NBA Commissioner Announces 2026 Expansion Decision, Eyes Las Vegas and Seattle

In a move that could reshape the NBA’s landscape, commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that the league will decide on adding two new teams by 2026, with Las Vegas and Seattle leading the pack.

NBA Expansion: A Timeline

Silver said the NBA will make a decision on domestic expansion in the coming year, offering the most definitive timeline since the league began exploring the possibility of moving from 30 to 32 teams. He added that the league is “in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we’ll make a determination.”

Market Focus: Las Vegas and Seattle

“Not a secret, we’re looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle,” Silver said before the NBA Cup final between San Antonio and New York. “We’ve looked at other markets as well. I’d say I want to be sensitive there about this notion that we’re somehow teasing these markets, because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while.”

He highlighted the appeal of both cities: “I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two incredible cities,” he added. “Obviously we had a team in Seattle that had great success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas in the Aces. I don’t have any doubt that Las Vegas, despite all of the other major league teams that are here now, the other entertainment properties, that this city could support an NBA team.”

Seattle’s history as the home of the SuperSonics until 2008 and Las Vegas’s existing WNBA presence give the league a solid foundation for potential expansion.

NBA Cup Finals and Streaming

Silver also revealed on Amazon Prime Video’s pre‑game show for the NBA Cup final that the title game of the tournament may move away from Las Vegas. He said, “Some storied college arenas,” and added, “We’re looking at other ways we can do this.”

Semifinal games in the Cup will be played at No. 1 seed home sites starting next season, so the concept of a final four in Las Vegas was going to change in 2026 anyway.

Viewership Highlights

The move to a streaming service hasn’t deterred fans. Saturday night’s semifinals on Prime Video — in its first season as a league broadcast partner — averaged 1.67 million viewers, a 14 % increase over last season’s semifinals. The Saturday doubleheader, featuring San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City and New York vs. Toronto, saw a 126 % year‑over‑year increase in social media views, with more than 400 million views across all platforms.

European Expansion Plans

Silver hinted that there might be news next month about the NBA’s project with FIBA to start a league in Europe. The league is set to play regular‑season games in Berlin and London next month when Orlando and Memphis head over for a pair of matchups.

“We’re casting a very, very wide net right now and essentially saying to anyone who’s interested, come see our bankers, explain to us why you’re interested, how you view the opportunity, what resources you would put behind opening a team, and then we’re taking all that information back,” Silver said. “And then I think sometime in late January, or in January, we’ll be in a position to have more serious conversations with those interested parties.”

Key Takeaways

• The NBA will decide on expansion to 32 teams by 2026, with Las Vegas and Seattle at the forefront.
• The Cup final venue may shift from Las Vegas, with semifinals moving to No. 1 seed home sites.
• Prime Video’s first season as a broadcast partner saw a 14 % rise in viewership and a 126 % jump in social media engagement.
• The league is actively courting European expansion partners and will have deeper talks in January.

The league’s bold moves across domestic expansion, streaming strategy, and international outreach signal a new era of growth and innovation for the NBA.