Glad to listen to the NBA is lastly going to get round to growth, a technique or one other, in 2026. However the subsequent correct noun out of Adam Silver’s mouth on the topic subsequent yr had higher be “Seattle.”
This has gone on lengthy sufficient. The Emerald Metropolis, by no fault of its personal, has been with out an NBA workforce for 17 years. It has watched the workforce it as soon as had and supported for 40 years, the SuperSonics, transfer to Oklahoma Metropolis in 2008 and turn out to be the league’s present champion — the Thunder, a workforce with a telegenic celebrity, an undeniably profitable tradition and a rabid fan base. And after profitable the title final June, the Thunder is about as much as turn out to be a dynasty in brief order.
TL;DR: Your ex is flourishing. Remarried. And looking out goooood.
Silver, in a information convention in Las Vegas earlier than Tuesday’s NBA Cup closing between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs, mentioned the league, lastly, is able to determine whether or not to develop past its present 30-team construction, which it’s had since 2004, by one or two groups. Silver advised The Athletic after the information convention that the NBA was centering its give attention to Seattle and Las Vegas, two cities lengthy rumored to be the favorites if and when the league expands.
“Not a secret we’re this market in Las Vegas,” Silver mentioned Tuesday. “We’re Seattle. We’ve checked out different markets, as properly. I’d say I need to be delicate there about this notion that we’re someway teasing these markets, as a result of I do know we’ve been speaking about it for some time. … I believe Seattle and Las Vegas are two unbelievable cities. Clearly, we had a workforce in Seattle that had nice success. We’ve got a WNBA workforce in Las Vegas within the Aces. We’ve been enjoying the summer time league right here for 20 years. We’re enjoying our cup video games right here, so we’re very conversant in this market.
“I don’t have any doubt that Las Vegas, regardless of the entire different major-league groups which are right here now, the opposite leisure properties, that this metropolis might help an NBA workforce. I believe now we’re within the technique of working with our groups and gauging the extent of curiosity and having a greater understanding of what the economics can be on the bottom for these specific groups and what a professional forma would appear to be for them. After which someday in 2026, we’ll make a dedication.”
It’s not a given, nonetheless, {that a} closing selection will likely be made by the league’s governors within the subsequent 12 months. Two high-ranking workforce executives contacted by The Athletic Wednesday, who spoke on situation of anonymity in an effort to converse freely about delicate discussions, indicated some uncertainty about whether or not there can be a call.
“I do imagine we handle it,” one govt mentioned, but additionally added there was “no consensus” about whether or not to develop in any respect, or to develop by one or two groups.
The opposite govt guessed at “barely higher” than 50/50 odds that there can be decision of the growth query in 2026.
The difficulty, after all, begins and ends with cash. The brand new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal that started this season — with video games broadcast by NBC and ABC on over-the-air tv, ESPN on cable, NBC’s streaming platform Peacock and the video subscription service Amazon Prime — practically tripled the NBA’s earlier contract to televise its video games. It’s a big injection of latest cash — a rise of just about $40 million per workforce per yr over final yr’s media payouts, based on Sports activities Enterprise Journal — reaching a most $280.5 million per workforce within the closing season of the deal, 2035-36.
The NBA has additionally had its consideration on its proposed NBA Europe league, in addition to finalizing the gross sales of the Los Angeles Lakers (at a valuation of $10 billion), the Boston Celtics (a $6.1 billion valuation sale) and the Portland Path Blazers ($4.25 billion). Every NBA Europe workforce can even pay a hefty value for admission. All these transactions will solely push the value of admission for growth cities additional north. Business sources now imagine the growth buy-in value will likely be possible north of $7 billion per workforce/metropolis.
Silver “won’t be shy,” one business supply mentioned.
The league’s present groups have been reluctant to instantly usher in two new markets by way of growth, at the same time as many governors proceed to imagine that Seattle ought to in the end be made complete. Bringing in a single or two groups cuts the slice of the monetary pie every of the present groups presently take pleasure in for themselves. However there’s precedent for growth groups coming into the league not instantly getting a minimize of its nationwide TV cash.
The 4 ABA groups that joined the NBA in 1976 — the Denver Nuggets, New York Nets, Spurs and Indiana Pacers — didn’t, as a requirement of the merger between the NBA and ABA, obtain any nationwide TV cash throughout their first three years within the league. There’s nothing to maintain at this time’s NBA groups from demanding an analogous monetary sacrifice for growth groups/cities coming on this time round. Nor does it essentially have to come back on the entrance finish of the deal.
