Adam Silver touts 'incredible market' for NBA expansion

"There's so many great markets out there that love the NBA," Silver said. "[Expansion] is definitely something we're gonna take a look at."

When "Club 520 Podcast" co-host and former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague mentioned Seattle and Vegas as potential expansion destinations, Silver said Seattle would be ideal. 

"We had a team in Seattle before and it's such an incredible market," he said. "Many of my years at the NBA were spent in Seattle when there was still a team and there's no doubt about the love of basketball there."

Seattle, which lost the SuperSonics in 2008, is frequently rumored to be among the favorites to land an expansion team. ESPN reported in September that the Thunder could give the Sonics their franchise history back from 1967 to 2007 if Seattle got another team.

The league's Board of Governors is set to meet in July in Las Vegas, and Silver has indicated that expansion will almost certainly be on the agenda for discussion. Las Vegas is widely considered to be the other strong contender for expansion, as the NBA has hosted its Summer League in the city since its inception in 2004. Las Vegas has had a WNBA team since 2018. 

Mexico City — the most populous city in North America — is another market Silver is interested in. The city has an NBA G League team.

Of the strong group of expansion contenders, Seattle feels like a slam dunk. In 1979, the SuperSonics won the NBA title and in 1996, they lost to the Michael Jordan-fueled Bulls in the Finals. 

In 41 seasons, the SuperSonics made the playoffs 22 times and appeared in the Finals three times. 

Although it isn't guaranteed that the NBA will return to Seattle, the mere mention of a return of the Sonics is exciting.