Conor McGregor is taken from the Octagon in a stretcher after breaking his leg in the first round of his fight against UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier during UFC 264 at T-Mobile Arena July 10, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UFC 264 was the first time since March 2020 that T-Mobile Arena hosted a UFC event with a full capacity crowd attending. REUTERS/
Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 | 2 a.m.
It’s no stretch to suggest that 2023 was the greatest sports year in the history of Las Vegas, and 2024 could wind up even better—or at least more action-packed. Here’s how it could happen, with our annual predictions covering a wide variety of local teams and the biggest events slated to come through. Some calls are more realistic than others, some more optimistic than others—but right or not, here are the moments and teams that should define the next 12 months in the ever-growing Las Vegas sports world presented in rough chronological order.
• After his team narrowly misses the playoffs, Raiders owner Mark Davis goes through a full coaching search as stipulated by NFL rules, but it ends without surprise when interim coach Antonio Pierce is promoted to the full-time role.
• A nightmare of many Raiders fans is realized as the interconference rival San Francisco 49ers win the first Super Bowl held at Allegiant Stadium on February 11 by making a late defensive stand to beat the Buffalo Bills, 27-24.
• Reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz shows no mercy against his aging idol Rafael Nadal in an all-Spaniard exhibition showdown March 3 at Michelob Ultra Arena, as the 20-year-old dispatches the 37-year-old in straight sets.
• Kyle Larson again establishes he’s the driver to beat early in the NASCAR season by winning his second straight race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Pennzoil 400 on March 3.
• Justin Fields comes to Las Vegas as the Raiders’ next quarterback at the start of the offseason in mid-March when the team executes a trade with the Chicago Bears that includes second- and third-round picks in exchange for the dual-threat Ohio State product.
• Not only do they cruise to a third straight Mountain West regular-season and conference title, but the UNLV Lady Rebels top it with their first NCAA Tournament victory in 33 years, knocking off MAC champion Ball State in a first-round game in Salt Lake City.
• The UNLV men’s basketball team rebounds from a rocky start to finish a surprising fourth place in the tough Mountain West Conference regular season, but can’t take down the conference tournament to reach the big dance.
• Conor McGregor makes a return three years in the making when he headlines UFC 300 on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena against Michael Chandler, who picks up a second-round TKO victory to cap the landmark event.
• Goalie Landon Kells leads the National Lacrosse League in saves as the young, defensively minded Las Vegas Desert Dogs finish around .500 and set the stage for a breakthrough in the 2025 season.
• The Vegas Thrill are the next team to bring a championship to the area as the new Professional Volleyball Federation squad wins the league’s inaugural season by overpowering the other six franchises and creating a homecourt advantage at Dollar Loan Center.
• New coach Anthony Blevins helps the local XFL franchise triple its win total from the inaugural season, as the Vegas Vipers go from 2-8 to 6-4 and reach the playoffs.
• The Vegas Golden Knights win their second straight Pacific Division title, and fourth all-time, by fending off the rival Los Angeles Kings and the late-charging Edmonton Oilers in the NHL’s most intriguing race down the stretch of the season.
• Adin Hill comes back from a nagging lower-body injury at the end of 2023, stays healthy and continues playing as well as he has dating back to the 2023 Stanley Cup-winning season to claim the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender.
• Hill finally meets his match in the Stanley Cup Final, as goalie Igor Shesterkin and the New York Rangers slip past the Golden Knights in six games to prevent Vegas from winning back-to-back titles.
• After starring all season at Dollar Loan Center with the G-League Ignite, 19-year-old basketball phenom Matas Buzelis goes third overall in the 2024 NBA Draft to the San Antonio Spurs.
• Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini is the first name called in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft on June 28 at the Sphere, as he goes to the Golden Knights’ Pacific Division rival Anaheim Ducks.
• The Aces tail off a bit from their record-setting 34-6 regular season in 2023, but still win the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup as in-season tournament champions for the second time in three years behind an MVP performance from A’ja Wilson.
• Repeating as champions is hard, and three-peating is even harder, a cruel lesson the Aces learn when they fall to the New York Liberty in a dramatic five-game series in the 2024 WNBA Finals.
• The Las Vegas Aviators win their second division title in five years with a nucleus of young prospects in the A’s organization that help create buzz for the big-league team’s move to town, which could come as soon as 2025 if it chooses to use Las Vegas Ballpark as a temporary location.
• Boxing continues to get in its own way as cries for a megafight between Terence “Bud” Crawford and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez intensify after both fighters win easily in the first half of the year, but they can’t come to an agreement to face off in 2024.
• Max Verstappen isn’t quite as dominant on the Formula One circuit next season, but he still prevails in the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 23 to sit as the event’s only winner through its first two years.
• Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers outplay opposing inside/outside star duo Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies in the finals of the second annual NBA in-season tournament at T-Mobile Arena.
• The Raiders’ offense is revitalized under Fields and the team is more exciting to watch, but they stay in roughly the same place heading into 2025—right around .500 and fighting for a wild-card playoff spot in the final weeks of the regular season.
• The Las Vegas Bowl reunites with the Mountain West after the dissolution of the Pac-12, and a second straight successful UNLV football season ends with a bid to stay home for the postseason and take on SEC representative Oklahoma, whom the Rebels shock 34-31.
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.
