, Ann Walton Kroenke, split their father's Walmart stock following his death in 1995. Ann is married to Stan Kroenke, whose sports holdings include the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, the Premier League's Arsenal, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and MLS's Colorado Rapids.

Monday marked the deadline for interested parties to submit details on capital sources and management plans for a potential Las Vegas franchise. NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the expansion process following the league's latest board of governors meeting.

"Multiple various, serious groups are in the process of presenting plans to our bankers," said Silver. "And those plans not only include who the potential owners would be, but their vision for what Las Vegas basketball could look like: where they would play, how they would present the game. And it's music to my ears."

Walton Laurie and her husband previously owned the NHL's St. Louis Blues before selling the team in 2006 to a group led by Dave Checketts for $150 million. This would not mark the couple's first pursuit of NBA ownership, having previously made unsuccessful attempts to acquire teams in Denver in 1999, Vancouver in 2000 and Charlotte in 2001. Bill Laurie came close to purchasing the Vancouver Grizzlies with plans to relocate the franchise to St. Louis, though the deal ultimately collapsed over relocation complications, and the team moved to Memphis ahead of the 2001-02 season.

Other known bidders for a Las Vegas expansion franchise include a group led by former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner, as well as a bid from Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley. A separate group known as the Las Vegas Jacks includes former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, former Turner Sports executive David Levy, American Century Investments CEO Jonathan Thomas and Prime Capital Financial chairman Scott Colangelo.

The depth of bidders for Las Vegas contrasts with Seattle where the interest has been softer than expected.

Adam Silver said he is pleased with the current progress of negotiations with prospective clubs to join NBA Europe, which is slated to begin for the 2027-28 season. Silver said he and Mark Tatum will meet with stakeholders in New York this week since many will already be in town ahead of the World Cup final to be played on July 19 at MetLife Stadium.

"In terms of NBA Europe, yes, things are where I hoped they would be," said Silver on Tuesday after the Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas. "Mark Tatum is overseeing the process. We’ve had tremendous interest from multiple cities in Europe, including cities that we didn’t even ask for bids from.

"We discussed with our board today that we’re in the process of finalizing those bids, I think for an initial group of cities. Many of the people who are involved in those bids, the European bidders, are actually going to be in New York for the World Cup final on Sunday.

"Mark and I are going to be attending several meetings with them, given their presence in New York. I would say we’re hoping to wrap up some of those deals over the next several weeks, and then announcements will be forthcoming.

"But I’m very pleased with the interest across the board throughout Europe in basketball."

It was previously reported that the NBA has received numerous offers ranging from $500 million to more than $1 billion across each of its 12 target cities.

No club will receive an NBA Europe license without paying the league's entry fee. Beyond its 12 permanent members, the league plans to add four teams annually based on performance in domestic leagues and FIBA tournaments.

Bill Foley, owner of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, is pursuing an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, drawing on the success of his previous expansion effort. Foley brought the Vegas Golden Knights to the city in 2017 and believes he can replicate that success on a larger scale.

"We did a couple things really well," said Foley. "We're going to do it on steroids with an NBA team."

Foley publicly announced his intent to pursue a bid last month and is assembling a group of investors. Foley told The Athletic that demand to join the effort has been strong enough to reconsider how much capital he originally planned to raise from institutional investors.

Foley is one of several parties pursuing an NBA franchise in Las Vegas. He said he knows of five separate groups working on bids, including one led by Magic Johnson, another involving former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, and a third backed by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry.

A group led by longtime NBA executive Jerry Colangelo, former NBA coach Vinny Del Negro and ex-Turner Broadcasting president David Levy has also emerged as a serious contender. That group has already secured $8 billion in commitments and aims to raise up to $13 billion, with plans to operate under the name the Las Vegas Jacks.

Seattle, by contrast, has just one known bidder in Kraken owner Samantha Holloway. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said a final decision on expansion will not come until the end of the year, though the league has taken steps toward exploring the process with investment bank PJT Partners serving as an adviser.

Foley believes his ownership of a stake in T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights play, gives him a structural advantage over rival bidders. He estimated the arena would need $300 million to $400 million in upgrades to become NBA-ready, along with the addition of roughly 1,000 seats.

"I know I can do it again in basketball," said Foley. "It's going to be difficult, but I know I can do it. I know I can rally a team."

A group led by former NBA executive Jerry Colangelo and Horizon Sports & Experiences CEO David Levy announced plans Wednesday to submit an NBA expansion bid for Las Vegas. The group, called the Las Vegas Jacks, claims to have already raised $8 billion.

Front Office Sports reported that former Bulls point guard Jay Williams and former Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro are also part of the group. The Jacks intend to build their own arena and an accompanying entertainment district if awarded a franchise.

The Jacks join a growing list of Las Vegas suitors that includes Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, former Disney CEO Bob Iger with venture capitalist Josh Kushner, former Bucks owner Marc Lasry and NBA legend Magic Johnson. NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed before the Finals that Las Vegas and Seattle remain the league's two expansion targets.

"We're focused on Las Vegas and Seattle," said Silver. "There are multiple groups interested in both cities."

Seattle's market has moved more slowly by comparison. Only one group, led by Kraken governor Samantha Holloway, has publicly expressed interest in bringing an NBA team back to the city.

League sources told Front Office Sports that the ongoing Seattle Seahawks sale may be pulling potential bidders away from a Seattle expansion effort. Holloway's group has spent years preparing, designating multiple rooms at Climate Pledge Arena as "NBA Locker Room" space, and holds a majority stake in the arena.

Silver has not committed to expansion moving forward and said a decision will come by year's end.

"There is enormous instability in the world at the moment," he said in March. "We may ultimately conclude for reasons completely out of our control that it's not the right time to expand."

Silver has said expansion bids could reach as high as $10 billion, with proceeds split among the league's 30 current owners.

Former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger and Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner have retained investment bankers and held discussions about submitting a bid for the NBA's planned Las Vegas expansion franchise, according to people familiar with the matter.

The pair are pursuing a majority stake in the team through Thrive Eternal, a permanent capital vehicle established by Kushner's firm to invest in prominent brands and cultural assets. Iger is involved with Thrive as an adviser. The size of the bid and franchise valuation remain unclear. Representatives for both parties declined to comment.

The NBA's board of governors approved exploration of potential expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle in March.

Thrive Eternal, announced in April, raised its initial capital from existing Thrive investors and is structured without a fixed exit timeline.

"These are assets with qualities that cannot be replicated by technology," said Kushner. "In a world shaped by abundant intelligence where creation scales and distribution fragments, we believe they will matter even more."

Iger led Disney from 2005 to 2020 and again from 2022 through March of this year, building the company through acquisitions including Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. He also holds a controlling stake in Angel City Football Club alongside his wife, Willow Bay, and gained extensive NBA exposure through Disney's ESPN networks.

Kushner's venture firm manages more than $50 billion in assets and earlier this year closed its largest fund ever at over $10 billion. Thrive Eternal's first investment was a non-controlling stake in the San Francisco Giants, with capital designated for Oracle Park and surrounding real estate.