The prospect of NBA expansion has been a big topic of discussion around the league for the last couple of years. While it has seemingly lost steam in recent months, NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently injected some life back into expansion talks.
He just mentioned that talks surrounding expansion are expected to resume in 2026, which could inevitably lead to the league adding two new teams. The question is which cities will be lucky enough to land an NBA team.
The odds-on favorites are Las Vegas and Seattle, though Las Vegas may not be as much of a favorite as first thought. The NBA is reportedly looking at moving the NBA Cup Playoffs out of Las Vegas, calling the city’s partnership with the league into question.
Which cities could end up with NBA expansion teams?
Seattle seems to be a gimmie given their history with the NBA. The SuperSonics were around for 40 years before they moved to Oklahoma City. The league could revive the Supersonics, thanks in large part to the potential revenue with many of the world’s top companies headquartered there.
The league would be crazy not to bring them back; Las Vegas is a bigger question mark. Las Vegas is a big destination city but is a relatively small TV market.
And, as the Athletic points out, their tourism has been in free fall for years, with it currently down double digits this year. That’s not a great sign. They also have plenty of competition with several pro teams fighting for a relatively small possible fan base.
The league must consider other NBA expansion options
The league may instead swerve by going outside of the U.S. Canada has embraced the Toronto Raptors, possibly leading to the NBA reconsidering having two teams up north. Montreal is more than 300 miles away from Toronto, allowing for a new team to develop their own fan base without stealing fans from the Raptors.
Montreal also has a much bigger population than Las Vegas and might actually be the safer choice. Either way, adding two new teams would change the makeup of the league.
One Western Conference team would have to join the East, most likely the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies. In turn, that could change the trajectory of those teams and make it slightly harder for every team to make the playoffs.
Teams would also have to protect eight players, with the remaining ones being put in a pool to be selected in an expansion draft. The schedule would also likely change slightly, with teams playing one less game against several in-conference opponents.
There is also the fact that there would be more money to go around, with free agents having more options and teams having more competition during the summer. The NBA is right to take its time with expansion, given the ramifications. Even so, it feels almost inevitable that it will soon happen.
