Two more franchises in the NBA? Answer from 2026!

The NBA has no shortage of projects and the good news is that Adam Silver is getting sharper and sharper. If it is NBA Europe should see the light of day in the fall of 2027from next year we will know more than the expansion of the league with the addition of one, or even two additional franchises.

“Regarding expansion into the United States, this is a topic we continue to study”, said Adam Silver during the press conference ahead of the NBA Cup Finals. “It’s no secret that we’re looking at the Las Vegas market. We’re also looking at Seattle. We’ve studied other markets as well. However, I want to be careful with the idea of ​​hanging something on these cities, because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while. »

Divide the large cake into 32 slices

Adam Silver once again reminded that the problem was firstly economic with a cake of 30 pieces, which will have to be divided into 32.

« As I said before, local expansion – unlike the creation of a new league in Europe – boils down to selling shares in the current championship. If you own 1/30 today. league, you own 1/32. if two teams are added. Therefore, it is a much more complex economic analysis. In many ways, this requires planning for the future. We are currently working with our franchises to gauge their level of interest and better understand what the economic reality on the ground would be for these teams, as well as the corresponding financial projections. Then in 2026 we will make a decision. »

Even if nothing goes through, we know that Seattle and Las Vegas are best positioned to welcome these new franchises. But Mexico City, Vancouver and even St. Louis would also be contenders.

“I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two amazing cities”he concluded. “We had a team in Seattle that was very successful. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas with the Aces. We’ve been hosting the Summer League here for twenty years. We play our NBA Cup games here, so we know this market very well. I have no doubt that Las Vegas, despite the current presence of numerous other major league franchises and other entertainment offerings, could very well support an NBA team.