NBA votes to explore expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas
The league's board of governors approved formal exploration of adding franchises in both cities, with bids expected between $7 billion and $10 billion each.
4:02 PM
The NBA's Board of Governors voted Wednesday to formally explore adding two expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, marking the league's first expansion process in more than two decades.
The vote, which required approval from at least 23 of the league's 30 governors, authorizes the league to begin evaluating interested bidding groups for teams in both cities. Each franchise is expected to command a bidding price between $7 billion and $10 billion, according to ESPN.
"Today's vote reflects our Board's interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle — two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties."
The league is targeting the 2028-29 season as the potential inaugural season for both franchises. If approved, the expansion would increase the NBA from 30 teams to 32 teams.
Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder following the franchise's purchase by an Oklahoma-based ownership group in 2006. The city has hosted teams in three of the four major North American professional sports leagues: the NFL's Seahawks, the reigning Super Bowl champions; MLB's Mariners; and the MLS's Sounders.
Las Vegas has not previously hosted an NBA team, though the city has gained presence in other major sports leagues in recent years. The NHL's Vegas Golden Knights began play in 2017 as an expansion franchise, and the NFL's Raiders relocated to Las Vegas from Oakland in 2020. MLB's Athletics will move to Las Vegas from Sacramento beginning in the 2028 season.
The formal vetting process for potential ownership groups is expected to take several months, involving detailed financial examinations of bidders' capabilities to finance the expansion fees. Expansion fee money is not part of Basketball Related Income that NBA teams must share with players under the collective bargaining agreement at a rate between 49 and 51 percent annually.
Silver had previously identified this year as a target for a decision on expansion. The league completed a new collective bargaining agreement in spring 2023 and finalized a new media deal, clearing the way for expansion discussions to move forward.
If the expansion is approved, adjustments to conference alignments will be necessary to accommodate the two new teams. One possibility mentioned involves moving either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies to the Eastern Conference, allowing Seattle and Las Vegas to join the Western Conference.
The league last added an expansion franchise in 2004.