A decisive vote for the league’s future 
The NBA’s expansion plan has moved from talk to the boardroom. League leadership is putting a formal opening of the file to its board of governors. Meetings are set for 24 and 25 March. The goal is clear: add two new teams. ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news that the vote is imminent. The proposal needs 23 of the 30 current owners to say yes.
Seattle and Las Vegas in pole position
Commissioner Adam Silver stalled this until the new TV deals were wrapped. That’s now done. The pace has picked up. Jumping from 30 to 32 teams suddenly looks likely. Two cities have pulled ahead: Seattle and Las Vegas. The late-March ballot is make-or-break for them. A green light would hand them exclusive negotiation rights and kick off the formal expansion process straight after the meeting.
Must-have sports markets
Seattle is pushing for a SuperSonics comeback — the original franchise decamped to Oklahoma City in 2008, but the city’s hunger for hoops never left. Las Vegas offers a different pitch: a booming pro-sports hub. It already hosts the WNBA’s Aces, the NFL’s Raiders and the NHL’s Golden Knights.
A multi-billion dollar entry ticket
Board approval would only start a long checklist. The league will have to rebalance conferences, rejigger the schedule and redraw revenue splits. Money runs the room. Entry fees are eye-watering — estimated between 7 and 10 billion dollars per team — and that windfall would be handed straight to current owners. The aim is to have both teams on the court for the 2028-2029 season.
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