NBA Basketball Wiretap

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.

Adam Silver confirmed that the NBA will determine by the end of 2026 whether they will expand from 30 teams to 32 with new franchises going to Seattle and Las Vegas. Silver also confirmed that the new teams would join the NBA ahead of the 2028-29 season in interviews with Dan Patrick and Malika Andrews.

The NBA most recently expanded from 29 teams to 30 teams in 2004 when the Charlotte Bobcats joined the league for a $300 million expansion fee. 

The NBA's expansion fee is now expected to exceed $7 billion, but requires approval from 23 out of the league's 30 board of governors.

The NBA is also simultaneously pursing a new league in Europe, which is on an independent track from domestic expansion.

With two proposed teams situated in the Western Conference, the NBA is expected to move either the Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans or Memphis Grizzlies to the Eastern Conference. 

Las Vegas Golden Knights founder and majority owner Bill Foley announced Monday he is pursuing an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas, entering a bidding process that league projections suggest could generate offers between $7 billion and $10 billion.

The NBA's board of governors approved a vote in late March to explore expansion bids exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, with all 30 owners voting in favor of the initiative, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Foley has retained Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC as financial adviser and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP as legal counsel. The law firm has prior involvement in NBA ownership transactions involving the Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs.

"Las Vegas has earned its place among great sports cities in America, and an NBA team belongs here," said Foley. "We built the Golden Knights into a championship organization from the ground up, and we are prepared to do it again -- with the same standard, the same commitment to this community, and the same insistence on winning. We have the market, a proven world-class arena and a best-in-class organization in place. Our intention is to be ready the day the NBA is ready."

Foley intends to base the team at T-Mobile Arena, which has hosted collegiate and professional basketball since opening in April 2016 and seats 18,000 for basketball. Foley said he expects the bid group to include "a limited number of strategic and minority partners" aligned with the franchise's long-term vision.

Forbes estimates Foley's net worth at $2.6 billion. He also owns AFC Bournemouth, FC Lorient, Moreirense F.C. and Auckland FC across four international soccer leagues.

Under Foley's leadership, the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural 2018 season before claiming the title in 2023. The franchise returned to the Final again this season and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. Las Vegas has grown considerably as a sports market, adding the NFL's Raiders in 2020, with MLB's Athletics set to arrive in 2028.

"This is the NBA's decision to make," Foley said. "Our job is to provide the league a Las Vegas option that is ready, credible, and built to last."

The NBA's creation of a new league in Europe is right on track. The NBA plans to name the winning bidders for the 12 permanent franchise members of the new league in the next 60 to 90 days. Those teams will be located in the following cities:

• Rome, Italy
• Milan, Italy
• London, England
• Manchester, England
• Paris, France
• Lyon, France
• Madrid, Spain
• Barcelona, Spain
• Berlin, Germany
• Munich, Germany
• Athens, Greece
• Istanbul, Turkey

NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum has been heading the project on the league's behalf. Tatum said the league remains on track to debut in October, 2027.

"We’re on a very, very quick timeline here," Tatum said. "We’re going to identify the right partners in the right cities, and we’re going to take as much time as we need in order to identify those right partners. We’re talking not only existing basketball teams in the ecosystem, but we’re talking to soccer teams that currently don’t have basketball teams that are interested, and we’re also talking to individuals and other entities who don’t have a basketball team but want to invest in a basketball team."

Tatum said that the European teams could eventually play NBA teams in preseason games. Eventually, Tatum said that the two leagues could combine and play against each other in the Emirates NBA Cup. Tatum also said that league is working with streaming partners for the broadcast component for the new league.

"There has been an incredible amount of inbound interest on taking those games and distributing them not only throughout Europe but globally," Tatum said. "We have no doubt that it will create some global interest, and therefore media partners are very interested in carrying that content."

The NBA has been exploring expansion to either or both of Seattle, Washington and Las Vegas, Nevada. That process could move forward with an official vote on expansion at the July Board of Governors meeting. If expansion is approved, the NBA will take their time on bringing the new teams on board, including prospective ownership bidding.

The NBA also has to figure out how to handle an expansion draft. The league hasn't expanded in over 20 years, since the Charlotte Bobcats joined the NBA in 2004.

Conference realignment is also a topic. Seattle and Las Vegas are both western-based cities. The simplest realignment would be to move one team to the Eastern Conference. The most often mentioned teams are the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Pelicans.