The recent record-breaking sale of the Boston Celtics has yet to be approved by the Board of Governors, but once it is, the league is set to direct it’s focus to expansion.
While expansion has been rumored for some time, NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently said the NBA is focused on a specific city for the expansion.
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“I would just say the fact that we’re not ready to make any public announcements with a specific timeline doesn’t mean we don’t care a lot about those fans and we aren’t focused on the potential for the NBA to return to Seattle,” Silver said Thursday.
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The Seattle Supersonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and became the OKC Thunder. Silver’s recent comments suggest the possibility of a highly anticipated NBA return to Seattle.
Expanding the league to 31 or 32 teams comes with unique challenges though. According to Silver, TV broadcast rights can get tricky.
“I think while we understand the national media landscape now, to the extent we’re looking at expansion domestically, I think we’d really like to understand what that opportunity for local media is, because it’s a pretty critical component of our teams’ economics,” Silver said.
It’s hard to predict exactly when the NBA will expand, but when it does, it might happen in a familiar place.
James Parker is an NBA writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
