It has been over 20 years since the NBA last expanded. In 2004, the league introduced the Charlotte Bobcats. Since then, there have been 30 NBA teams.
Rumors have been circulating that the league is discussing another expansion in the upcoming years. These rumors have sparked the question: what cities should the NBA expand to?
The city that obviously comes to mind is Seattle. The Supersonics relocated to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder in 2008. The Sonics left behind a decorated legacy, including a 1979 NBA championship.
The Sonics’ departure has left the Seattle Storm of the WNBA as the lone professional basketball team in the city.
The relocation caused great grief among Seattle fans, as they felt they were robbed of a great team, as the Thunder went on to the NBA Finals just a few years later. Seattle fans still continue to advocate for the team’s return to the city.
NBA players have also expressed their interest in a Supersonics return.
Retired NBA player and Seattle native Jamal Crawford has pushed for the league to bring back the Sonics.
Kevin Durant has said he would like to be involved with the Sonics if they were to make a return. Seattle drafted him in 2007, and he played one season there before the move to Oklahoma City.
The league can make it up to these fans and players by restoring the Seattle Supersonics in their former glory.
Las Vegas has become home to three professional sports teams in the last eight years. The Raiders of the NFL, the Golden Knights of the NHL and the Aces of the WNBA have all made Vegas their home. The Oakland A’s of the MLB are also planning to move to Vegas.
The NBA already holds its NBA Cup tournament and Summer League in Vegas, so the city is no stranger to the sport of basketball.
With “Sin City” transitioning into becoming a sports city, it would be the perfect candidate for an NBA team.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been a dominant force in the NFL for about the last decade. “Chiefs Kingdom” is one of the loudest fan bases in all of football. That same fanbase can transition to the NBA if it were to reward the city with an expansion team.
Kansas City had an NBA team in the Kings from 1975 to 1985, before they relocated to Sacramento.
Vancouver is another city on this list who have had their NBA team taken away in the past. The city was home to the Grizzlies from 1995 until 2001, when they relocated to Memphis.
With the Grizzlies departure from Vancouver, the Toronto Raptors became the lone Canadian team in the NBA.
Basketball’s popularity has grown tremendously in Canada since then and another NBA team in the country would see more success this time around.
A possible inner-country rivalry between a new Canadian team and the Raptors would create further intrigue in the league.
The NBA has already experimented with expanding to Mexico City. Mexico City has a NBA G-League team in the Capitanes.
Mexico City would add another big market to the league, as it is the largest city in North America.
If the league were to expand into Mexico City, it would further the growth of the game of basketball internationally.
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