Commissioner Adam Silver has been the most committed in making the NBA a global entertainment phenomenon while also prioritizing each one of his constituents’ wellbeing. There have been changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the NBA All-Star game since he took over. Now, it looks like NBA expansion is going to be the next venture in his stint of improving the league. Seattle and Las Vegas are the primary targets.
When will Seattle and Las Vegas get their NBA expansion squads?
It’s not going to be longer than three years until we see teams from Las Vegas and Seattle in the NBA. The association’s board of governors is set to have their first vote to create these franchises in the next week, per Shams Charania of ESPN. If Silver manages to convince all of these people, these two teams will have players on the court by the 2028-29 NBA season.
Notably, Las Vegas and Seattle have proven to be capable of being the home to massive sports teams. The most recent example is the Seattle Kraken back in 2021. Not to mention, they were also home to a legendary Seattle Supersonics team until 2008 came and Clay Bennett had to relocate the team to Oklahoma City. This could also mean that the legends of Kevin Durant, Gary Payton, Detlef Schrempf, and Shawn Kemp could find longer-lasting legacies.
Las Vegas, on the other hand, has been on a tear in acquiring major sports teams in the past decade. The Las Vegas Raiders moved from Oakland in order to pursue a larger market and more stable stadium. The Vegas Golden Knights have been a powerhouse in the NHL and won the Stanley Cup in just their sixth season in the NHL. Not to mention, a Las Vegas Aces dynasty led by Aja Wilson has been ravaging the WNBA as of late. Clearly, this place just has a knack for creating legendary players and the fans show up when needed too.
There are a lot of technicalities that would be required in order for this to push through. Silver has also not experienced leading an NBA expansion before. The latest expansion team, Charlotte Bobcats, had a draft which bore quite a few technical issues. These events last happened back in 2004 with David Stern still being the commissioner. Hopefully, the league’s constituents are able to fix these NBA expansion woes to minimize long-term backlash.