Invoice Simmons mentioned on his podcast final month that there was “Vegas buzz” constructing for the NBA to develop to Las Vegas solely in its subsequent spherical of growth. The discuss has bounced between one and two groups for the previous couple of years, but when the NBA solely expanded by one metropolis, it might, a minimum of for some time, deal with convention imbalance.
Increasing by two makes extra sense, financially and by way of convention realignment. However in both case, Seattle must be on the high of the record.
The financial argument for Seattle stays apparent. Town’s inhabitants grew considerably from 2010 to 2020 and has elevated one other 6 p.c between 2020 and 2024, with its present estimate at greater than 780,000, based on the U.S. Census Bureau, retaining it within the high 20 nationally. The enterprise group stays anchored by company behemoths like Amazon (thought a few of its company infrastructure has left the town), Microsoft, Starbucks, Costco and Zillow. Seattle correct continues to be a top-10 main metropolis in annual earnings. Sammamish, about 30 miles from Seattle, had the best median earnings of any metropolis in the US in 2025, based on U.S. Information and World Report, at $238,750.
And whereas over-the-air TV scores now not are the only real determinant of who’s watching video games, the town continues to be a top-20 Nielsen tv market.
There is also the matter of a workforce that, properly into the early 2000s, was one of many hardest to play — not simply because the Sonics had Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp all through the Nineties, however due to a hoops-mad native tradition in a metropolitan space that produced the likes of Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy, Doug Christie (now the Sacramento Kings’ head coach) and Spencer Hawes again within the day, and present gamers like Paolo Banchero, Dejounte Murray and Jaden McDaniels.
Every thing has been arrange for just a few years now in Seattle for an NBA return.
The previous Key Enviornment, now Local weather Pledge Enviornment, the place the Sonics performed for many of their 4 a long time in Seattle, has been fully renovated and is NBA prepared. The possession group for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, now enjoying its fifth season in Local weather Pledge, is stuffed with former NBA individuals, individuals who Silver has identified and will personally vet. Samantha Holloway, the Kraken’s majority proprietor, is the daughter of the late David Bonderman, the co-founder and co-majority proprietor of the Kraken and a former minority proprietor of the Celtics. Tod Leiweke, the Kraken’s CEO and president, has been an NBA govt for the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Blazers. Brothers Chris and Ted Ackerley, minority homeowners of the Kraken, are the sons of the Sonics’ former longtime proprietor Barry Ackerley.
Local weather Pledge was developed by the Oak View Group, which manages and develops dozens of arenas and stadiums world wide. Leiweke’s brother Tim, who was president of the Nuggets from 1991-95, was the previous CEO of Oak View, however was indicted by the Justice Division in July for alleged bid rigging on the College of Texas’ Moody Heart, a 15,000-seat venue the place the college’s males’s and girls’s basketball groups play. (Tim Leiweke was pardoned by President Donald Trump earlier this month.) He was changed as CEO by Chris Granger, who was president and COO of the Sacramento Kings from 2013 to 2017.
Oak View has additionally been entrance and heart to assist Vegas in its potential bid for an NBA growth workforce. The corporate had introduced plans in 2022 for a 20,000-seat, $3 billion area, which might be a part of a resort/on line casino venture, on 66 acres south of the Las Vegas Strip close to the 2 predominant freeways that run by Vegas, Interstate 15 and Interstate 215. However Tim Leiweke’s authorized issues reportedly have slowed the corporate’s momentum towards constructing the brand new area. One other improvement firm, LVXP, has plans for its personal NBA area/resort/on line casino mixed-use venture in Vegas.
Nothing towards Sin Metropolis — which has supported the NBA Summer season League, the Aces, the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders (properly, a minimum of the followers of the groups that come to Allegiant Stadium to play the Raiders) — or Mexico Metropolis or Kansas Metropolis or Louisville or Paris. All terrific cities with their very own taste. However Seattle acquired bought a invoice of products a era in the past — when its beloved workforce was bought out from beneath it.
To be crystal clear: Clay Bennett did nothing unlawful, or immoral, after he and his group purchased the workforce from Starbucks magnate Howard Schulz. However everybody with a functioning cerebral cortex knew what was going to occur subsequent. Bennett, born and raised in Oklahoma Metropolis and who was inducted into the Oklahoma Corridor of Fame in 2007, and who had been instrumental in serving to the New Orleans Hornets quickly transfer to Oklahoma Metropolis to play for 2 years after Hurricane Katrina, determined to go away Seattle after perfunctory makes an attempt at understanding a take care of the town, and moved the Sonics again to his hometown.
The transfer has been, by any metric, wildly profitable.
However Seattle was nonetheless achieved mistaken. And the NBA should, lastly, make it proper.
