Soaring Team Valuations Likely Pushing NBA Closer To Expansion Talks

The NBA’s path to expansion appears to be clearing fast, helped along by two record-shattering team valuations, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Tim Bontemps.

The Boston Celtics’ $6.1 billion sale in March stunned league insiders, and this week’s news that the Los Angeles Lakers are changing hands at a staggering $10 billion valuation has only added fuel to the fire. According to ESPN sources, those price tags could push expansion fees to roughly $6 billion per team—an unprecedented figure.

To put that in perspective, the Celtics’ sale beat the previous high — the $4 billion Mat Ishbia paid for the Phoenix Suns in 2023 — by more than 50 percent. And Boston doesn’t even own its home arena, TD Garden.

Then came the Lakers. The deal, expected to be finalized as early as next month’s Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas, values the franchise 65 percent higher than the Celtics. For league owners, that’s eye-opening. And for Commissioner Adam Silver, it’s enough to formally move expansion talks forward.

Silver recently confirmed that expansion will be on the agenda at the July board meeting. While no cities have been formally engaged, the league is expected to recommend forming a committee to study expansion more closely.

“There’s been no lack of interest,” Silver said. “I’ve essentially told people from several cities that we’re just not engaging in that process right now. I want to be fair to everyone. So I don’t want to have meetings with some and not others.”

Still, it’s no secret which cities are at the front of the line. Seattle and Las Vegas continue to be widely seen as the top candidates. Both markets have strong ownership interest, viable venues, and, frankly, check all the boxes.

The potential numbers are staggering. If two new franchises are added at $6 billion each, the league would generate $12 billion in expansion fees, split among 30 teams. That’s about $400 million per franchise, and unlike basketball-related income, those fees aren’t shared with players.

In other words, it’s pure profit for the current owners.

The NBA hasn’t expanded since adding Charlotte in 2004. But with billion-dollar valuations becoming the norm rather than the exception, the writing may be on the wall, and on the balance sheet.