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NBA Expansion. It is inevitable that the NBA will soon expand and welcome new franchises. With basketball increasing in popularity world wide and the talent pool in the NBA increasing every year, there will soon be demands to expand the NBA. And while Commissioner Adam Silver has said that expansion is not one of the priorities of the NBA currently, there is a real possibility that it will soon be a pressing topic he will need to address.
Disclaimer: When the NBA decides to expand, it doesn't make sense to expand the league by only 1 team and have 31 teams. The conferences would be unbalanced and it would be a real pain to make the schedule with an odd number of teams. Instead a jump from 30 to 32 teams would be the best for scheduling and the balance of the conferences. These are the 4 best suited cities that are vying for the 2 (probable) expansion franchises down the road.
Seattle, Washington
Do i really have to explain myself? The Sonics were a great NBA franchise that had even won the NBA championship before they were moved to Oklahoma City. It only feels right that Seattle will be given a team once NBA expansion is in talks.
Vancouver, Canada
I know what you're thinking. Vancouver? The same city that had such low attendance that the franchise had to be moved to Memphis. But that was 17 years ago and the city has changed dramatically. Basketball has seen a huge increase in popularity in Canada over the past few years with the sudden success of the Toronto Raptors. Much like Toronto, Vancouver is culturally diverse and a great modern city. From its nightlife to incredible natural landscapes to warm climate (it's really not cold in Vancouver), NBA players would fall in love with the city of Vancouver. And perhaps the most intriguing part of Vancouver is the business side. A Vancouver NBA team could become a money making machine for the NBA. The Greater Vancouver Area has a population of 2 597 000, which is larger than cities like Charlotte and Portland that already have NBA teams and the 2nd largest of all cities on this list. With such a huge population and interest in basketball, attendance would not be an issue this time around. The city itself is extremely rich as seen with its many corporate head quarters, entertainment industry (Vancouver is known as Hollywood North) and sky high rent prices. There is a lot of money willing to be spent in Vancouver, which would financially benefit the NBA greatly. Finally, finding a home for a new NBA franchise would not be a problem as the Rogers Arena (where the Vancouver NHL team plays) is a full sized stadium with a capacity of 18 630, which is greater than nearly half of the current NBA stadiums. Add in that a new Vancouver team would have a Cascadian rivalry with Portland and the aforementioned Seattle and a Canadian rivalry with Toronto, Vancouver has everything the NBA is looking for in a potential expansion city.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky? A city with a population of just 620 000 seems small to support an NBA franchise. However an NBA franchise in Louisville would almost certainly work. Think about it. None of the 4 major American sports leagues (and even the MLS) currently have a franchise in the whole state of Kentucky. The NBA could use this as an advantage and own the whole sports market in Louisville, the largest city in the state (similar to how the NHL established themselves first in Las Vegas). In addition, the state of Kentucky is basketball crazy. I mean if a state is able to sell out stadiums for 2 different college teams in Louisville and Kentucky, there must be some passionate basketball fans that are hungry for an NBA team, so consistent attendance should not be an issue. Also, there is already a newly made stadium in the KFC Yum! Center. With a capacity of 22 090, the Yum! Center would be the largest stadium in the whole NBA! Finally, many NBA stars (John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Davis, etc.) have played college basketball at either Louisville or Kentucky, so a Louisville NBA franchise could be attractive during free agency.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas would make a prime expansion team. Vegas is already heavily involved with the NBA as every year Las Vegas hosts the Summer League. They even hosted the USA basketball mini camp this year where stars like Paul George, James Harden and KD are all in favour for a team in the Las Vegas. The one downside is that the population is just over 600 000 and they already have a NHL, WNBA and a NFL team (that is coming soon) so the NBA may struggle to find fans if the team is not so good. Despite this there is a lot of money in Vegas which makes it an intriguing option for a future NBA franchise.
