Discussions about expansion teams are very common around the NBA in recent months. After all the events happening globally and in the United States, the league is reportedly considering adding one or two more teams to the 30 that already exist.
The NBA lost a lot of money after the COVID-19 pandemic struck the US and affected the 2019/20 season. The bubble was salvation for them, but that’s not it for the association.
Expanding the number of teams in the league looks like a more likely possibility every day, and fans are all-in. Michael Grange of Sportsnet reports that this option is seen with good eyes, especially after a global pandemic hit them.
It’s widely believed the NBA will expand for the first time since rounding out to 30 teams in 2004 partly to recoup losses from the pandemic. Returning to Seattle as part of the process is almost a given (with Las Vegas as the other likely city) now that the arena issues that led to the Supersonics leaving for Oklahoma City in 2008 have been resolved.
Seattle fans have been asking for the return of the Supersonics or the creation of a new team ever since they left and relocated to OKC. It seems like their wish will be granted by the league, but now this is a matter of when.
As for the other city, that seems to be unclear. Las Vegas appears to be the frontrunner to accompany Seattle, but time will tell if this becomes a reality.
