Adam Silver Says NBA Expansion Decision Will Be Made In 2026

After years of "maybe" and "we're looking into it," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver finally gave fans something concrete: the NBA will decide on expansion sometime in 2026. For basketball fans in Seattle and Las Vegas, this is the closest thing to a green light they've gotten in what feels like forever.

“I‘d say in terms of domestic expansion, that is something we’re continuing to look at,” he told the press before the 2025 NBA Cup Final. “It’s not a secret we’re looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle. We’ve looked at other markets, as well. I’d say I want to be sensitive about this notion that we’re somehow teasing these markets, because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while.”

Here's the thing that Silver keeps emphasizing about domestic expansion: when the league adds new teams, they are literally selling equity in the existing organization. Current owners go from owning a thirtieth of the league to a thirty-second. Take that into consideration, especially when franchises are selling for billions these days. The recent explosion in team valuations has actually complicated matters, making it harder to even figure out what an expansion team should cost.

Seattle feels like a no-brainer. The city's been without basketball since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City nearly 20 years ago, yet the emotions are still present in the Northwest. The market is there, and the history is there, which are reasons enough for a return. Las Vegas, meanwhile, has basically been auditioning for years. They've hosted Summer League for two decades, the WNBA Aces are thriving there, and now, with the NBA Cup finals happening in Vegas, Silver expressed confidence that the city could handle an NBA franchise despite its crowded entertainment landscape.

What's interesting is that Silver seems genuinely aware of not stringing these cities along, despite it feeling like that is what the league has been doing time and again. He acknowledged being sensitive about appearing to tease markets with drawn-out discussions. The 2026 timeline means we're finally moving past vague promises into actual decision-making territory.

If the league gives expansion the green light, fans could see new teams tipping off as early as the 2027–28 season. That would mark the first expansion since Charlotte joined in 2004. With the realignment of a certain number of teams to make balanced Eastern and Western Conferences, a new-look NBA could help revitalize interest in the league that has recently come under scrutiny by fans and media for being boring, repetitive, and lacking competitive interest on behalf of its players.