The NBA could soon be undergoing one of its biggest changes in decades. If the NBA expansion plans are approved, one of the two Western Conference teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Memphis Grizzlies, will shift to the East. This would allow the NBA to add two new teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.
The process begins later this month.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the NBA Board of Governors will vote during meetings on March 24 and 25 to explore expansion into Las Vegas and Seattle. The vote does not immediately create the new teams. Instead, it would allow the league to begin formal bidding for ownership groups interested in purchasing the franchises.
The numbers involved are enormous.
Industry executives expect bids between $7-10 billion for each team. Those valuations would immediately rank among the highest in professional sports and reflect the dramatic rise in franchise value across the league. The Los Angeles Lakers recently sold for a $10 billion evaluation, while the Boston Celtics sold for more than $6 billion.
Owners see expansion as a long-term financial win.
Adding two teams would raise the total number of NBA franchises to 32. However, expansion also creates a logistical issue that the league must solve. Both Las Vegas and Seattle are expected to join the Western Conference, which would leave the West with too many teams.
That is where realignment enters the picture.
League executives expect either Minnesota or Memphis to move to the East to balance the conferences at sixteen teams each. Both franchises currently compete in the Western Conference, even though geographically they sit closer to many Eastern teams than several Western rivals.
Minnesota has long been viewed as the most likely candidate. The Wolves already travel more than any team in the league, as several of their Western Conference rivals are on the Pacific coast. Moving Minnesota to the East would reduce travel and create regional rivalries with teams in Chicago and Milwaukee.
Memphis is also another option. The Grizzlies are based in Tennessee, closer to several East teams than to most West teams. A shift to the East could create a more logical travel map and could create exciting matchups.
If the governors approve the exploratory vote this month, a second vote later in 2026 would finalize the expansion process. Both votes require approval from twenty-three of the league’s thirty owners. If everything proceeds according to the current timeline, the two expansion teams would begin play in the 2028-2029 season.
That change would reshape the NBA map and send either Minnesota or Memphis to a completely new conference for the first time in franchise history.
