Adam Silver
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Adam Silver gives encouraging NBA expansion update
The NBA Cup took center stage in Las Vegas this week, as the New York Knicks won the third installment of the in-season tournament.
Before the game, NBA commissioner Adam Silver discussed the future of the in-season tournament and, more importantly, provided an exciting update on league expansion.
“I‘d say in terms of domestic expansion, that is somethingwe’re continuing to look at,”he told the press before the 2025 NBA Cup Final. “It’s not a secretwe’re looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle.We’ve looked at other markets, as well. I’d say I want to be sensitive there about this notion thatwe’re somehow teasing these markets, because I knowwe’ve been talking about it for a while.”
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NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that Las Vegas and Seattle are still expansion candidates and he expects to have more clarity on whether domestic expansion will move forward sometime in 2026.
Sonics Could Return to Seattle in NBA Expansion
Seattle Sonics
GettySeattle is a top option for NBA expansion team
Adam Silver and the league have been exploring expansion options for years and it appears a final decision in 2026 is looming.
“As I’ve said before, domestic expansion, as opposed to doing a new league in Europe, is selling equity in this current league. If you own 1/30 of this league, now you own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it’s a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires predicting the future.
“I think now we’re in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we’ll make a determination.”
Should the league move forward with expansion, Seattle and Las Vegas appear to be the most likely destinations. The former has been without a franchise since the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and the latter has frequently partnered with the league by hosting the annual NBA summer league and now NBA Cup.
Now, as expansion talks ramp up, the return of the beloved Seattle SuperSonics is more plausible.
While Mexico City, St. Louis and Nashville have also been discussed, Silver did little to refute the notion of NBA basketball returning to Seattle.
“I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities,” Silver said. “Obviously we had a team in Seattle that had great success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas in the Aces. We’ve been playing the summer league here for 20 years. We’re playing our Cup games here, so we’re very familiar with this market.”
Madyson Marie
“I don’t have any doubt that Las Vegas could support a NBA team”
Adam Silver says the league is continuing to look into domestic expansion with Las Vegas and Seattle as key cities. Nothing official yet but we are in store for an announcement in 2026. @8NewsNow #NBACup
Adam Silver is Prioritizing Domestic Expansion Over NBA Europe League
Adam Silver
GettyAdam Silver is mulling domestic expansion
During an appearance on NBA on Prime, Silver addressed Dirk Nowitzki’s inquiry on whether the NBA was still exploring a Europe league.
Although Silver stated that interest from European investors has been “off the charts,” domestic expansion appears to be more imminent, as Europe’s current arena infrastructure may not be ready to support an NBA league at the moment.
NBA on Prime
“The interest has been off the charts.”
Commissioner Adam Silver provides the latest update on a potential NBA Europe expansion.
For now, Seattle and Las Vegas seem primed to host NBA franchises, as the league draws near to an expansion decision.