Mark Davis mum in interest in NBA expansion, but sees allure of Las Vegas for league

Callie Fin, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 1, 2026

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PHOENIX — Mark Davis doesn’t want to discuss his interest in a Las Vegas expansion team in the NBA just yet.

He’d rather relish the success he’s seen with the three-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.

In an interview with the Review-Journal during NFL meetings at the Arizona Biltmore resort, the Aces and Las Vegas Raiders majority owner emphasized that he’s intentionally stayed quiet about NBA expansion.

“I never said that,” Davis said when asked if he’s ruled out getting involved with a Las Vegas team. “I just said I won’t comment.”

When pushed, Davis maintained that he still won’t talk about it. He didn’t have an issue discussing the allure of Las Vegas as an NBA city, however.

“The history of basketball in Las Vegas, really, for me, started with the Running Rebels and Jerry Tarkanian and winning that championship that year (1990),” Davis said. “Living up in the Bay Area at the time, my eyes were focused on Las Vegas and what they accomplished.”

Focused on Las Vegas

He was enticed by Southern Nevada as a sports market. A year after Davis successfully led the charge for the Raiders to move from Oakland to Las Vegas in January 2020, he purchased the Aces from MGM resorts.

With a longstanding front-row seat to Las Vegas’ development as a sports city, Davis isn’t surprised that the NBA is ready to get serious about claiming a more substantial piece of the pie.

That’s the message that was sent in March when the NBA Board of Governors unanimously voted to officially explore expansion, targeting Las Vegas and Seattle as the premier markets for two new franchises.

“With the Summer League and everything else being here, the NBA has also built a foundation here,” Davis said. “And of course, the Las Vegas Aces. I think we just sold out for the third season in a row, which is a record for the league.”

The sticker price for the Aces when Davis got into the WNBA business was approximately $2 million. Last year, Forbes estimated the value of the team to be north of $300 million.

As the NBA expands, so does the WNBA. Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta is returning the women’s league to Houston by recording the Connecticut Sun for a $300 million sale price. Although that number is a league record, the Sun’s ownership group received a higher offer that was blocked by the league.

Aces interest skyrocketing

Now, in light of the exponential growth of women’s sports, Davis’ phone rings off the hook with investors eager to get involved with the team he bought for a steal a few years back.

“I get hit with it all the time,” Davis said, adding that he never puts that much consideration into the idea of adding new stakeholders. “It was never about the money for me in this. It was more about bringing in the right people”

He said he used that philosophy when he brought in legendary quarterback Tom Brady as a minority owner of the Aces. He also mentioned Larry Delsen, a long time friend and financial advisor and his family.

Davis added that there is “somebody else that will probably be a part” of the Aces ownership group in the future, but not soon.

“It’s not something that we’re out there marketing. Many people have come to us. We’ve talked to them to see if they could fit into what our overall vision is,” Davis said. “But right now, no.”