‘Wait a Minute, Are You Serious?’: How Las Vegas Became the Center of the NBA Offseason
By Jared Weiss, The Athletic
LAS VEGAS — Twenty years ago, the shape of the NBA offseason changed forever.
Once players were drafted, teams would send their prospects to various small summer leagues scattered across the country. But in 2004, a new idea spawned in Las Vegas, seeking to bring the entire league together in one place.
Co-founded by player and coach agent Warren LeGarie alongside Albert Hall, they wanted everyone in the NBA universe traveling to Vegas each July. Now, the league is much more than just a scouting event for the next generation of NBA players. It has become the epicenter of the NBA offseason.
Jerry West, the late Hall of Fame player and executive: It first started when we did (a league) in LA. Teams wanted to showcase their players. Along the way, young kids like Kobe Bryant came in and with all the hype they had, the place would sell out every night. Teams started coming out there because they wanted to give their younger players a chance to play. When they moved to Long Beach, my gosh, it was really popping. But then they moved it back to LA and it sort of died out.
Warren LeGarie, Las Vegas Summer League co-founder: When I first started, I walked into a gym at Loyola Marymount (in Los Angeles), I didn’t know what to expect. I had a successful business selling fresh fruits and vegetables on the streets of LA from midnight until eight in the morning. All of the sudden, I walked into (the gym) and my life had meaning.
LeGarie: The good news was I got it. The bad news was, what the f— do I do now? The first call I made was to Albert (Hall), who I had connected with many years earlier in Seattle when I brought George Karl in from Europe to take over for KC Jones coaching the Seattle SuperSonics. I called Albert and said, “Summer league, what do you think?”
Albert Hall, Las Vegas Summer League co-founder: Warren got six teams, I went to work on the marketing, (then-agent and future Warriors GM) Bob (Myers) went to work on sponsorship and team stuff, and we just went for it.
The first thing they needed to secure couldn’t be paid for with a credit card. They needed a venue to host the tournament. To book the Thomas and Mack Center at UNLV, LeGarie reached out to the late Chip Hooper, an event booker for major musical acts at the time, such as Dave Matthews Band, Black Eyed Peas and Phish.
