Expansion of the National Basketball Association

Seattle previously hosted the Seattle SuperSonics from the 1967–68 season until the 2007–08 season, prior to the SuperSonics' relocation to Oklahoma City, and is a leading candidate to host a potential expansion NBA team.[2] Seattle is the most populous metropolitan area and the second largest American media market without an NBA franchise.

It was reported in 2013 that the Sacramento Kings were close to moving their franchise to Seattle, but the NBA Board of Owners voted against relocation, thus ensuring that the Kings would remain in Sacramento, California.[3]

As of 2018, the only statements that have been made about the NBA returning to Seattle have been that it would likely be through league expansion.[4][2] On December 3, 2018, the renovation of what was once the KeyArena (now Climate Pledge Arena) began, bringing the arena to current NBA standards and in preparation for the upcoming Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League.[5]

Las Vegas has long been rumored as a potential destination for a future NBA franchise. The city already hosts the NBA Summer League, which as of 2018, all league teams participate in. The 2007 NBA All-Star Game also took place in the city, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Thomas and Mack Center.[6] T-Mobile Arena, opened in 2017 and home of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Vegas Golden Knights, has been suggested as a potential destination for a future franchise in the city.

San Diego is the most populous city and second most populous metropolitan area in the United States without an NBA franchise. The city is part of the San Diego–Tijuana transborder metropolitan area, home to nearly 6 million residents as of 2020.[7][8] San Diego's history with professional basketball spans multiple teams and is encompassed in an 18 year period from 1967 to 1984. The city hosted the NBA's San Diego Rockets (now Houston Rockets) from 1967 to 1971, the ABA's San Diego Conquistadors/Sails (defunct) from 1972 to 1975, and the San Diego Clippers (now Los Angeles Clippers) from 1978 to 1984. All three stints for basketball in the city were cut short due to complications surrounding the San Diego Sports Arena in combination with ownership issues. San Diego was also the part-time home of the Golden State Warriors for six games during the 1971–72 NBA season. The Warriors notably changed their name from "San Francisco" to "Golden State" prior to the season as the team was searching for a new home arena and looked to make a play for the San Diego market following the departure of the Rockets to Houston. The 1971 NBA All-Star Game was also played in the city at the San Diego Sports Arena, where both the Rockets (who hosted the game) and Clippers (later) played their home games.

The NBA notably failed in a lawsuit to return the Clippers to San Diego in the late 1980s after the franchise's then-owner Donald Sterling moved the club to Los Angeles without league approval after being twice denied permission to move.[9][10] Longtime NBA commissioner David Stern, when asked about the potential return of the NBA to San Diego, routinely underscored the need for a new arena in the region for it to be considered for a franchise.[11] The city is widely regarded as one of the most under-served sports markets in the United States, with only Major League Baseball (MLB)'s San Diego Padres calling the city home, following the 2017 departure of the National Football League (NFL)'s Chargers (also to Los Angeles). Discussions surrounding building an NBA and NHL-caliber arena in the city have materialized in recent years.[12][13] On August 29, 2020, following a competitive proposal selection process, local officials announced that they had selected a development team to build a new privately-funded sports arena and entertainment district at the site of the San Diego Sports Arena in the city's Midway District.[14]

Louisville, Kentucky has two basketball arenas with capacities in line with current NBA arenas, each of which is currently home to an NCAA Division I team. The downtown KFC Yum! Center, which opened in 2010, holds 22,090 and hosts the Louisville Cardinals. Freedom Hall, opened in 1956 (though renovated several times), holds 18,252 and hosts the Bellarmine Knights.[15] Both arenas have hosted well-attended NBA exhibition games.[16][17] Louisville has one prior major league basketball team in the Kentucky Colonels, which was a successful franchise during their nine seasons playing at Freedom Hall in the American Basketball Association, winning the ABA Finals in 1975 along with winning the most games and having the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history. Since the Colonels were not included among the four ABA teams that were admitted into the NBA, Louisville has attempted to attract an NBA team several times, including the Buffalo Braves in 1978,[18] the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1983,[19] and the Houston Rockets,[20] the Charlotte Hornets,[21] and Memphis Grizzlies[22] in the early 2000s.

General Motors Place was the home for the Vancouver Grizzlies before the club's relocation to Memphis.The arena has since changed its name to Rogers Arena

The city of Vancouver briefly hosted an NBA team (the Vancouver Grizzlies) beginning in 1995 until it relocated to Memphis, Tennessee in 2001 and became the Memphis Grizzlies. The city already has the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Vancouver Canucks and Major League Soccer (MLS)'s Vancouver Whitecaps FC. It has Rogers Arena as well as a large population of 2.4 million in the metro area and a large TV market, province-wide.

Montreal is one of the largest markets in North America without an NBA franchise. It has a metropolitan population of 4 million and has an arena suitable for basketball, the Bell Centre, which can hold up to 22,000 attendees. In addition, the city has regularly hosted the Toronto Raptors' preseason games. In 2018, a group of local businesspeople led by Michael Fortier have announced their intention of seeking investors for an expansion team.[23]

Kansas City, Missouri is one of the largest media markets without an NBA franchise, and a larger TV market than current NBA cities Oklahoma City and New Orleans. It previously hosted the Kansas City Kings from 1972 to 1985 (including three years where the team was shared with Omaha, Nebraska) until they moved to Sacramento. Like Pittsburgh, it has a recently built arena, the T-Mobile Center, that has hosted the Big 12 Conference men's tournament and both the men's and women's NCAA tournaments. The city is also home to the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

Pittsburgh has a modern arena, PPG Paints Arena (which opened in 2010), that holds over 19,000 for basketball. It was rumored for a short time that the Detroit Pistons were moving to Pittsburgh,[24] and Pittsburgh was one of the cities mentioned by David Stern as a possible relocation site.[25] Pittsburgh has a long basketball tradition with Pitt and Duquesne as well as more recently with Robert Morris Colonials, the 1968 ABA champion Pittsburgh Condors, the 1995 CBA finalist Pittsburgh Piranhas, the Pittsburgh Rens of the ABL and the Pittsburgh Ironmen of the BAA. Arguing against Pittsburgh getting a team is its market size; ranked 24th and already supporting three major teams including the Pittsburgh Penguins (who are the primary tenants of PPG Paints Arena and whose season would overlap with an NBA team), an NBA team may be a tough sell in Pittsburgh.[26]

The Hampton Roads metropolitan area in Virginia has no major league sports team, but in August 2017, there was a proposal to bring an NBA team to the area's largest city, Virginia Beach whenever a sports arena is approved and built to host the team in the future.[27] The region also hosted the Virginia Squires of the ABA from 1970 to 1976.

Since 1992, the NBA Global Games have had NBA games hosted in different places around the world, with Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City (the capital and most populous city of the country) being one of the venues for hosting preseason games and regular season games, with the arena having a capacity of over 20,000. On December 7, 2017, reports stated that the NBA would put a NBA G League team in the city for next season.[28][29] This was furthered fueled by Commissioner Adam Silver's statement that the NBA has been in discussions to place a G League team in Mexico City as well opening of NBA Academy in that city for Latin American and Caribbean players.[30]

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