NBA team owners approve exploring expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas
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NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said that the league is focused on Seattle and Las Vegas in its expansion plans.
PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) board of governors voted on March 25 to authorise the league to explore potential expansion teams for Las Vegas and Seattle that would bring the league to 32 clubs.
The move is the first step in a process that could see new teams in Seattle, where the SuperSonics played, and Las Vegas, which each year hosts NBA Summer League games involving young players.
“Our goal was in 2026 to resolve this issue one way or another,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “We need to know by the end of this calendar year what it is that we’re doing.”
It is a multi-year process, Silver stressed, that could result in one or two new NBA clubs or none at all.
“At the earliest, we would have new teams coming into the league in the 28-29 season,” he added.
“If we do move forward, I don’t think there’s going to be any concern about the quality of the competition.”
The NBA engaged investment bank PJT Partners as a strategic adviser to evaluate markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure and economic implications of two new teams.
It would then take approval by 23 of the NBA’s 30 governors to pass any motion on adding new teams.
Team values have skyrocketed, with the price tag for a new club expected to be around US$7 billion (S$9 billion) to US$10 billion.
“I’m not going to speculate on prices,” Silver said. “The market will determine the value of these teams and we’ll decide whether or not to move forward. I expect there will be robust interest in these teams. We did not discuss franchise value per se in these meetings. We have a sense of where we think that value exists.”
The Phoenix Suns were sold in 2022 for US$4 billion. The Boston Celtics were sold in 2025 for US$6.1 billion and the Los Angeles Lakers were sold in 2025 for US$10 billion – the highest price paid for an American sports team. The NBA last expanded to Charlotte in 2004.
“There’s absolutely a chance that expansion will not happen. That’s why we said we’re exploring markets,” Silver added. “Where the uncertainly lies is in instability outside the league.”
He said that unlike past expansions open to many markets, the league was focused on Seattle and Las Vegas. “There are some other great markets that could host NBA franchises. This time around, the focus was on these two markets,” Silver said, calling them “unique” in supporting the league.
Should they land expansion teams, either the Memphis Grizzlies or Minnesota Timberwolves would likely shift from the Western to the Eastern Conference to give each 16 clubs.
The SuperSonics joined the NBA in 1967 and won Seattle’s only NBA title in 1979 before moving to Oklahoma City in 2008 and winning the 2025 NBA crown as the Thunder. Las Vegas hosts many sporting events, including a Formula One race and USA Basketball training camps.
Both cities landed National Hockey League expansion teams in the past decade. Each has a National Football League team and both will have Major League Baseball clubs when a new Vegas stadium opens for the former Oakland Athletics in 2028. AFP
