NBA likely to vote on expansion that would bring new teams to Las Vegas and Seattle

We may be one step closer to having two more teams join the NBA.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver first acknowledged the possibility of expansion in a news conference before the 2020-21 season, and then, a few months ago, said he believes he will have a resolution on the idea at some point in 2026. It seems that the time for a resolution is nearing, and that could very likely lead to two new teams joining the NBA.

Back in December, Silver said, “I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities. Obviously, we had a team in Seattle that had great success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas, the Aces. We’ve been playing the summer league here for 20 years. We’re playing our Cup games here, so we’re very familiar with this market. I don’t have any doubt that Las Vegas, despite all of the other major league teams that are here now, the other entertainment properties, that this city could support an NBA team.”

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The issues holding up the vote on expansion were purely financial.

“As I’ve said before, domestic expansion, as opposed to doing a new league in Europe, is selling equity in this current league,” said Silver in that same interview back in December. “If you own 1/30 of this league, now you own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it’s a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires predicting the future. I think now we’re in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we’ll make a determination.”

It seems the economic questions may have been answered on the league side, with the Dallas News reporting that the NBA Board of Governors is likely to vote this summer to expand by two teams. The idea that Seattle is a favorite for one of those spots was only furthered by news that Seattle Governor Bob Ferguson met with Silver earlier in February.

The governor’s office confirmed afterwards that the meeting was indeed about bringing the Sonics back to Seattle. The governor’s office also…

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Publish date : 2026-02-10 13:25:00

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