NEW YORK — After years of rumor and speculation, the NBA is moving — suddenly rather quickly — toward expansion.
The league announced Wednesday, March 25 that its Board of Governors voted to formally explore bids for potential expansion franchises to be added to the Seattle and Las Vegas markets. The vote took place at the St. Regis Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, where owners and their proxies gathered to discuss the prospect of adding a pair of teams in those markets.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters at the conclusion of the meetings that financial terms or figures were not discussed, and that the conversation focused on the competitive impact expansion would have on the NBA. Although Silver would not comment or speculate on franchise fees and eventual valuations of expansion teams, some reports have indicated potential valuations hovering between $7 billion and $10 billion.
“The market will determine the value of these teams and then we will decide whether it makes sense to move forward,” Silver said. “But I anticipate that there will be robust interest.”
Here’s everything you need to know about NBA expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas:
What does this mean?
This announcement doesn’t certify, with complete certainty, that NBA teams will be tipping off in Seattle and Las Vegas at the start of the 2028-29 season, though this is the next crucial step toward that.
Essentially, Wednesday’s vote signals an appetite for the 30 ownership groups in the NBA to expand to 32 teams. The league’s constitution stipulates that a measure like this requires at least 23 of 30 votes to pass, representing a supermajority of at least 76.7%. NBA owners, seeing the influx of revenue that would be generated from expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas, want that process to ramp up and intensify.
That said, there is a possibility that the exploration could yield a decision that ends up with multiple outcomes: no expansion, expansion to one of the two selected markets or expansion to both.
“There’s absolutely a chance that expansion may not happen,” Silver told reporters, adding that the league is being cautious and deliberate with the process.
It’s all going to come down to the packages and prospects presented by the potential ownership groups, though the NBA will be monitoring external indicators throughout the process.
“As to why it might not happen, at least standing here today, there’s nothing that I see in the relatively short-term future of this league, that would indicate today that there won’t be enormous interest in those markets that the Board will continue to support moving forward,” Silver said.
“Where the uncertainty, to me, lies is issues outside the league. There’s enormous instability in the world at the moment, and we may ultimately conclude, for reasons completely out of our control, that it’s not the right time to expand — that it’s something we should postpone and look at some later time. So that’s really what our caveat is.”
What happens next?
The NBA also announced that it contracted PJT Partners, an investment bank, to assess the economic health and viability of the prospective ownership groups that would be interested in establishing operations in those markets.
This means that prospective ownership groups for those two markets will now organize funding and build business plans and long-term prospectuses to present to the league office and investment bank. Eventually, proposals will be brought to the NBA’s Board of Governors, who would then select the options they view most favorably for the long-term health of the league.
If viable and appealing prospective ownership groups emerge, the Board of Governors could hold another vote, as soon as later this year, to finalize any potential transactions. That might be too quick of a timeline, though Silver made it clear he would want any potential ownership groups in place sooner rather than later.
“We need to know by the end of this calendar year to know what it is we’re doing,” Silver said. “It may not be that every I is dotted, but that would be our goal this year.”
Over the last three decades, team ownership within the major domestic sports leagues has been an exceptional investment. Franchise valuations have skyrocketed through ever-expanding media rights deals, so even though the reported $7 billion-$10 billion price tag may produce some sticker shock, it stands to reason that any potential ownership groups would see a sizable return on that investment.
Are the Seattle SuperSonics back?
That’s still yet to be determined. But Wednesday’s announcement is a crucial step toward the SuperSonics returning to Seattle.
The franchise, which began play in the city in 1967, eventually moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, where it became the Thunder. As part of a settlement with the City of Seattle at the time of the relocation, all SuperSonics intellectual property, including branding, color schemes, logos and history, will transfer at no cost to the new ownership group.
This means that, if and when a new ownership group officially clears NBA requirements and the expansion to Seattle is approved, it will have the right to use the SuperSonics logo and branding. But it would not be required to do so.
Given the rich history and tradition of the SuperSonics in Seattle, and the community’s attachment to the team, it’s an overwhelmingly logical choice to reestablish the SuperSonics in Seattle.
In a brief conversation with USA TODAY Sports following his press conference, Silver said that any potential decision to reestablish the SuperSonics brand would be up to the prospective owner, though Silver also acknowledged the wide reach and loyalty fans have to the brand.
“I do a great deal of traveling around the country and the world,” Silver said. “And one of the top five, six questions I get, easily, is ‘When are the Sonics coming back?’ ”
While in Seattle, the SuperSonics won six division titles, three conference championships and an NBA Finals in 1979.
Where will Las Vegas and Seattle NBA teams play?
The new Seattle team is likely to play in Climate Pledge Arena, currently home to the NHL's Seattle Kraken. The building, which still features the former KeyArena's roof after a $1.2 billion renovation was completed in 2021, has been designed to be retrofitted for basketball.
The new Las Vegas NBA franchise would likely play at T-Mobile Arena, at least initially. It's currently home to the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, as well as the NBA Cup semifinals and finals. The arena opened in 2016.
Who might own new Las Vegas, Seattle teams?
The NHL's Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken each have notable figures who could become focal points of potential ownership groups in the NBA.
Kraken owner Samantha Holloway formed a new company earlier this week, with a portfolio that includes majority ownership of the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, “to enable the pursuit of future opportunities,” she announced. Its first major endeavor is expected to be the formal pursuit of Seattle's new NBA franchise, according to KOMO News.
Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, who also owns part of T-Mobile Arena, previously said he wanted to bring the NBA to Las Vegas. He said in a 2024 PBS interview, "We have a plan in place to spend about $300 million to improve" the arena for an NBA team.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported that NBA legend Magic Johnson met with Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo about joining an ownership group if Las Vegas were to be awarded a team. Shaquille O'Neal also told reporters last year that he wanted to be "heavily involved" if an NBA expansion team were to come to Las Vegas.
LeBron James said recently he no longer is planning to be part of a group that puts in an ownership bid for a Las Vegas NBA franchise, despite previously expressing interest in doing so after his playing career.
How might an NBA expansion draft work?
When the NBA last held an expansion draft for the then-Charlotte Bobcats ahead of the 2004-05 season, each NBA team was permitted to protect a maximum of eight players under contract or entering restricted free agency on its roster. The Bobcats had to select a minimum of 14 unprotected players, but the other teams could only lose one player. Unrestricted free agents could not be protected or selected by the Bobcats. There were also special salary cap and trade exemptions in place.
That expansion draft, however, occurred under a previous collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and National Basketball Players Association. NBA rules allow for changes to be made so long as the league and the players' union agree. With two teams joining the league this time, expansion draft adjustments could be in order.
When would the Las Vegas and Seattle franchises start playing?
The plan, as articulated by Silver last month, is for these two new franchises to join the league and begin playing games in time for the 2028-29 NBA season. This is all contingent on another formal vote of the NBA's Board of Governors once ownership groups are picked.
This story has been updated with new information.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What NBA expansion vote means for Las Vegas, Seattle
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