The Las Vegas NBA expansion race may have another heavyweight group forming.
Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and Thrive Capital founder Joshua Kushner have reportedly hired investment bankers and discussed a bid for the league's planned Las Vegas expansion team. The talks are centered on a majority investment, according to people familiar with the plans.
The proposed bid would run through Thrive Eternal, a holding company connected to Kushner's firm that was built to invest in major brands and cultural assets. Iger is involved with Thrive as an adviser, which gives the potential group both entertainment-industry weight and private-capital backing.
The price is still unclear. So is the final structure of any ownership group. Representatives for Iger and Thrive declined to comment, which keeps this in the reported-interest stage rather than an official bid announcement.
Still, the timing matters. The NBA's board of governors approved exploring expansion in Las Vegas and Seattle in March, and Las Vegas has long been treated as one of the league's most obvious next markets. Iger and Kushner entering the picture would only make that chase more crowded.
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