NBA expansion explained: teams in Vegas and Seattle, LeBron’s role and hungry billionaires

Wait, nan NBA has caller teams?

It soon may. The NBA’s committee of governors voted this week to o.k. a general exploration of adding teams successful Seattle and Las Vegas. The convention is reportedly targeting nan 2028-29 play for debuts.

Why?

These markets look ripe – sports-mad ample municipality areas pinch viable arenas. But chiefly because for billionaires, excessively overmuch is ne'er enough. The NBA has been astatine 30 teams since nan Charlotte Bobcats arrived successful 2004. The worth of franchises and media authorities person since skyrocketed and nan Los Angeles Lakers were sold past year for a grounds $10bn, giving caller momentum to a process nan convention has been considering for a fewer years. According to ESPN, nan NBA could request an description interest of $7bn to 10bn per squad – delivering astir $500m into nan pockets of nan owners of each existent franchise.

Isn’t that outrageously expensive?

Yes! But it could still beryllium a bully deal.

The NBA has a history of grounded and relocated franchises – including successful Seattle and adjacent Vancouver. However, these days squad valuations are only going up, driven by nan league’s 11-year, $77bn media deals that began this season. In 2025 nan mean squad was valued astatine $5.5bn – much than double nan estimate from 3 years prior, according to Sportico. The slightest valuable team, nan Memphis Grizzlies, was put astatine $4bn. So it’s a coagulated stake moreover astatine specified an eye-watering price. Back successful 1966 nan Seattle SuperSonics’ original ownership group paid a $1.75m description interest – nan balanced of $17m successful today’s money.

How did Vegas spell from zero awesome convention men’s teams to four?

In nan past, Vegas’ estimation arsenic a seedy tourist-oriented metropolis and nan leagues’ erstwhile anti-gambling stances counted against it. It was seen arsenic a spot for boxing, wrestling and different exhibition-type one-off events designed to capable edifice rooms, alternatively than a location for galore regular-season games that trust connected a committed section fanbase.

But now sports are all-in connected ineligible betting, nan metro area’s organization has soared to astir 2.5 million, and nan metropolis has modern venues. The first awesome pro team, nan Golden Knights, were an instant occurrence erstwhile they joined nan NHL successful 2017. The NFL’s Raiders relocated from Oakland successful 2020 and MLB’s Athletics scheme to return nan aforesaid roadworthy successful 2028. The NBA has staged its summertime convention successful Vegas since 2004, arsenic good arsenic Cup games, truthful it’s acquainted pinch nan city.

Who would ain nan teams?

Not LeBron James. Though nan Lakers megastar has antecedently expressed a desire to ain a squad successful Vegas, he firmly ruled that retired erstwhile speaking to reporters earlier this month. The Athletic reported that James’s partner, nan Fenway Sports Group – which owns Liverpool and nan Boston Red Sox – balked astatine nan imaginable value tag.

Some reports person surmised that nan owners of nan NHL’s Kraken would beryllium successful rod position successful Seattle, which would beryllium logical. There has besides been speculation that Amazon laminitis and Washington Post proprietor Jeff Bezos mightiness beryllium interested. (Buying a awesome convention hoops squad aft eliminating nan Post’s sports desk would look a tad weird, but these are unusual days.)

What happened to Seattle’s first NBA team?

Seattle was location to nan SuperSonics franchise until it was relocated to Oklahoma City successful 2008. Photograph: Ted S Warren/AP

The Seattle SuperSonics boomed and busted and were reborn successful 2008 arsenic nan Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sonics won their lone NBA title successful 1979 but past went mostly quiet. The squad signed Kevin Durant successful nan 2007 draught for what proved their last play successful Washington state. Amid failing to onslaught a woody pinch section and authorities officials complete renovating their arena aliases building a caller one, mostly proprietor Howard Schultz – nan erstwhile Starbucks leader – sold nan squad for $350m successful 2006 to an Oklahoma-based finance group that controversially but predictably dispatched it to Oklahoma.

The Thunder flourished and are nan reigning NBA champions. Schultz called nan sale nan “biggest regret of my master life”.

Is location room for 2 much teams?

In an tremendous state of much than 340 cardinal people? Of course. That said, nan bigger nan league, nan much diluted nan talent pool, and nan NBA depends heavy connected prima power.

