NBA eyeing Vegas, Seattle as expansion decision nears

The NBA isn’t rushing expansion, but the path is becoming clearer.

Commissioner Adam Silver said the league expects to decide in 2026 whether to add two teams, with Las Vegas and Seattle standing as the primary focus, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Silver made the comments Tuesday ahead of the NBA Cup championship in Las Vegas.

Silver stressed that if expansion happens, it would almost certainly involve two franchises at the same time. The bigger hurdle, he said, isn’t geography. It’s economics.

The league is currently working with its 30 teams to gauge appetite for expansion and to model what new franchises would mean financially. The NBA generates roughly $11 billion in annual revenue, and adding teams would mean dividing that pie further.

“We’re in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest,” Silver said, adding that the league wants a clearer picture of the financial impact before making any decision.

Las Vegas has long been viewed as a strong candidate, hosting Summer League since 2004 and the NBA Cup finals the past three years. The city already supports multiple pro franchises and will soon add MLB. Seattle, meanwhile, remains a natural fit after losing the SuperSonics in 2008.

Silver also pushed back on relocation speculation involving smaller markets, calling that a separate issue and emphasizing the league does not rank cities by revenue potential alone.

The NBA last expanded in 2004, when Charlotte joined as the league’s 30th team.