SEATTLE — The NBA is moving closer to expansion, with the league set to vote later this month on whether to begin exploring adding teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.
A league source independently confirmed with KOMO News that the NBA will hold a vote at the Board of Governors meetings March 24-25 to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, with the two franchises targeted for the 2028-29 season.
Shams Charania was first to report the news on ESPN.
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Charania reported there is momentum for stakeholders to approve surveying what industry executives project will be bids in the $7 billion-to-$10 billion range for each team.
The league source said that the number did not come from the NBA offices, and there would be no timeline set for a final decision. But if history is any guide, the last time the NBA voted to expand to Charlotte was in December of 2002, with the franchise starting in 2004. Any bid would also likely have to include marketing, ticketing, and digital rights plans.
A bid could also include plans for a new NBA team headquarters. Business and real estate insiders have long speculated that a new Sonics franchise would build a facility on the old Northgate Mall site, which currently houses the Kraken Community Iceplex and is owned by the family of Herb Simon, who also owns the NBA's Indiana Pacers and the WNBA's Indiana Fever.
“This first vote will allow the league to explore purchase processes for Las Vegas and Seattle,” Charania wrote. He added that there could be a final vote later in the year to finalize transactions to expand the league to 32 teams, “if bids reach the necessary threshold.”
Charania reported that in both voting rounds, 23 of the NBA’s 30 governors must vote in favor.
SuperSonics 2028?
In Seattle, the possibility of the SuperSonics’ return has again become a major topic among fans, with local and state leaders signaling interest in bringing the NBA back to the city.
Seattle had been without an NBA team since 2008, when the Sonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. The Sonics played in the league from 1967 through 2008 before leaving because of a dispute over the KeyArena lease, which owner Clay Bennett said was outdated.
The venue underwent extensive renovations from 2018 to 2021 and is now Climate Pledge Arena, where the Seattle Kraken and WNBA's Seattle Storm play.
Before the Super Bowl, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he had an introductory phone call with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to express his interest in bringing the Sonics back. Ferguson had originally suggested he was meeting with the commissioner in his public schedule released by his office on Feb. 5.
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But Ferguson’s spokesperson, Brionna Aho, told KOMO News, “As a kid, the governor grew up attending many Sonics games and attending the Lenny Wilkens basketball camp. The governor recently reached out to Commissioner Adam Silver, requesting an introductory meeting. They had a good conversation, and the governor offered to be helpful.”
The governor’s office first characterized the discussion as a phone call between the two men, but later said they “met” on ZOOM.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass told KOMO News, “Governor Ferguson initiated the call to introduce himself to Commissioner Silver, and they had a good conversation.”
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington said Seattle’s recent sports successes have helped showcase the city to the NBA.
“It’s been a very big year for sports in Seattle,” Cantwell said just before taking part in the championship parade. “This is an unbelievable, epic championship. The Mariners came close. People are looking at that again, the Kraken, and now we have the (Torrent). But we want our Sonics back, and we’re glad that the NBA is finally saying it’s going to start a process to consider two expansion teams.”
RELATED: Washington Sen. Cantwell says NBA will move forward on expansion in March
Cantwell said she hopes the league moves forward soon.
“I hope that they will do this later in March, which starts that consideration, and that we’ll know soon what’s going to happen,” she said.
When asked where she got the March timeline, she said, “I think that's when their next big discussion is, so they're going to start a process, and when they start that process, they'll say, ' Where could we expand to?”
Cantwell also told KOMO News she believes the NBA will begin discussing a potential expansion process as soon as next month and said Seattle is ready.
“It’s just an exuberant moment,” Cantwell said while attending the Seahawks’ Super Bowl celebration.
The Washington Democrat, who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said she has been led to believe that the NBA will address expansion during meetings in March.
“We want a basketball team here in Seattle, and hopefully the NBA is moving toward a discussion of expansion this March,” Cantwell said.
When asked why she believes March could be pivotal, Cantwell said, “I think that’s when their next big discussion is. So they’re going to start a process, and when they start that process, they’ll say, ‘Where could we expand to?’”
She immediately posted on X this morning. "It's good news that the NBA wants to hold an expansion discussion in March. What a great month for basketball. There is no better and more deserving city than Seattle if you want to talk about expansion. HUGE fan base plus history equals a great future for the NBA in Seattle."
One major roadblock
Even as expansion talk builds, a proposed millionaires tax that passed the Washington Legislature and is heading to the governor’s desk could have ripple effects on Seattle’s professional teams, along with any effort to bring the NBA back to the city.
“People, including myself, want the Sonics back, but we don’t want to harm any kind of roadway or path that it takes to get those Sonics back,” State House Budget Chair Travis Couture, R-Allyn, told KOMO News on Feb. 23.
Couture said athletes can face higher overall tax bills depending on where they play, and he believes the proposal could have “a more chilling effect” on recruiting free agents to Washington’s existing teams.