By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The NBA Board of Governors will vote on March 24-25 to initiate a formal search for expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle, targeting a 32-team league for the 2028-29 season, as reported by ESPN senior NBA insider Shams Charania on Monday.
While the league continues to explore international growth through potential NBA Europe partnerships with FIBA, these domestic additions represent a massive financial windfall for current owners. Industry executives project that individual bids for the Las Vegas and Seattle markets could reach a record-breaking $7 billion to $10 billion per franchise.
With strong momentum among current owners to capitalize on these high-value markets, the expansion process requires a supermajority of 23 out of 30 governors to pass. If this month’s preliminary vote succeeds, a final round of voting is expected later this year to officially finalize the transactions.
Just in: 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, sources tell ESPN. There is momentum for stakeholders to approve… pic.twitter.com/H6AYVdhh7S
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 16, 2026
This expansion would finally end Seattle’s drought, marking a long-awaited homecoming for a city that has been without an NBA franchise since the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. While Seattle looks to reclaim its storied basketball heritage, the expansion would simultaneously establish the first-ever NBA presence in Las Vegas, further cementing the city’s transformation into a global sports mecca. The move builds on years of successful collaboration in Nevada, where Las Vegas has served as the long-term home of the NBA Summer League and acted as the primary venue for the first three editions of the league’s In-Season Tournament, now known as the Emirates NBA Cup.
Adding these two high-value markets will improve the league’s geographic balance, though it will require a future conference realignment.