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The allure of cash undeniably drives decisions in the NBA, particularly when it comes to expanding the league.
Amid concerns over issues like tanking and the overall depth of the league, the NBA’s Board of Governors has officially decided to explore the potential of adding new teams in Las Vegas and Seattle, as announced on Wednesday.
According to ESPN, the bidding process for these franchises could reach astronomical figures, ranging between $7 billion and $10 billion. The new teams are expected to potentially debut in the 2028-29 season.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed enthusiasm in the official statement, saying, “Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle — two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball. We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”
Speculations about NBA expansion have been circulating for over two decades since the league last introduced a new team in 2004. Now, it appears these discussions are finally gaining momentum.
The NBA last added the Charlotte Bobcats — now the Hornets — to bump from 29 teams to 30 and create six divisions of five teams, and 32 is a natural number for an increase.
Details leaked earlier this month that the Board of Governors would vote during their meetings from March 24-25, and they need 75 percent (23 votes) to move forward.
The cash boon from the moves surely factored into the decision, since the owners would directly profit from adding two more teams.
The NBA said that PJT Partners is being enlisted as a “strategic partner to evaluate prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure and the broader economic implications of expansion.”
Seattle already has a long history with the NBA, with the SuperSonics franchise from 1967 to 2008, before the team relocated to Oklahoma City.
There has long been fervor from fans to return to the Emerald City, and now it seems the green and yellow could be on its way back.
Las Vegas has never had an NBA team, but Sin City plays host to the Summer League and the NBA Cup semifinals and championship game.
With MLB (A’s) and the NFL (Raiders) adding Las Vegas teams in recent years, to go along with the Golden Knights of the NHL, it seems a matter of time before the NBA is in Nevada.
The one concern with adding two teams is that it comes as tanking consumes the sport, and the NBA has yet to figure out how to prevent teams from being uncompetitive in the second half.
The league is attempting to implement anti-tanking procedures, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough of a deterrent.