NBA Board Approves Expansion Study for Seattle and Las Vegas Teams

The NBA's board of governors has given the green light to formally study adding franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas. The league has hired investment advisers to evaluate markets, ownership groups, and economic impacts, though expansion isn't guaranteed.

NEW YORK — The NBA has taken a significant step toward bringing professional basketball back to Seattle and establishing a new franchise in Las Vegas.

On Wednesday, the league’s board of governors gave their approval for NBA leadership to “formally explore potential team expansion” in both cities, which have been widely considered the leading candidates for new franchises.

“Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle — two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”

Silver planned to address reporters later Wednesday about future steps in the process. The NBA announced it has enlisted investment bank PJT Partners “as a strategic adviser to evaluate prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure, and the broader economic implications of expansion.”

While expansion remains uncertain, the formal exploration marks a major milestone beyond mere speculation.

New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray was just 11 when Seattle’s NBA franchise disappeared. Growing up, he idolized players like Gary Payton, Ray Allen and Shawn Kemp, and even recalls a young Kevin Durant during his rookie season with the SuperSonics.

Nearly twenty years have passed since that era concluded. However, Wednesday’s decision should generate genuine optimism for basketball’s return to Seattle — and the beginning of a new era in Las Vegas.

“It’s a basketball city, basketball culture, so it’s mandatory I think that they get it back over there,” said Murray, who hails from Seattle.

Orlando’s Paolo Banchero, also a Seattle native, added: “I think it’s been a long time coming for the city. I think everybody was pretty bummed out when they left. And since then it’s just been waiting and hoping that one day they will come back. I’m sure with the news, everybody’s excited. I know I’m excited for all the kids growing up because Seattle’s a really big basketball city.”

Las Vegas has also established itself as a basketball hub, despite lacking a franchise.

The NBA’s Summer League takes place annually in Las Vegas and has evolved into an essential gathering for team executives, coaches, media, agents and even non-participating players. The NBA Cup championship rounds have also been staged in Las Vegas. Historically, the city has hosted occasional regular-season contests; notably, in 1984, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set the league’s career scoring record there during a matchup with the Utah Jazz — who were using Las Vegas for some home games at the time.

The concept of placing a franchise in Las Vegas might have seemed far-fetched twenty years ago. That’s no longer the case, particularly with the NFL’s Raiders, NHL’s Golden Knights and WNBA’s Aces already established there, plus Major League Baseball coming soon.

“I’m very excited to see the NBA advance this process toward a Las Vegas expansion team,” Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo said. “Today’s vote by the NBA Board of Governors is a testament to the incredible growth we’re seeing in Southern Nevada and our state’s business-friendly environment. Las Vegans have already shown unwavering support for our professional sports franchises, and a new NBA team will provide even more entertainment, more jobs, and more small business growth for the region.”

Speaking in Las Vegas during December’s NBA Cup, Silver had previously stated: “I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities.”

Should owners ultimately choose to expand beyond the current 30-team structure, numerous details must be resolved. Key considerations include: the expansion fee (anticipated to exceed $6 billion), the implementation timeline (2028-29 appears to be the earliest possibility) and Western Conference restructuring (at least one team would likely move to the Eastern Conference).

Golden State coach Steve Kerr described the SuperSonics as “one of the iconic franchises in the NBA.” The franchise relocated in 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I was shocked when the league left Seattle,” Kerr said. “Incredible fan base. Great basketball market. A ton of talent coming from Seattle. Top 10 media market. Incredible sports city. So, it was kind of shocking to all of us when the league left Seattle. And I think we all hoped it would be a lot sooner than 18, 19 years, whatever it’s going to be, before they got back in the league.

“They belong in that city, and a team belongs there,” he added. “Those fans deserve it.”