When will NBA expand to Las Vegas, Seattle? Adam Silver reveals expansion timelines, NBA Europe next steps

The NBA’s Board of Governors’ fall meeting took place on Monday and Tuesday in New York City, with several topics dominating the discussions at hand. Aside from updates and clarity on the matter involving Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers' punishments for salary cap circumvention, Silver and league officials also discussed the new NBA Europe project and upcoming expansion talks with the 29 team governors in attendance.

As a result of Steve Ballmer's year-long suspension and the Clippers' process of finalizing who their interim governor will be, the team was not represented at the NBA's Board of Governors meetings over the last two days.

Discussions surrounding NBA Europe and the cities/teams that will be involved continue to progress with Deputy NBA Commissioner Mark Tatum leading the charge on this project, and the next steps for the NBA to expand from 30 to 32 teams are beginning to emerge.

League expansion was a hot topic at Tuesday's Board of Governors press conference, which has become a recurring theme over the last year as a result of the NBA having its eyes set on expansion for the start of the 2028-29 season.

Latest on Las Vegas, Seattle NBA expansion

In March, the NBA's Board of Governors voted to approve the exploration of adding two new teams to the league in Las Vegas and Seattle as expansion franchises. While no firm commitment has been made at this time, Silver and the league have continued to express optimism in solidifying a formal vote on approving new franchises by the end of 2026.

“Discussions are ongoing,” Silver stated at the NBA Finals in June. “I think everyone knows at this point we’re focused on Las Vegas and Seattle. There are multiple groups interested in both cities. We are in discussions with them. The timeline, as I've said before, it's not a foregone conclusion that we will expand either in one city or both cities.

“But what we've told all interested parties is our anticipation our board will make a decision by the end of this calendar year.”

On Tuesday, Silver provided updates on where things stand with potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle, claiming that one city was discussed more by the NBA and its governors than the others for several reasons.

“There was not as much discussion around Seattle as there was around Las Vegas, largely because Las Vegas — it's not even clear what the site will be, let alone the arena yet, and therefore it's a much longer timeline before we can throw the ball up for NBA basketball,” Silver explained. “On the other hand, in Seattle, we have had operational groups out to Climate Pledge, who clearly have a state-of-the-art arena there.

“If we were opening in five weeks, we could be ready in Seattle. More of the discussion was around Las Vegas, but I've been saying it's our goal to have decisions by the end of the year, and that continues to be our goal.”

Although no updates were presented about potential ownership groups for a potential expansion team in Las Vegas, some details have emerged over the past several weeks about where valuations currently stand, especially once Mark Walter sold the Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a valuation near $12.5 billion.

One of the main reasons Iger and Kushner approached Walter about buying the Lakers and ultimately agreed on a deal to purchase one of the world's most historic sports franchises is due to their involvement in a potential Las Vegas expansion team.

With early projections on a new expansion franchise reaching over $10 billion and no arena plan being in place, Iger and Kushner decided it was in their best interest to simply try to buy the Lakers, who had sold to Walter in 2025 for $10 billion, and don't have any long-term arena problems or questions.

More details about the NBA's efforts to expand to Las Vegas and Seattle continue to come to light, with ESPN's Shams Charania reporting on Tuesday that these expansion discussions are becoming deeper with potential investors. Regarding potential Las Vegas expansion, the next round of bids is due on Thursday, with final bids coming in shortly after, according to ESPN.

Early valuations suggest that these bids for an expansion team in Las Vegas are exceeding $10 billion. Even though the Las Vegas expansion talks are moving forward quicker than those regarding Seattle, the widespread expectation around the NBA is that both cities will be approved for new expansion franchises before 2026 ends.

Silver did mention how Patrick Dumont, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a Las Vegas resident, led discussions recently about Las Vegas expansion and what it could look like regarding various potential sites. The idea of utilizing T-Mobile Arena, which has hosted the NBA Cup Championship Game since its inception, and possibly renovating the venue is a possibility that will be on the table as bids come in.

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At this time, there is no timeframe for when a potential final vote for domestic expansion will occur.

Will NBA Europe be ready for 2027?

The biggest project that the NBA has been working hard on behind the scenes is the formation of a new league in Europe.

Silver, Tatum, and the league office continue to brainstorm ideas and meet with various entities to lock in a start date for this NBA-style European competition, and these talks have included EuroLeague officials as well.

“We did discuss ongoing negotiations with the EuroLeague,” Silver said on Tuesday. “I believe we’re making progress there. We believe that the league would be strengthened by joining forces with the EuroLeague. It doesn’t have to happen, but I think we all would be better off as a unified front in Europe.”

As far as investors around Europe go, Silver mentioned how many are open to this process taking longer than the league's initial projections of starting this league in 2027.

Still, the NBA has not changed its mind on having competition overseas begin next summer, depending on where things stand with the EuroLeague and its potential involvement in NBA Europe.

“I think the answer is, we want to get going,” the commissioner continued. “There will be announcements coming over the next few months. Those conversations are proceeding in earnest. It seems like everything takes longer than people outside the league would like it to take. These things are very involved. For us, in terms of NBA Europe, we truly see it as a once-in-forever opportunity.”

Right now, it appears the NBA's main goal is to secure an agreement with the EuroLeague to make this new league the most powerful basketball association outside of the United States. While a potential 2027 start date remains on the table, Silver's comments on Tuesday hinted at a potential small delay in order to make sure investors, clubs, and league leaders are all on the same page.

“As I mentioned before, historic from our standpoint in terms of what this could mean, not just for basketball but for the European sport landscape. And we want to get it right.”

Previously, the NBA announced that the initial layout of the league will feature 16 teams — 12 of whom are permanent franchises and the other four teams earning their spot through qualification in domestic leagues and the FIBA Basketball Champions League.

Potential salary caps and television structures will be part of the ongoing discussions before the league officially begins, and Silver did mention on Tuesday how there are already plans for multiple new arenas across Europe. This NBA Europe expansion project continues to take massive steps forward, with the tentative 2027 start date still very much possible.