The NBA is about to undergo some major changes in the near future. According to sports columnist John Canzano, those changes might even include a two-team expansion on the West coast.
Apparently, the announcement will come in 2024, after the NBA’s current media rights deal expires:
The NBA is expected to announce two new expansion teams, in Seattle and Las Vegas, after their media rights deal expires in 2024.
RUMOR: The NBA is expected to announce two new expansion teams, in Seattle and Las Vegas, after their media rights deal expires in 2024.
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— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 24, 2022
It is no surprise that Seattle is poised to make a comeback in the NBA world. For years, they were the home of the SuperSonics before the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. Since then, there has been a major push to have them revived in some way and many prominent voices have advocated for a return:
“I felt like the world ended in Seattle. Because that city and them fans don’t deserve that. They don’t deserve it,” said former Sonics star Gary Payton. “And I’ve been working very hard to get it back. We’re gonna try and get an expansion team and I think. the expansion team is gonna happen. I think with Adam Silver, he knows that we’re gonna add some teams and I think Seattle is one of them teams that he’s going to add and I think that they deserve it. As getting a new hockey team there as the Krakens right now and making the arena that they just built there. I think it’s something that the NBA has to look at. And then I think at the opening of the Krakens in NHL season that Adam Silver was there and he was in the facility. So I think it’s going to happen and when it happens it’s gonna be a great thing.”
Meanwhile, in Vegas, fans have proposed the idea of starting an expansion team for years now. As one of the most exciting and well-known cities in the West, many sports leagues around the country have taken a serious look at spreading to Vegas, including the NHL, which recently started up the Golden Knights.
While a Vegas team would obviously be a risk for the NBA, the city is rich enough in resources, people, and culture to support a basketball team.
It’s an exciting time to be an NBA fan, especially if you live in Vegas or Seattle. With two new teams potentially entering the fold, it will only serve to make things more interesting as players and teams get better.
