NBA Commissioner Name-Drops 2 Cities for Expansion

By Zach Roberts Updated: Mar 10, 2026

Several cities around the country, and maybe the world, would love an NBA franchise. Only a few, perhaps just one, will eventually get a new one, but expansion is coming. That much we know, and now, thanks to Adam Silver's latest comments, we know a little more about where the league might be headed.

Adam Silver Opens Up on NBA Expansion

There are several cities in America that do not currently have an NBA team and would love one. Seattle, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, St. Louis, Nashville, San Diego, and more are all pretty strong sports cities that don't have a basketball team yet.

Among those, two may have just emerged as the favorites. Notably, Seattle had a franchise that is now the Oklahoma City Thunder. They may have one again. At the NBA Cup Final, where the New York Knicks won, in Las Vegas, Silver may have inadvertently revealed the front-runners.

He only named two cities in particular. "I'd say in terms of domestic expansion, that is something we're continuing to look at. It's not a secret we're looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle," the commissioner said via ESPN.

"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," he added. He did admit that it does impact the equity in the league, noting that someone who owns 1/30 of the league would then own 1/32.

Adam Silver Says When Decision Will Be Made

When will these cities know their fates, and when will the NBA be forever changed? Potentially very soon. According to Adam Silver, things are moving quickly. Silver first mentioned the possibility of expansion five years ago. Since then, this idea has been swirling and fermenting for a long time. Now, it's almost ready to be served to the public.

"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," he said.

Then, he followed up by once again mentioning Las Vegas and Seattle. The commissioner even went as far as talking about how successful the SuperSonics were and how well the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA are doing. "We've been playing the summer league here for 20 years," Silver added. "We're playing our Cup games here, so we're very familiar with this market."

Given the rise in sports betting and the overall gambling presence in Las Vegas, it is all but a foregone conclusion that Sin City will get an NBA team. There's an NFL team now, a WNBA team, and there may soon be an MLB team as well. The association would fit right in.

As if to cement that fact, Silver kept talking about the prospect of Vegas. "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," he said.

That essentially means one other city has a chance to get a team. As of now, it looks like Seattle is the frontrunner. However, since they did not keep their team the first time, Silver may be hesitant to put another team there. There is, however, a huge push for a franchise to play there among local fans.

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By Zach Roberts

Zachary Roberts has written in the sports industry for over four years. He's covered the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, Seattle Seahawks, and wider coverage of the NFL, pro golf, NHL, MLB, and NBA. He has worked with ComicBook, Sportskeeda, The Sporting News, and the On SI Network. In his free time, Zachary loves playing video games, watching movies, or reading books.