NBA Expansion Teams for Las Vegas, Seattle Reportedly Eyed, What's Timeline for Vote & Debut Season?

The NBA reportedly could be on the verge of expansion later this month.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the league will hold a vote at the next Board of Governors meetings on March 24-25 regarding the addition of expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, with the two franchises targeted to debut during the 2028-29 season. Charania added that there's "momentum for stakeholders to approve" the teams amid expected bids "in the $7-to-$10 billion range" for each team.

The last time the league expanded was in 2004 with the Charlotte franchise. The league hasn't had a team in Seattle since 2008 when the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder. A new franchise in Las Vegas would follow the footsteps of the NHL, NFL, WNBA and MLB in bringing teams to Sin City.

Charania noted that industry executives "estimate that both markets would be among the NBA's top-eight revenue generators." He went on to explain the requirements to secure expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.

"This marks the first of multiple critical steps toward NBA expansion. This first vote will allow the league to focus on Las Vegas and Seattle and have a bidding process for the teams," Charania wrote. "There will then be a potential final vote later in the year to finalize the transactions to 32 teams. In both voting rounds, 23 of 30 governors must vote in favor."

Once Las Vegas and Seattle are added as Western Conference teams, Charania noted that "executives across the NBA expect either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies to move to the East to realign conferences with 16 each."

While most NBA team owners appear to be in favor of expansion, it was noted that some of them "remain hesitant on selling some of their shares and having their league equity go from 1/30 to 1/32, and want to see the final valuations of the bids plus the individual franchise fees before deciding whether to expand now or in a few more years."

Sources went on to tell Charania that the NBA is "also moving forward with plans to bring a league to Europe -- with final bids for prospective teams due on March 31."

It appears that the NBA will look quite different in the coming years, with all signs pointing to new franchises being established sooner rather than later.