Expanding the NBA from 30 to 32 teams has been an on-again, off-again discussion for much of this millennium. The issue often arises when new Collective Bargaining Agreements are negotiated. It nearly always accompanies broadcast rights talks. Last year, when the NBA was in the midst of wrangling multi-billion-dollar deals out of broadcast partners, it was widely assumed that the league was waiting to expand until a fair market value could be determined for each team at the end of those negotiations.
Afterwards, the story changed, with team owners apparently debating whether they should split the revenue from those lucrative contracts with newcomers. The matter has shifted back into slow gear since.
Today in The Athletic’s Bounce newsletter [subscription required] Zach Harper does a pretty good job of summarizing the latest news about potential expansion, occasioned by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s remarks at this week’s NBA Cup tournament. As Harper explains, the matter is finally reaching a boiling point.
Seattle are always an assumed destination, especially considering the Thunder didn’t take the history of the Sonics with them as other relocated sports franchises have done.
Along with the potential Sonics return, Las Vegas has repeatedly been named as a prime destination for another expansion team. The All-Star Game has been there. Summer League lives there. And Team USA often calls Vegas its summer home. There is also an assumption that the NBA has to have an even number of teams, even though the league has not during most of its history.
In Tuesday’s State of the NBA address at the NBA Cup final, commissioner Adam Silver said a decision on expansion will come in 2026. For years, it’s felt like the league has kicked that can down the road. Now, we’re apparently finding out one way or another:
“We’re in the process of working with our (existing) teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them,” Silver said. “And then sometime in 2026, we’ll make a determination.”
Let’s get one more quote from the commish. He makes sure it’s clear they’re not just toying with potential markets like Seattle and Las Vegas.
“I want to be sensitive about this notion that we’re somehow teasing these markets, because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while,” Silver said.
What do you think? Are you ready for expansion at long last? Or will you be happy just to have the issue settled one way or another? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
