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NBA commissioner Adam Silver at a press conference during the 2023 NBA Mexico City Game at the Arena CDMX. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

NBA commissioner floats cities for possible league expansion

By Reece Johnston | Last updated Nov 14, 2023 5:18 PM ET

Whether it's the new play-in tournament or in-season tournament, the NBA doesn't shy away from new ideas. Now more change may be coming to the Association — this time in the form of expansion.

The NBA has not expanded since Charlotte was granted the Bobcats (now Hornets) in 2004, but rumblings are growing the league will have new franchises soon.

The NBA's current media rights agreement will expire following the 2024-25 season. Once a new deal is reached, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has hinted the league may expand (h/t: Yahoo).

The cities widely rumored to get teams in a first round of expansion are Seattle and Las Vegas.

Seattle lost the SuperSonics in 2008 when they moved to Oklahoma City and were rebranded as the Thunder.

Las Vegas has never had an NBA franchise, but the league has a history in the city. It is the site of the NBA's annual Summer League and will host the semifinals and finals of this season's inaugural in-season tournament. The city hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 2007.

These two cities are logical expansion possibilities, especially considering the recent success of NHL expansion to the respective cities (Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken). The WNBA has also achieved success in Las Vegas with the Aces, who relocated to the city for the start of the 2018 season.

Besides American expansion, Silver recently mentioned potential international expansion opportunities while speaking on a Boston Celtics broadcast (NBC Sports Boston).

On the Celtics-Knicks broadcast, Adam Silver once again all but confirmed the NBA will expand after the new TV deal is done.

Silver talked about a "couple of cities in the US", but mentioned Mexico City and Vancouver, and possibly Montreal (who he said has reached out to the…
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) November 14, 2023

Vancouver was home to the Grizzlies from 1995-2001 when they relocated to Memphis. Montreal, meanwhile, has never had an NBA franchise.

Both Canadian cities have hosted preseason games in recent years, including this year, when the Raptors played the Kings in Vancouver and the Thunder played the Pistons in Montreal.

The NBA has achieved major successes in Canada since expanding to the country in 1995. The Raptors won an NBA title in 2019 and Forbes ranked them as the 10th-most valuable franchise in the NBA at $4.1 billion.

The NBA saw historic viewership numbers for the 2019 NBA Finals in Canada when 15.9 million viewers tuned into Game 6, 44% of Canada's population. The league has also seen an influx of Canadian talent as 27 players from the country began the season on NBA rosters.

Mexico City — home to an NBA G League team — is another interesting expansion possibility. The NBA has played regular-season games in the city since 1997.

It's unlikely international cities will be in the first round of expansion following the NBA's new media rights deal. However, they remain intriguing possibilities for a league that continues to grow basketball worldwide.

Reece Johnston

Reece is a passionate sports fan from Canada who follows the NBA, NFL, NHL, College Football, College Basketball, Soccer and Tennis. He is a supporter of the Toronto Raptors, Carolina Panthers and Calgary Flames. His most memorable moment as a sports fan came when the Raptors conquered the NBA to win the championship in 2019.

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