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Shams Charania
Multiple authors
The NBA Board of Governors approved a vote for the league to explore bids and applicants for expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle.
All 30 owners voted to explore Las Vegas and Seattle expansion, sources told ESPN. A bidding process is expected to generate bids in the range of $7 billion to $10 billion for each team, according to sources.
Sources told ESPN last week that the league is targeting the 2028-29 season for the two expansion franchises to begin play.
The vote begins the process of expanding the NBA to 32 teams. Several senior officials have called the expansion a “when, not if.”
“Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle, two markets with a long history of supporting NBA basketball,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Wednesday. “We look forward to taking the next step and engaging with stakeholders.”
Silver will hold a news conference later Wednesday to discuss next steps. The league said investment bank PJT Partners has been hired “as a strategic advisor to evaluate potential markets, ownership groups, stadium infrastructure and the broader economic implications of the expansion.”
The league will examine bids from Seattle and Las Vegas over the coming months and whether to execute new franchise purchases in 2026 or in a few years. There will be a possible final vote later this year to finalize transactions among 32 teams. In both rounds of voting, 23 of 30 governors must vote in favor.
A growing number of owners are believed to support the expansion due to the league’s long-term revenue growth in the Las Vegas and Seattle markets.
The NHL had two of its recent expansions in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights (2017) and Seattle with the Kraken (2021). In the NFL, the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020, and Major League Baseball’s A’s are in the process of doing the same for the 2028 season.
Las Vegas has also been the home of the WNBA Aces since 2018. The Aces are three-time champions (2022, 2023, 2025) since moving.
Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and changed their name to the Thunder. The Sonics played in the NBA from 1967 to 2008 before leaving due to a dispute over the lease for KeyArena, which owner Clay Bennett said was outdated. The venue underwent extensive renovations from 2018 to 2021 and is now Climate Pledge Arena, where the WNBA’s Kraken and Storm play.
Over the past four years, franchise valuations have increased. Mat Ishbia bought the Phoenix Suns in December 2022 for a then-record valuation of $4 billion. In 2025, that record was surpassed several times: the Boston Celtics were sold to Bill Chisholm for a valuation of $6.1 billion, then the Los Angeles Lakers passed from the Buss family to Mark Walter for $10 billion, still the largest sum ever obtained by a U.S. professional sports team. The Portland Trail Blazers were also sold to Tom Dundon in August 2025 for $4.25 billion.
Executives across the NBA expect either the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Memphis Grizzlies to move East to realign conferences with 16 each when Seattle and Las Vegas become West teams.
The NBA last expanded in 2004 with Charlotte.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
