Rumors of an NBA expansion have persisted for several years, but Commissioner Adam Silver has provided some new details. He has set a timeline for when the league will make a decision about whether to move forward.
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Speaking in a Tuesday night news conference, Silver addressed the possibility of expansion. He acknowledged that two cities are currently under examination as possible sites for new teams, but he also addressed the economic hurdles the league would have to overcome. Silver also confirmed that a decision would come in 2026.
"It's not a secret we're looking at this market in Las Vegas," Silver said. "We are looking at Seattle. We've looked at other markets, as well. I'd say I want to be sensitive there about this notion that we're somehow teasing these markets, because I know we've been talking about it for a while."
Seattle previously had an NBA franchise, the SuperSonics. However, the team departed for Oklahoma City in 2008. This left the fans in the Pacific Northwest clamoring for another franchise that could share the market with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Las Vegas, for comparison, is becoming a major hub for sports. The city currently has the Las Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) and the Las Vegas Raiders (NFL). The Athletics (MLB) will move to the city in the coming years.
Las Vegas has also hosted multiple Formula 1 races, the NFL Draft, and countless UFC events. Sin City has also hosted the NBA's annual summer league and the NBA Cup final.
If the league expanded and brought a franchise to Las Vegas, this would only make the city a more popular destination for tourists.
Of course, making this move would require some buy-in from the current franchises. Silver acknowledged this while explaining how the financial picture changes with more teams entering the fray.
"As I've said before, domestic expansion, as opposed to doing a new league in Europe, is selling equity in this current league," Silver said, per ESPN. "If you own 1/30 of this league, now you own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it's a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires predicting the future.
"I think now we're in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we'll make a determination."
