Alright, NBA fans, it’s that time of year when the Las Vegas Summer League isn’t just about rookie dunks and G League hopefuls. On Tuesday, the NBA’s board of governors gathers in Vegas, and the hottest topic buzzing around the Strip isn’t a blackjack table or a pool party. It’s expansion.
Seattle and Las Vegas have been practically frothing at the mouth to get an NBA team. Seattle’s been left out in the cold since the Supersonics bolted for Oklahoma City back in 2008, and Vegas? They’ve been the cool kids everyone wants to hang with since they snagged the Golden Knights and Raiders. But before anyone gets too hyped, it might be time to pump the brakes.
According to The Ny Times, while Seattle is still the top dog for potential new or relocated teams, there isn’t exactly a stampede of owners running to open the doors to two more franchises. The big reason? Money.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Open To Expansion
Let’s talk numbers: the NBA just locked in an absolutely massive 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal that kicks off next season. NBC, Peacock, Amazon Prime, everybody wants a piece. Meanwhile, longtime partner Warner Bros. Discovery is left on the outside looking in after airing NBA games since 1989. With this huge cash influx coming, many owners would rather divvy up that juicy pie among the 30 current teams than slice in two more big pieces for newbies.
“They want to see how the new TV money plays out next year,” a senior executive said. In other words, they’re more into savoring their current meal than inviting new guests to the table.
It’s not all about national deals, though. Local media rights are basically on life support these days, with regional sports networks (RSNs) collapsing left and right. Some teams have even scrambled to get games on local broadcast channels or launched their own services (shoutout to Utah’s Jazz+).
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has started sounding less like an expansion hype man and more like a cautious dad. Back in March, he admitted the situation was “giving me just a bit of pause,” and at the Finals last month, he said expansion is “not automatic.”
Will The NBA Owners Allow An Expansion?
“As I’ve said before, expansion in a way is selling equity in the league,” Silver explained. “If you believe in the league, you don’t necessarily want to add partners. On the other hand, we recognize there are underserved markets… probably even if we were to expand, more than we can serve.”
Even podcaster Bill Simmons stirred the pot last month, blaming Knicks owner James Dolan for leading a “little cabal of anti-expansion owners.” But insiders say it’s not just Dolan pulling the brakes. One senior official bluntly put it: “It’s more than JD.”
Of course, the NBA would cash in big if it did expand. An expansion fee could run up to $5 billion or $6 billion per new team, and that’s before the Celtics just agreed to sell for over $6.1 billion and the Lakers snagged a wild $10 billion valuation. These numbers might actually push expansion fees even higher.
Seattle isn’t sitting idly by, though. They’ve rebuilt Climate Pledge Arena (home of the Kraken) to NBA standards and are basically begging to bring basketball back to town. Vegas, meanwhile, has plans for a privately funded $1 billion arena ready to roll.
Historically, most big leagues haven’t expanded much lately. The NFL hasn’t added a team since the Texans in 2002. MLB has been at 30 teams since 1998. The NHL, though, went bold with the Golden Knights and Kraken. And the WNBA? They’re in the middle of an expansion party, adding new franchises in Detroit, Philly, Cleveland, and more.
Despite all this, don’t expect the NBA to suddenly jump to 32 teams tomorrow. The board is likely to keep “exploring” expansion — that means more meetings, more feasibility studies, and probably more awkward “wait and see” pressers.
In the meantime, Seattle and Vegas fans can keep those custom jerseys on ice and keep dreaming of future championship parades. Just don’t expect a new team before you finish your next Netflix binge.
