Commissioner Adam Silver has hinted that further expansion in the NBA is a “possibility” amid recent rumours.
Speculation has been doing the rounds for months, if not years, that the NBA could look to expand on the 30 teams that are currently in the league. The Eastern and Western Conferences each has 15 teams, which has been the case for more than a decade.
Such rumours include the possibility that new teams could be formed in two major cities in the United States in Seattle and Las Vegas. Neither city currently has an NBA franchise.
Silver was speaking before Game Two of the NBA Finals on Sunday evening. He was chatting to Shaquille O’Neal about the possibility of expansion in the future, and hinted that it’s something that could happen but not anytime soon.
“It is a possibility and I think what we've said in the last few years, No. 1 we wanted to get our collective bargaining agreement done so we've done that now,” Silver told NBA TV .
“And the other thing we wanted is to understand what our new media rights packages are and those negotiations will begin in earnest, probably next spring. Once that's done, we'll turn to expansion.
“We don't have anything specific in mind right now, but I think it makes sense over time. If you are a successful organisation that continues to grow, there is no doubt there are a lot of great cities who are interested in having the NBA.”
The NBA has not expanded with the addition of a new team since 2004 with the formation of the Charlotte Hornets, formerly known as the Charlotte Bobcats. Back in 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics left Washington state after 40 years to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
One of the more recent changes came when the New Jersey Nets moved across the Hudson River and into New York City to become the Brooklyn Nets for the 2012-13 season. But the talk of possible expansions would likely see completely new teams formed rather than existing franchises moved.
Vegas has been the home of several new sports teams in recent years. The Vegas Golden Knights were added to the NHL in 2017, while the Oakland Raiders became the Las Vegas Raiders in 2020 to become the first NFL team in Nevada.
In MLB there is also talk that the Oakland Athletics could leave California and move to Vegas. The A’s recently released images of a proposed new ballpark that would be built on the Las Vegas strip.
