5 Las Vegas Sports Teams You've Never Heard Of

5 Las Vegas Sports Teams You've Never Heard Of

There are a lot of sports teams in Las Vegas, including many you've probably never heard of.

Do you know these five Las Vegas sports teams?  #5 Noah Gragson, Las Vegas native NASCAR driver [caption id="attachment_47673" align="alignnone" > Source. YouTube[/caption]

Noah Gragson is a NASCAR Cup Series driver who is just starting to make a name for himself in the sport. The Las Vegas native worked his way up to the Cup Series in 2023 after several years of winning races at the Xfinity Series level. Gragson even got picked up by Legacy, a multi-car operation owned by Richard Petty and Jimmie Johson.

Unfortunately, bad finishes and poor social media behavior ended his season early and he requested his release from Legacy Motorsports.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Noah Gragson is still trying to find his way. He is now signed with Stewart Haas Racing, where he competes in the #10 Stewart Haas Racing Ford. While better equipment is an upside for the young driver, he still struggles to crack the top 30 in the series standings. #4 Las Vegas Aviators, Las Vegas minor league baseball team [caption id="attachment_47672" align="alignnone" > Las Vegas Aviators Baseball Team[/caption]

The Las Vegas Aviators are a minor league baseball team in the Triple-A series playing in the Pacific Division. They are also an affiliate team of the Oakland Athletics, which will soon become the Las Vegas Athletics. One interesting fact about the organization is that it has had a few name changes over the years.

They started as the Las Vegas Stars in 1983 and became the Las Vegas 51’s in 2001. The team finally became the Aviators in 2019 and has been running with the title ever since. Las Vegas had a 75-74 record last season. The team’s last playoff appearance was back in 2021 when they made it to the Triple-A Final stretch. #3 Las Vegas FC Lights, minor league soccer team [caption id="attachment_47671" align="alignnone" > Source. Las Vegas Lights Football Club[/caption]

The Las Vegas FC Lights are a minor league soccer team competing in the USFL Western Conference. Their season starts on March 9 against the Memphis 901’s FC. The Lights had a 3-21-10 record last year, which pretty much ensures that some changes will occur.

This Las Vegas team has never produced a winning season record. Their best effort came in 2022 when they finished 12-13-9 but failed to qualify for the playoffs. 

Still, Las Vegas sports fans might want to keep an eye on this team. Their underdog vibe will make their eventual successes all the more satisfying. 

More: 5 ways the Las Vegas Super Bowl made history! #2 Former: Las Vegas Vipers, XFL Football team [caption id="attachment_47670" align="alignnone" > Source. Vegas Vipers[/caption]

The Las Vegas Vipers are an XFL expansion team that came to Sin City during the league’s relaunch in 2022. With all the other sports teams calling Las Vegas home, this was an obvious choice. Sadly, it never caught on. A big reason is that the Vipers were some of the worst players in the entire league.

This team went 2-8 in its season and had some of the most embarrassing attendance records in sports history. No one wanted to see this team play at Cashman Field, which is likely why the organization was disbanded after the merger with the USFL. 

The Vipers did have a few good moments however, including Pita Taumoepenu winning defensive player of the year. This team also had former NFL stars like Martavius Bryant and Matt Jones looking to relieve their glory days.  #1 Henderson Silver Knights, minor league hockey team  [caption id="attachment_47674" align="alignnone" > Henderson Silver Knights[/caption]

The Henderson Silver Knights are an affiliate team of the Las Vegas Golden Knights and compete in the AHL. They are a part of the Pacific division and won the division their very first year. This hasn’t been seen since the Golden Knights and the original misfits went to the Finals in 2018.

2023 marked the first time that the Henderson Knights failed to make the playoffs. They seem poised for a redemption arc in 2024. Think about it! They already made it to the Finals in their first season and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in their organization's short history. The next step in this sequence might be a championship for Henderson (a Las Vegas suburb)!

Next: Wildest after-hours Las Vegas clubs you need to know about