NBA to make expansion decision in 2026, league commissioner says

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league should have clarity on the potential to expand to new markets, including Las Vegas, sometime in 2026.

During a news conference at T-Mobile Arena ahead of the NBA Cup championship game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, Silver said the conversations with league owners are ongoing and Las Vegas and Seattle are still among the markets being eyed as expansion city targets.

Silver again highlighted that expanding the NBA domestically is essentially selling equity in the league, going from 30 teams to 32, which isn’t the case as the league also looks at creating global leagues.

“It’s a much more difficult economic analysis,” Silver said. “It requires predicting the future at the same time Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities.

“Obviously, we had a team in Seattle. They had great success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas, the Aces. We’ve had the summer league here for 20 years. We’ve played our Cup games here, so we’re very familiar with (Las Vegas).”

Many options in Las Vegas

Las Vegas has a bevy of entertainment options and already is home to the NFL, NHL, WNBA and the MLB set to begin on the Strip in 2028 when the Athletics finish building their $2 billion ballpark. Still, Silver said he has no doubts the NBA would be successful in Southern Nevada.

“Despite all the major league teams that are here now and other entertainment properties, that this city could support an NBA team,” Silver said. “I think we’re in a process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest.

“Having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for the particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them. Then sometime in 2026 we will make a determination.”

The NBA has been eyeing expansion for several years, with Silver addressing the situation several times over the years with events in Las Vegas and other new conferences tied to key events, such as the NBA Finals. With a new collective bargaining agreement in place and a new media rights deal signed, the league began an earnest exploration of expansion.

“I want to be sensitive there, about this notion that we’re somehow teasing these markets,” Silver said. “Because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while.”

Las Vegas a basketball city

Basketball hall of famer James Worthy said having a NBA team in Las Vegas make sense. He said the city is a basketball town, traced to the heyday of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels and the success over the last several years with the area’s professional sports teams.

“It’s already got a lot of buzz about it,” Worthy told the Review-Journal on Tuesday. “When you look at what the Raiders have been able to do with football and I think hockey has grown here.

“I wish they would do the NBA All-Star Game here every year. It’s destination that people will come. . … I think people would travel here and I think it’s a great professional city.”

With the NBA already hosting the Summer League in Las Vegas for two decades, the NBA Cup finale for three straight years and the All-Star Game in 2007, Worthy said the league has been testing Southern Nevada and its readiness to be a franchise city.

“Just to see how people react, how the crowd reacts and who travels here,” Worthy said. “I think they’re (Las Vegas) ready. … I think the NBA loves Vegas.

”I think they’ve been massaging and marinating here for a little bit for the future (expansion), which I think will be in the next couple of years. I know Seattle wants a team, but I think Las Vegas will be top priority.”