In any sport, the addition of new teams generates excitement, but for those making the money, it can be a nerve-racking prospect, as profits risk being diluted when shared among more stakeholders. That’s one of the main reasons NBA expansion has never come easily, even though multiple cities are eager to join the league. However, that may soon change.
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NBA insider Shams Charania revealed that the league’s NBA Board of Governors is set to meet next month to discuss the potential addition of new teams. When they convene, one of the central topics of discussion will be the financial implications of introducing new franchises into the league.
Over the last few years, multiple cities have been rumored to receive a new team, with a return to Seattle looking likely and Las Vegas also in the mix. Now, we are closer than ever to getting a concrete direction on the matter.
“The expectation is to have more information, the financials of what it looks like when you go get a couple more expansion teams potentially, what it means for the rest of the league, how much the valuation of those two teams gonna be, what is the league layout gonna look like,” Charania stated on NBA on ESPN.
Charania stated that Seattle and Las Vegas are indeed the front-runners heading into the summer, which also means there would have to be a reshuffling of teams in each conference if expansion moves forward. “From there, a Western Conference team moving to the Eastern Conference,” he said.
The NBA’s Board of Governors meeting in the spring is expected to be critical for stakeholders to better understand the factors around expansion. Discussing on NBA Today: pic.twitter.com/JM2PdQqrCQ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 12, 2026
Charania did not reveal which team would be chosen to move to the East, but he hinted that one of the teams located geographically in the East, or closer to the East, such as Memphis, Minnesota, or New Orleans, would switch conferences.
If the expansion were to take place in the coming years, it would mark the first time in over two decades that a newcomer has entered the NBA, which is now bigger and richer than ever before. The last time a new team joined the league was in 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats, now known as the Hornets, entered. Before that, it was 1995, when the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors were added.
Since those additions, the league has only seen relocations and no new franchises. It would be a groundbreaking moment for the NBA, and certainly an exciting one.
