NBA to Vote on Las Vegas, Seattle Expansion for 2028-29
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- The NBA will hold its first expansion vote at next week's board of governors meeting, with both voting rounds requiring approval from 23 of 30 owners to add Las Vegas and Seattle franchises by 2028-29.
- Industry executives project expansion franchise proposals in the $7-10 billion range per team, with both Las Vegas and Seattle expected to rank among the NBA's top eight revenue markets.
- Some owners remain hesitant about expansion because their league equity would dilute from 1/30 to 1/32, and want to see final bid valuations and franchise fees before committing.
- Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City over a KeyArena lease dispute; the renovated Climate Pledge Arena now hosts the NHL's Kraken and WNBA's Storm.
- League executives expect either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies to shift to the Eastern Conference to balance the conferences at 16 teams each once the two new West teams join.
- Recent franchise sales underscore the valuation surge driving expansion timing: the Lakers sold for a record $10 billion in 2025, the Celtics for $6.1 billion, and the Trail Blazers for $4.25 billion.
Why it matters: Adding two franchises at $7-10 billion each would generate $14-20 billion in expansion fees alone, but the 23-of-30 supermajority threshold means a small bloc of equity-dilution-wary owners can still block the move. Existing owners face a direct tradeoff: long-term revenue from two top-eight markets versus their slice shrinking from 3.33% to 3.125% per share.
