NBA commissioner Adam Silver says that expansion is still being considered, but the league is not quite ready to commit.
At the conclusion of a two-day Board of Governors meeting in New York, Silver stated that the league has not formed an expansion committee to oversee the process, though he says the topic will be addressed this season. Attention has turned to expansion, with rumors swirling about Las Vegas and Seattle as potentially the next two NBA cities, with the league’s 11-year, $76 billion media deal now finalized. Some around the league expected there would be some movement on the topic with other more pressing league priorities now in the rearview.
“We’re not quite ready yet,” he told reporters. “There’s certainly interest in the process, (but) we’re not there yet in terms of having made any specific decisions about markets, or even frankly to expand.”
Silver reiterated that it’s a natural step for organizations like THE NBA to grow but emphasized the complexities of expansion, including selling equity in the league and how adding teams impacts media deals.
“We’ve told interested parties, ‘Thank you for your interest, we’ll get back to you’,” Silver said.
Silver previously said the league would explore expansion once the collective bargaining agreement and the new media rights deals were finalized. He will likely continue to be asked about the topic as the 2024-2025 season gets underway next month.
In the meantime, ownership groups including one led by Las Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley are eager to be involved if the league does greenlight at a team in Sin City.
Former Seattle Supersonics fans are hoping their city will be awarded a franchise again after the club relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. Seattle has been viewed as a front-runner for an expansion team, while international bids from Mexico City and Vancouver are also expected.
Some reports have speculated expansion fees could be as high as $4 billion, which is average NBA franchise value, according to Sportico’s most recent valuations.
The NBA, which last expanded in 2004 with the Charlotte Bobcats, is taking care of other business while the dust settles from its major media deal. Last month, the league asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from Warner Bros. Discovery, which sued the league stating that it did not accept the company’s matching offer for one of the packages in the upcoming media deal.
