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NBA commissioner says two-team expansion is "very likely"

Al Sciola
Al Sciola
|
Feb 19 2024, 2:59 pm
NBA commissioner says two-team expansion is "very likely"
Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Over the past year, there have been multiple indications that the NBA was looking to expand.

During All-Star Weekend — less than one week after confirming that Las Vegas was “definitely” an expansion candidate — NBA commissioner Adam Silver gave fans a clearer idea of when the league could add new franchises.

“We have labor peace through 2030 and now we have to get our TV deal done which will expire at the end of next year,” Silver told TNT ahead of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game. “Once we do that, we’ll know what our television landscape will look like and we’re going to turn to expansion.”

Silver also confirmed how many teams the NBA would be looking to add this time around.

“It will likely be two teams. It makes sense for an organization to grow over time.”

When asked why the 30-team league hasn’t made the move earlier, Silver revealed that he had concerns about a “dilution of talent”, but no longer does.

“One of the reasons we hadn’t expanded earlier was because even though the best players in the world come to this league, I think we were concerned about the dilution of talent. But look at the amount of talent in the league now,” he explained. “Look how many great teams we have with great players….There are great cities out there that want teams and I think there’s enough great players in the world that we could field two more teams.”

The NBA last expanded 20 years ago, growing to 30 teams in 2004 when the Charlotte Bobcats joined, after the Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002.

Then, in 2014, the Bobcats changed their name to the Charlotte Hornets and reclaimed the history of the original Hornets. This made the New Orleans Pelicans, formerly the Hornets, officially recognized as a new team created in 2002.

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