NBA expansion has been talked about for a number of seasons now, but the league always seems to have a reason to be pushing the idea to the back of the pile.
After the NBA Board of Governors meeting last week, Commissioner Adam Silver reported that there were no discussions around expansion and that “we’re not quite ready”.
The broader NBA community would absolutely embrace an expansion with open arms and it would add a level of excitement to the league not seen in many years.
So why is the NBA and its deciders trying to slow things down?
Money of course.
“The ongoing sale of the Celtics could reset the market for expansion fees for the two teams that will come into the league,” ESPN reports.
“Currently the Boston Celtics are for sale, and there are indications they could produce the highest price ever for an NBA team, which is currently held by Mat Ishbia’s purchase of the Suns [$4 billion]. That could even further reset the market, and that is a contributing factor in the NBA’s decision to go slower on expansion and wait for that sale to happen, league sources said.
“At these prices, a pair of new expansion teams could net the league north of $10 billion combined — meaning every team would receive a check for over $300 million as the new teams come into the league.”
The outlet also discussed the most likely cities to get a new team, but noted it won’t be easy for a new team to simply just appear.
“The widespread belief among league and team sources that we have talked to is that Seattle and Las Vegas are the logical landing points for a pair of new expansion teams,” ESPN said. “But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be some twists and turns in the process.
“If there is another city to jump into the mix, the most likely one to do so is Mexico City. The most populous city in North America, the capital of Mexico has been a consistent host of NBA regular-season games since 1992…and would provide the league with an opening into the Latin and South American markets as well as another international city. However, there are a lot of logistical hurdles to overcome for an NBA team to exist there full time.”
ESPN say league sources and people working on forming bidding groups “are targeting the 2027-28 season for expansion, but say starting in the 2026-27 season isn’t “impossible.”