US EditionLas Vegas and Seattle are the front-runners if NBA expansion to 32 teams happens
The NBA plans a 2026 decision on adding two teams to its 30-team roster, with Seattle and Las Vegas leading due to market demand and existing sports infrastructure.
- Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters Tuesday night a decision on expansion will come in 2026, naming Seattle and Las Vegas as leading candidate markets before the NBA Cup final in Las Vegas.
- Seattle and Las Vegas have long been clamoring for franchises, with Seattle hosting the SuperSonics until 2008, and the league expects more serious talks with interested parties in late January.
- Economic advisers warn the analysis is complicated by rising franchise valuations, with an expansion fee potentially in the $6 or $7 billion range, and ownership share dilutions from 1/30 to 1/32.
- With attention focused elsewhere, semifinal sites will move to No. seed home courts and the NBA Cup final concept in Las Vegas will change in 2026; Adam Silver urged sensitivity about 'teasing' markets amid drawn-out expansion talks.
- Beyond domestic expansion, the NBA Europe project plans regular-season games in Berlin and London next month, while Cup viewership rose 14% to 1.67 million and Las Vegas hosts the WNBA Aces.
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Rockdale Citizen & Newton Citizen
Adam Silver: NBA expansion verdict due in 2026
A decision on possible NBA expansion is due next year, and Las Vegas and Seattle are at the head of the line should the league open the door to new franchises, commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged on Tuesday.
Associated Press News
Las Vegas and Seattle are the front-runners if NBA expansion to 32 teams happens
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the league plans to decide on domestic expansion next year. Las Vegas and Seattle are top contenders for new teams.
"Currently 2026, we will make a decision," said Adam Silver on Tuesday about a possible expansion, at a press conference. "Present in Las Vegas to attend the NBA Cup final between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, the League's boss gave an update on the subject."As far as expansion in the United States is concerned, it's a subject we're continuing to study. It's no secret to anyone that we're looking at the Las Vegas market. We're a…
NBA commissioner talks about the Cup's future and potential new teams in Las Vegas and Seattle
The NBA Cup will continue to grow in the future, and will likely move away from Las Vegas, to reach other markets. Early audience ratins reveal that the invention is having the desired effect: more people are tuning in to watch NBA in December, which is a month where ratings usually slow down as people focus on the NFL, which is in its final stages of the regular season. Semifinals on Saturday, broadcast in a variety of worldwide markets on Ama…
NBA eyeing Vegas, Seattle as expansion decision nears
Getty The NBA isn’t rushing expansion, but the path is becoming clearer. Commissioner Adam Silver said the league expects to decide in 2026 whether to add two teams, with Las Vegas and Seattle standing as the primary focus, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Silver made the comments Tuesday ahead of the NBA Cup championship in Las Vegas. Silver stressed that if expansion happens, it would almost certainly involve two franchises at the same time. Th…
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