Sources: NBA reviewing bids from three finalists for Vegas team - ESPN

The NBA is expected to select the winning bid for owner of the Las Vegas expansion team in the very near future, with a price of at least $12-13 billion for the franchise and new arena among three finalist groups — Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo, sources told ESPN.

The league, which will hold a formal approval process by the end of December on two expansion teams, is closing on Las Vegas before Seattle for several reasons. Las Vegas has a livelier bidding market with higher offers and the process consists of the logistics of developing a new arena versus Climate Pledge Arena already being a ready-made home for the Seattle team. The Vegas runners-up also could join the Seattle bid process.

Nancy Walton Laurie is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James «Bud» Walton. Her husband, Bill Laurie, is a former owner of the NHL's St. Louis Blues. The two have a home in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas, and they have a net worth of $17 billion, according to Forbes.

Apostolopoulos, a Canadian billionaire, discussed buying the Charlotte Hornets from Michael Jordan in 2023 but instead focused on purchasing the NFL's Washington Commanders. That franchise was later sold for $6.05 billion to a group led by Josh Harris, who also owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils. Apostolopoulos, 46, has a known desire to build a wide-ranging portfolio across multiple sports leagues.

Apostolopoulos and his brothers, Jim and Peter Apostolopoulos, lead the group with Lasry as a partner.

Lasry is the former co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2023, he sold his stake to Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam at a valuation of $3.5 billion.

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