According to ESPN, all 30 owners voted in favor of considering a two-city bid, with the 2028-29 season as the entry point.
Published March 26, 2026
The National Basketball Association Board of Governors on Wednesday voted in favor of the league considering bids for expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.
“Today’s vote reflects the Board’s interest in exploring the possibility of expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle, two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball,” Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
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“We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.” The vote does not guarantee Seattle and Las Vegas will accept expansion teams, but it allows the league to formally explore the opportunity, with bids expected to be between $7 billion and $10 billion per team.
Seattle lost the SuperSonics in 2008 when the owners moved the franchise to Oklahoma City after failing to secure a new arena contract.
Although Las Vegas has never had an NBA team, it continues to grow as a major sports market and is already home to NFL and NHL franchises, with Major League Baseball’s Athletics planning to relocate to Las Vegas.
If the league moves forward, both teams are expected to begin play ahead of the 2028-29 season, marking the NBA’s most significant expansion step since the Charlotte Bobcats joined in 2004.
With both new teams expected to move into the Western Conference, executives largely expect either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies to move to the Eastern Conference to balance out the 16-team conferences.
