Team USA stars think Las Vegas should get an NBA franchise

The NBA experienced enormous success with its Las Vegas Summer League this year, breaking the tournament's previous total attendance record by over 12,000 fans and selling out a summer league game for the second time ever.

A number of the NBA's finest talents were in Sin City from Wednesday to Friday for Team USA's basketball minicamp. While the summer league numbers don't necessarily indicate that Las Vegas could one day support a franchise, several top players in the Association believe there's enough of an audience for the game that an expansion franchise or a relocated team could thrive.

"I think players like coming here," Golden State Warriors All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant told the Las Vegas Review Journal's Mark Anderson. "I’m sure whatever team they put together would be successful here because of so much support and so many great resources, and it would add on another level of excitement for the NBA, for the game of basketball, so I’m all for it."

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George echoed Durant's sentiments, noting that other prominent sports leagues already house teams in the area.

"They’ve got hockey here (Golden Knights) and they’ve got WNBA here (Aces). The NFL will be here in a couple of years (Raiders)," he said. "I think Vegas is built for an NBA team. I think they should be here. It has everything. It’s easy access from the airport down to the Strip. I don’t see why not."

Reigning NBA MVP James Harden took notice of the pandemonium generated by the NHL's Golden Knights, who made history by advancing all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence.

"Even just from adding an NHL team, they're doing great things," added Harden. "It's built for it. Obviously, the money is there, but I think the fan support is there as well. We saw that in hockey."