The NBA’s board of governors has approved a vote for the league to explore bids and applicants for expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle.
All 30 owners voted in favor of exploring Las Vegas and Seattle expansion, sources told ESPN. A bidding process is expected to generate offers in the $7-10 billion range for each team, according to sources.
Sources told ESPN last week that the league is targeting the 2028-29 season for the two expansion franchises to start playing.
The vote starts the NBA’s process of expanding to 32 teams. Multiple high-ranking officials have termed expansion as “when, not if.”
“Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle — two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Wednesday. “We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”
Silver will hold a news conference later Wednesday to discuss next steps. The league said investment bank PJT Partners has been brought on “as a strategic adviser to evaluate prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure, and the broader economic implications of expansion.”
The league will examine Seattle and Las Vegas bids over the next several months, and whether to execute the new franchise purchases in 2026 or in a few years. There will be a potential final vote later this year to finalize the transactions to 32 teams. In both voting rounds, 23 of 30 governors must vote in favor.
A growing number of owners are believed to support expansion because of the long-term revenue growth for the league from the Las Vegas and Seattle markets.
The NHL had two of its recent expansions come in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights (2017) and Seattle with the Kraken (2021). In the NFL, the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020, and Major League Baseball’s Athletics are in the process of doing the same for the 2028 season.
Las Vegas also has been home to the WNBA’s Aces since 2018. The Aces are three-time champions (2022, 2023, 2025) since the move.
Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and changed their name to the Thunder. The Sonics played in the NBA from 1967 through 2008 before leaving because of a dispute about the lease for KeyArena, which owner Clay Bennett said was outdated. The venue underwent extensive renovations from 2018 to 2021 and is now Climate Pledge Arena, where the Kraken and WNBA’s Storm play.
Over the past four years, franchise valuations have surged. Mat Ishbia purchased the Phoenix Suns in December 2022 for a then-record $4 billion valuation. In 2025, that record was topped multiple times: The Boston Celtics were sold to Bill Chisholm for a $6.1 billion valuation, then the Los Angeles Lakers went from the Buss family to Mark Walter for $10 billion, which remains the largest sum ever for a U.S. professional sports team. The Portland Trail Blazers also sold to Tom Dundon in August 2025 for $4.25 billion.
Executives across the NBA expect either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies to move to the East to realign conferences with 16 each when Seattle and Las Vegas become West teams.
The NBA last expanded in 2004 with Charlotte.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.