Rumors of NBA expansion, and the expectation that it would come with the return of the Seattle Sonics, are suddenly more rampant than they have been in years.
And now two big NBA reporters from ESPN have added some serious fuel to the fire.
Is 2026 the year of Seattle? After Seahawks start it, NBA and M’s could follow
ESPN senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst and ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania each have reported this week about an upcoming meeting of the league’s Board of Governors, and both made mention of Seattle in their dispatches.
First, Windhorst joined The Rich Eisen Show this week, and credit the host for asking the exact question every Sonics fan wants to hear answered.
“Let’s go Seattle for the Super Bowl champs. Are they going to get the Sonics back? What do you think?” Eisen asked.
Windhorst’s response was good news – except for the expected timeline of expansion he shared.
“So, what I suspect is later this year, the NBA will announce that they are going to form a committee to study expansion, which is going to be an action – which is code for we’re going to expand. They’re not going to say it, but they’re going to expand. But there’s some arena situations that have to be settled first.”
Among the arena situations is one just down I-5 in Portland, where the Trail Blazers are in the process of being sold by the estate of the late Paul Allen – the same ownership as the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The Blazers play at the Moda Center, which first opened in 1995.
“Right now there’s an arena situation in Portland that is bubbling. There’s a couple other arena situations I won’t get into, but typically – even though I don’t think the NBA will relocate – you want to make sure all of your arena situations are settled before you then expand,” Windhorst continued. “But I do think that’s where we’re headed. It’ll be a process.
“You won’t see the Sonics back in 2027. It could be a few years, but I think that’s where we are headed.”
You can watch Windhorst’s answer to Eisen by clicking play on the video here:
OK, so Windhorst makes it sound like the process of the NBA expanding for the first time since 2004 is basically underway, but that there are still some pieces of business for the league to straighten out first. That certainly sounds familiar to Seattle fans, and not in a good way.
At least it can’t be taken as a bad sign that Charania, the most well-known news-breaking reporter in the NBA world today, had his own things to share Thursday on ESPN’s NBA Today. Not only did he specifically mention Seattle and Las Vegas as the “front runners” to be granted expansion teams, but he also spoke about realignment logistics with those two potential additions.
“I’m told there is a Board of Governors meeting in March where the expectation is there’s going to be some more information, financials on what it looks like when you go get a couple more expansion teams potentially, what it means for the rest of the league,” Charania said. “How much are the valuations of those two teams going to be? What does the league layout look like? And then potentially in the summer as 2026 goes on, have a potential determination.
“But my understanding is Seattle and Las Vegas are the front runners for expansion teams, and then from there, a Western Conference team moving to the Eastern Conference. So you think about teams in that region, right? Memphis, Minnesota, New Orleans – could one of those teams potentially move to the Eastern Conference? These are conversations that we’ll be picking up as 2026 goes on.”
Charania reported a similar timeline as Windhorst, though.
“This is still a few years away from actually taking place as far as these expansion teams being put forth for the public,” he said.
The NBA expansion reports have been like an added bonus to an eventful week in Seattle sports that has hit four major North American sports.
On the same night as the Seahawks’ Super Bowl championship victory over New England, The Dallas Morning News’ Brad Townsend posted that he thinks “it’s going to be an extra-great year for Seattle” as he is “hearing” the NBA Board of Governors are “likely to vote on expanding by two teams this summer and Las Vegas and Seattle are favored.” The next day, the Mariners started getting to work at spring training as they look to build upon their AL West title and ALCS appearance in 2025. And members of the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent and NHL’s Seattle Kraken have been excelling in women’s and men’s hockey action at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
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