Updated March 16, 2026, 11:05 p.m. ET
The chances of the NBA expanding to Seattle and Las Vegas to start play in the 2028-29 season look good, and of course you have questions.
Like the name of the two prospective NBA teams.
In Las Vegas, it’ll be the High Rollers. Or the Outlaws. Or the Spades. Or, maybe this needs be decided by ballot.
In Seattle, is this even a discussion? It’ll be the SuperSonics again. Now, will it be appropriate to wear those throwback Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton jerseys? We’re not here to judge, only to help make sense of it all.
Let’s get down to businesses of the league expanding to 32 teams from 30 teams. Because expansion is all about business.
How much an NBA expansion team cost?
There is a price for any city wanting to join the NBA, and it’ll be extracted through an expansion team. According to ESPN, the fee expected from ownership groups in Seattle and Las Vegas will range from $7 billion to $10 billion. That means existing team ownership groups could pocket roughly $500 million.
Meaning the decision over expansion is the equivalent of 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama standing underneath the basket.
A slam dunk.
Is possible NBA expansion a surprise?
On December 16, at the NBA Cup championship game in Las Vegas of all places, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league would decide in 2026 whether to add two teams, and Las Vegas and Seattle were the most likely expansion cities.
“We’re in the process of working with our (existing) 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,” Silver said.
The operative word being economics.
Under Silver, who took over as commissioner in 2014, NBA franchise valuations ballooned from approximately $500 million to almost $4 billion by 2024, according to Front Office Sports.
Last year the Los Angeles Lakers sold for $10 billion.
In the NBA’s executive offices, score is kept in part with dollar signs.
What’s next in NBA expansion talks?
The NBA’s board of governors, which consists of the league’s 30 team owners, will meet next week to discuss adding expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle, according to ESPN.But that will not result in a binding resolution. ESPN reported something concrete is likely to come at the board of governors meeting in July.
The players have no say in matters of expansion.
What’s in it for the players?
Team owners will keep the massive expansion fees. So what’s in it for players?
It’ll be another 30 roster spots with an average salary this season that tops $10 million a year.
Why Seattle?
The NBA owes Seattle.
In 2008, the city of Seattle balked at building a new arena or renovating KeyArena. So the NBA allowed the owner of the Supersonics to relocate the team to Oklahoma City, where the Sonics became the Thunder.
But KeyArena, now known as Climate Pledge Arena, was redeveloped with private financing and reopened in 2021. The state of-the-art arena, home of the WNBA’s Storm, is co-owned by Seattle and a group known as Oak View Group. It is NBA ready; so is the city.
The largest metropolitan area and media market without an NBA team? That’s right, Seattle.
Why Las Vegas?
For decades, the major sports league treated Las Vegas like a scandal waiting to happen. Which meant, keep your distance.
Then came 2017, when the NHL awarded Las Vegas an expansion team, the Vegas Golden Nights. A year later, the WNBA moved the Aces to Las Vegas from San Antonio, Texas. In 2022 came the NFL’s turn, and the Raiders moved to Las Vegas from Oakland, California. Next up: Major League Baseball has cleared the way for the A’s to move to Las Vegas from Oakland.
Yes, there have been gambling scandals. But they can be traced to legalized gambling across the country, not Sin City.
In truth, the NBA was trailblazers and risk takers. In 2004, the league launched its summer league in Las Vegas.
Last summer, the NBA summer league drew 136,130 total fans over the 11 days games were played at the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion. There were two sellouts, with a seating capacity of 17,500.
Other NBA expansion possibilities
Let’s say something goes wrong with Seattle or Las Vegas. There are other options for the league.
Though European expansion may be several years away, Nashville, Tennessee; Kansas City (Missouri or Kansas); and Louisville, Kentucky have emerged as possibilities. Looking beyond the borders, Vancouver, Montreal and Mexico City are possibilities. “Very doable,” Silver has said of Mexico City.
The High Rollers, really?
The High Rollers, really.
Or the Outlaws.
Or the Spades.
Or a ballot.