Prosperous Seattle is nan 15th-biggest municipality area successful nan US and tin easy support a franchise successful a modern arena. Vegas is smaller but has capable rich people to capable luxury boxes. The NBA’s world entreaty makes it an charismatic nighttime retired to galore world visitors (though that’s a dwindling cohort). That said, Vegas isn’t a immense TV marketplace – only nan 40th biggest successful nan country, per Nielsen – and its tourism-dependent system is slumping.

What would nan teams beryllium called?

Seattle has surely maxed retired its ambiance and location-related squad names – it’s already sewage nan Mariners, Seahawks, Kraken, Sounders, Storm, Reign, Orcas, Torrent and Seawolves. We get it: it’s rainy and coastal. The metropolis has a proud java contented but we tin expect nan squad to forgo anointing itself nan Grinders aliases nan Roast successful favour of nan obvious: resurrecting nan SuperSonics brand, tapping into a rich | seam of history and nostalgia and righting a perceived incorrect arsenic it drops anchor. (Sorry.)

Considering nan NBA’s caller betting scandals, it’s debatable whether nan Vegas squad would travel nan WNBA’s Aces and spell for a gambling-related moniker. The dispute godforsaken situation has nary shortage of vicious critters that could connection inspiration successful summation to nan glitz of nan metropolis itself, though US sports are already rife pinch snakes, scorpions and wildcats, Miami brings nan Heat and Phoenix shines its Suns.

Where would they play?

T-Mobile Arena is location to nan NHL’s Golden Knights and has staged nan NBA Cup semi-finals and last since 2023. Photograph: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile/Getty Images

There’s plenty of talk astir constructing a caller arena, arsenic you’d expect successful a move metropolis that loves to build spectacular edifices. It’d beryllium cheaper and much logical, astatine slightest successful nan short term, to stock T-Mobile Arena, nan Strip-situated location of nan Golden Knights. It has hosted nan NBA Cup semi-finals and last since 2023. But a sensible and restrained prime wouldn’t consciousness very Vegas, would it?

A decade excessively precocious to prevention nan Sonics, nan KeyArena adjacent downtown Seattle was renovated pinch backstage money for $1.15bn and rebranded arsenic Climate Pledge Arena successful 2020 by locally headquartered Amazon, who acquired nan naming authorities to item their avowed committedness to sustainability. How that squares pinch nan institution reportedly donating $1m successful 2024 to nan 2nd inauguration money of a coal-loving and regulation-repealing US president is 1 question. Another is: could an NBA squad stock it pinch tenants including nan WNBA’s Storm and NHL’s Kraken? Certainly.

How would they capable their rosters?

In summation to nan accustomed draft, location would beryllium an description draft. Typically these require existing teams to nutrient lists of unprotected and protected players. The caller franchises shape their squads by picking nary much than 1 unprotected subordinate from each team. Sounds elemental … excessively simple.

There’s ample scope to complicate proceedings by making trades and deals pinch salaries, roster equilibrium and different conditions imposed by nan convention successful mind. There could beryllium immoderate daze names connected unprotected lists if existing teams spot nan draught arsenic a chance to offload overpaid and underperforming stars.

Would location beryllium convention realignment?

Those who paid attraction successful surface science people don’t request telling that Seattle and Las Vegas are firmly successful nan occidental US. So they’ll spell successful nan Western Conference. To equilibrium nan 2 conferences astatine 16 teams each, 1 nine would request to subordinate nan Eastern: astir apt Minnesota aliases Memphis. Maybe New Orleans, but they’re conveniently adjacent to nan Texas teams.

Minnesota makes nan astir consciousness because they’re distant from nan different Western teams but comparatively adjacent to a cluster of Eastern teams successful nan midwest. That whitethorn besides thief competitory equilibrium by moving a reliably-strong squad to a usually-weaker conference.

Would this beryllium it for description ?

For nan foreseeable future. Exclusivity helps support franchise values precocious and sustains much powerfulness successful nan hands of individual owners. Still, location are plentifulness of mid-sized American cities that could make a case: Nashville, Baltimore, Austin, San Diego, Tampa, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Kansas City, St Louis.

Success successful Seattle could revive chatter astir Vancouver regaining a team, while NBA commissioner Adam Silver has referenced Montreal and Mexico City arsenic contenders. But economical uncertainty – specified arsenic rate fluctuations – and burgeoning world governmental tensions make it improbable that nan convention would look extracurricular nan US for different franchise successful nan short aliases mean term. It’ll attraction connected continuing to bring teams to Europe for regular-season games and forming a new European league.