NBA moves to add expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas

The NBA Board of Governors on Wednesday authorized exploring the possibility of expanding the number of teams to 32. The two new teams would be based in Seattle and Las Vegas.

After a meeting, the owners of the 30 franchises approved a study of NBA expansion, the first step in a long process until it is effected.

"Today's vote reflects our Board's interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle -- two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, in remarks picked up by AFP.

"We look forward to taking this next step and engaging in discussions with interested parties," he added.

Seattle has long been rumored as an expansion destination. It would be nothing new in the NBA, since it had the SuperSonics for more than four decades until they moved to Oklahoma City, which the franchise, now the Thunder, still calls home.

The second city rumored for a new team is Las Vegas. The city has never been home to an NBA franchise, though it does have one in the WNBA, the Las Vegas Aces. In recent years, however, it has hosted different NBA events such as the All-Star Game and NBA Cup.

For the proposed expansion to become a reality, it will need the green light from 23 of the NBA's 30 governors. If approved, the two new franchises would join the league in the 2028-2029 season.