Rumors of NBA expansion will take a step towards becoming reality later this month, according to a Monday morning report from ESPN’s Shams Charania.
“The NBA will hold a vote at the board of governors meetings next week to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, sources told ESPN, with the two new franchises being targeted to start play in the 2028-29 season,” Charania wrote. “There is momentum within the board of governors and league office to approve moving forward with taking bids for franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.”
Vegas and Seattle have long been the two cities thought most likely to get franchises whenever the league eventually decides to expand. With Charania’s report all but confirming that plan, Boston Celtics fans can take a sigh of relief.
It sounds like Jayson Tatum will avoid the temptation of leaving Boston
There’s no longer any worry, no matter how small, that one of the expansion cities would actually wind up being St. Louis, the hometown of Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
Tatum reps his city at every possible opportunity. He’ll often sport a St. Louis Cardinals hat, consistently adds a St. Louis themed colorway to his signature sneakers, and has reportedly offered financial backing to bring a WNBA team to the city as part of the league’s 2028 expansion.
Who’s to say that he wouldn’t have at least had some temptation to be the face of an upstart franchise in the place he grew up?
Tatum’s current contract runs through the end of the 2028-29 season with a player option for the 2029-30 campaign. Had there been an expansion team planted in St. Louis, he would’ve at least had the option to opt out and join them after their first season -- though big stars don’t hit free agency nowadays.
Aside from the non-existent hypothetical expansion team, there’s been no indication that Tatum would want to leave the Celtics. Why would he, really?
They’ve consistently set him up to play competitive basketball, shown a willingness to spend when the time is right, and of course won an NBA Championship just under two years ago.
He has all the reason in the world to be happy.
Seattle and Vegas will finally get some teams
As do fans in Seattle and Las Vegas.
It sounds like their dreams of having an NBA franchise are quickly turning to reality. In Seattle's case, reviving the SuperSonics who uprooted and left to become the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008. According to Charania, more and more owners are growing in favor of expansion as the vote approaches; an important wrinkle considering 23 of the 30 will have to be pro expansion for it to happen.
“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,” he wrote.
Charania added that those who remain opposed aren’t thrilled about splitting annual revenue with two added franchises.
The initial vote, which will cement Las Vegas and Seattle as the two expansion cities, is set to happen Mar. 24 and 25. Then, once bids for the two franchises are in place, the board of governors will hold a second vote later in the year to finalize the sales.
Should all aspects pass, then two new teams would join the Western Conference. Charania says that executives around the league believe either the Minnesota Timberwolves or Memphis Grizzlies will head to the Eastern Conference to rebalance the league.