Matt Reigle
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The NBA could soon be adding two new teams — one in Las Vegas and the other in Seattle — if new reports are to be believed.
The feeling is that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will announce the league’s plans during a pair of preseason series scheduled in those cities.
The Los Angeles Clippers will play a pair of preseason games in Seattle on September 30 and October 3. Their arena mates, the Los Angeles Lakers, will play preseason games in Vegas on October 5 and 6.
The news was attributed to AP Sports writer Willie G. Ramierez, on September 7, but he has since deleted the tweet.
Fortunately, someone was quick with the screenshot.
Of course, Seattle has been home to an NBA team before, but Vegas will be a brand new market for the league.
Vegas has proven itself to be a solid sports town with the NHL and NFL bringing the Vegas Golden Knights and Las Vegas Raiders to town in recent years,
If this rumored expansion plan goes forward, the league will balloon from 30 teams to 32 teams.
Us The NBA Using The NHL’s Expansion Blueprint?
Still, I can’t help but feel like the NBA copied the NHL’s homework on this one. The NHL’s 31st and 32nd franchises were also placed in Vegas and Seattle. The Golden Knights started play in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2022.
Both of those teams — especially the Golden Knights —proved to be successful forays into previously uncharted territory.
Certainly, it makes sense that the NBA would want in on those markets. They could even house their new clubs in the same arenas as their NHL cousins.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out, and what the teams will be called if it works out.
I think most of us are on the same page that it’s a big missed opportunity if they don’t revive the SuperSonics.
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As I recall, when “he who shall not be named” moved the original Supersonics out of Seattle to Oklahoma City, the agreement was put in place to retain the Supersonics history if (or, more likely, when) the NBA returns to Seattle. The Thunder, technically speaking, were considered an expansion franchise when they began play about 10-15 years ago, similar to how the Baltimore Ravens were essentially a brand new franchise after relocating from Cleveland, saving the Browns franchise history for when the club resumed operations in 1999.