Las Vegas and Seattle are the
front-runners if NBA expansion to 32 teams happens
[December 17, 2025]
By TIM REYNOLDS
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA plans to make a decision regarding domestic
expansion in the coming year, Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday,
offering the most definitive timeline since the league began
exploring the possibility of moving from 30 to 32 teams.
And if there are favorites, as has long been expected, Las Vegas and
Seattle are at the top of the list.
“Not a secret, we’re looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are
looking at Seattle,” Silver said before the NBA Cup final between
San Antonio and New York. “We’ve looked at other markets as well.
I’d say I want to be sensitive there about this notion that we’re
somehow teasing these markets, because I know we’ve been talking
about it for a while.”
Expansion has been a topic for years in the NBA, and it's no secret
that Seattle — which had a team until the SuperSonics were moved to
Oklahoma City in 2008 — and Las Vegas have long been clamoring for
franchises.
“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. ... I don’t have any
doubt that Las Vegas, despite all of the other major league teams
that are here now, the other entertainment properties, that this
city could support an NBA team.
“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.”
Cup future
Silver revealed on Amazon Prime Video's pregame show for the NBA Cup
final that the title game of the tournament may move away from Las
Vegas.
Among the sites under consideration: “Some storied college arenas,”
Silver said. “We're looking at other ways we can do this.”
Semifinal games in the Cup will be played at No. 1 seed home sites
starting next season, so the concept of a final four in Las Vegas
was going to change in 2026 anyway.
Cup viewership increases
Going to a streaming service hasn't prevented fans from watching the
NBA Cup.
Saturday night's semifinals on Prime Video — in its first season as
a league broadcast partner — averaged 1.67 million viewers, a 14%
increase over last season's semifinals.
And Saturday's doubleheader — San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City and New
York vs. Toronto — saw a 126% year-over-year increase in social
media views, the league said, with more than 400 million views
across all platforms.
NBA Europe plans
Silver hinted that there might be some news next month on the plans
for the NBA's project with FIBA to start a league in Europe.
That makes sense, with the league set to play regular-season games
in Berlin and London next month when Orlando and Memphis go over for
a pair of matchups.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots the ball near
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jalen Williams (8) in the second half of
an NBA Cup semifinals basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in
Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)
“I would say we’re casting a very, very wide net
right now and essentially saying to anyone who’s interested, come
see our bankers, explain to us why you’re interested, how you view
the opportunity, what resources you would put behind opening a team,
and then we’re taking all that information back,” Silver said. “And
then I think sometime in late January, or in January, we’ll be in a
position to have more serious conversations with those interested
parties.”
Chris Paul's future
Silver said he got the news on Chris Paul being sent home by the Los
Angeles Clippers the same way basically everyone else did: He
checked his phone in the middle of the night.
“I will say I was dismayed just for everyone involved,” Silver said.
“As you know, I’m particularly close to Chris because he was
president of the Players Association many years. ... I would love to
see him finish off the season on another team. He’s already
announced this is his last season, so I’d love to see him finish
strong.”
Silver said it's not his role “to cross-examine the participants”
and added that he hasn't talked to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer
about what happened.
“It’s an unfortunate situation that it ended the way it did,” Silver
said. “So, I’m focused, and I hope Chris is now, on the future.”
Silver says WNBA talks are progressing
Silver said he and NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum are available
to help the WNBA and its players strike a new labor deal, if needed.
Silver said he's “optimistic” a deal will get done.
“I’m tracking things very closely,” Silver said. “We’re integrated
at the league office. I talk to the people who are at the
negotiating table on a daily basis. As I’ve said before, we, the
NBA-WNBA collective, acknowledged that our players deserve to be
paid significantly more than they have so far based on the increased
success of the league. It’s just a question now of finding a meeting
of the minds in terms of what is a fair deal. It’s going to require
compromise on both sides.”
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