The NBA’s next expansion to its 30-team roster is not too far out on the horizon, and the cities emerging as leading candidates seem clear to the league and to the fans.
A report by Morning Consult showed that basketball fans would be most interested in the league’s next two expansion teams being placed in Las Vegas and Seattle, respectively.
The survey, which was of 1,178 basketball fans in the US from Aug. 3 to 4, showed that about 56% of basketball fans would be either “very” or “somewhat” interested in an expansion team in Las Vegas, and about 48% would be interested in a team in Seattle.
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said last month that the league will explore expansion after it finalizes its next media rights deal, which expires at the conclusion of the 2024-25 NBA season. The last time the league added a new franchise was in 2004 with the Charlotte Bobcats who are now the Charlotte Hornets.
Silver also cited Las Vegas and Seattle as markets that will be looked at by the league.
Las Vegas has continued to become a hotbed for sports, and the city has added several pro sports teams over the last few years including the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, the 2022 WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces, and the 2023 Stanley Cup Champion Las Vegas Golden Knights.
The NBA has also utilized Las Vegas already with its Summer League taking place in Sin City for nearly two decades. Its inaugural In-Season Tournament is also going to hold the semifinals and finals in Las Vegas in December.
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Seattle lost its franchise -- the Seattle SuperSonics -- in 2008 when the team moved to Oklahoma City. The franchise had been in Seattle since 1967, and an already established fan base would be a great base for a new team.
The Morning Consult research also showed that the top reason most sports fans choose to be fans of their teams is because they “grew up watching the play.”
U.S. basketball fans are more interested in an NBA franchise in Las Vegas over Seattle, per new research.
— Mark J. Burns (@markjburns88) August 23, 2023
(📊 @MorningConsult Aug. 2023 survey) pic.twitter.com/nqHBabUYm0
Other teams on the survey list include Louisville (41% interest), Kansas City (40%), Vancouver (38%), and a pair of internationally cities in Paris, France (36%), and Mexico City, Mexico (34%).
Silver mentioned the interest of Mexico City in June, and the city already has a G-League team in the Mexico City Capitanes
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