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| "Adam Silver" by Keith Allison is licensed under C.C by 4.0 |
Disclaimer: When the NBA decides to expand, it doesn't make sense to expand the league by only 1 team and have 31 teams. The conferences would be unbalanced and it would be a real pain to make the schedule with an odd number of teams. Instead a jump from 30 to 32 teams would be the best for scheduling and the balance of the conferences. These are the 4 best suited cities that are vying for the 2 (probable) expansion franchises down the road.
Seattle, Washington
Do i really have to explain myself? The Sonics were a great NBA franchise that had even won the NBA championship before they were moved to Oklahoma City. It only feels right that Seattle will be given a team once NBA expansion is in talks.
Vancouver, Canada
I know what you're thinking. Vancouver? The same city that had such low attendance that the franchise had to be moved to Memphis. But that was 17 years ago and the city has changed dramatically. Basketball has seen a huge increase in popularity in Canada over the past few years with the sudden success of the Toronto Raptors. Much like Toronto, Vancouver is culturally diverse and a great modern city. From its nightlife to incredible natural landscapes to warm climate (it's really not cold in Vancouver), NBA players would fall in love with the city of Vancouver. And perhaps the most intriguing part of Vancouver is the business side. A Vancouver NBA team could become a money making machine for the NBA. The Greater Vancouver Area has a population of 2 597 000, which is larger than cities like Charlotte and Portland that already have NBA teams and the 2nd largest of all cities on this list. With such a huge population and interest in basketball, attendance would not be an issue this time around. The city itself is extremely rich as seen with its many corporate head quarters, entertainment industry (Vancouver is known as Hollywood North) and sky high rent prices. There is a lot of money willing to be spent in Vancouver, which would financially benefit the NBA greatly. Finally, finding a home for a new NBA franchise would not be a problem as the Rogers Arena (where the Vancouver NHL team plays) is a full sized stadium with a capacity of 18 630, which is greater than nearly half of the current NBA stadiums. Add in that a new Vancouver team would have a Cascadian rivalry with Portland and the aforementioned Seattle and a Canadian rivalry with Toronto, Vancouver has everything the NBA is looking for in a potential expansion city.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky? A city with a population of just 620 000 seems small to support an NBA franchise. However an NBA franchise in Louisville would almost certainly work. Think about it. None of the 4 major American sports leagues (and even the MLS) currently have a franchise in the whole state of Kentucky. The NBA could use this as an advantage and own the whole sports market in Louisville, the largest city in the state (similar to how the NHL established themselves first in Las Vegas). In addition, the state of Kentucky is basketball crazy. I mean if a state is able to sell out stadiums for 2 different college teams in Louisville and Kentucky, there must be some passionate basketball fans that are hungry for an NBA team, so consistent attendance should not be an issue. Also, there is already a newly made stadium in the KFC Yum! Center. With a capacity of 22 090, the Yum! Center would be the largest stadium in the whole NBA! Finally, many NBA stars (John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Davis, etc.) have played college basketball at either Louisville or Kentucky, so a Louisville NBA franchise could be attractive during free agency.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas would make a prime expansion team. Vegas is already heavily involved with the NBA as every year Las Vegas hosts the Summer League. They even hosted the USA basketball mini camp this year where stars like Paul George, James Harden and KD are all in favour for a team in the Las Vegas. The one downside is that the population is just over 600 000 and they already have a NHL, WNBA and a NFL team (that is coming soon) so the NBA may struggle to find fans if the team is not so good. Despite this there is a lot of money in Vegas which makes it an intriguing option for a future NBA franchise.
Seattle and Louisville. Definitely the two best options. Seattle is a big basketball place and deserves another franchise. Louisville for the east. Yeah it might seem "small" but they're bigger than New Orleans (who has NFL and NBA and is always in discussion for MLB) who people act like is the New York of the south, Memphis and Buffalo. All have major league teams.
ReplyDeleteSeattle I can definitely agree with. I think Vancouver would be second on the list (I'm Canadian so I'm biased). But Louisville is a really close 3rd because I know how crazy the state of Kentucky is about basketball.
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