Report: NBA is ‘targeting’ 2027-28 season for expansion

Report: NBA is ‘targeting’ 2027-28 season for expansion

When discussing with reporters last week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated that expansion didn’t come up in his latest meeting with the NBA’s Board of Governors, but would be a topic of discussion at some point during the 2024-25 season, which is set to begin Oct. 22.

According to an ESPN FAQ on expansion published Tuesday, we now have an official “target” date for when the league could expand.

“With Silver not yet fully committing to expanding and keeping the timeline for even beginning the process undefined, both sides — league sources and people who are working on forming bidding groups — are targeting the 2027-28 season,” ESPN’s report read. “Although starting in 2026-27 isn’t impossible, it has become more unrealistic.”

“That might seem like a long time, especially for fans in cities waiting for a team. But the process will have several phases: deciding whether to expand, picking cities, selecting ownership groups in what could be an expansive bidding process, and allowing for the new team or teams to build up infrastructure.”

The NBA’s new TV deal will begin in 2025-26, bringing in over $75 billion over the ensuing 11 seasons–more than triple what the current media rights deal is profiting ($24 billion).

At this point, we don’t know what two cities would land an NBA franchise, though you could likely tag Las Vegas and Seattle–which held the SuperSonics for over four decades–as those “favorites.”

“The widespread belief among league and team sources that we have talked to is that Seattle and Las Vegas are the logical landing points for a pair of new expansion teams. But that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be some twists and turns in the process,” the report read. “If there is another city to jump into the mix, the most likely one to do so is Mexico City. The most populous city in North America, the capital of Mexico has been a consistent host of NBA regular-season games since 1992, and the 33 games played there since then are the most anywhere outside of the United States and Canada.”

There’s a talent influx throughout the NBA; while it’s always been talented, the league is as talented as it’s ever been. It needs to expand at some point. Silver knows that. Everyone knows it. Now it’s just a matter of when, not if–and now we have a possible when!

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