Report: NBA Wants to Announce New Teams in Las Vegas and Seattle During Preseason

The NBA reportedly wants to announce expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle during preseason games for the Clipper and Lakers

All Raptors Staff | Sep 7, 2022

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA may soon be adding a pair of new teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.

The league is reportedly looking to make a formal announcement regarding the two expansion teams during preseason games in Seattle and Las Vegas, according to Willie Ramirez of the Associate Press.

During the NBA Finals in June, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league was not looking to expand "at this time." He admitted the league would "invariably expand" at some point, though those talks were not ongoing.

Expansion in Seattle and Las Vegas would likely require a reshuffling of NBA conferences with two teams presumably joining the Western Conference at a later date. Minnesota and Memphis are the two most eastern Western Conference teams that would seem like ideal candidates to shift conferences if expansion occurs.

The most recent league expansion took place in 2004 when the NBA admitted the Charlotte Bobcats, now the Hornets, to the league. Prior to that, the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies, now the Memphis Grizzlies, entered the league in 1995.

Seattle previously played host to the SuperSonics from 1967–2008 before the team was moved to Oklahoma City. Las Vegas has never had an NBA team.

The Los Angeles Clippers will play two preseason games at Seattle's Climate Pledge ARena on Sept. 30 and Oct. 3 while the Los Angeles Lakers will play two preseason games at T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 5 and 6.

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