It’s almost tradition now that the NBA gets asked yearly about expanding the league to 32 teams. It’s a question likely to always be asked as long as there are willing cities and billionaires ready to play ball.
Last year Montreal gained strong momentum for an expansion team and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was pressed on the topic.
“My answer is, you know, and it’s the same as it’s been for other U.S. cities that have expressed interest, and that is that we are just not in expansion mode at the time,” Silver said at the time.
The expansion of the NBA isn’t likely until at least 2025 when a newly negotiated TV rights deal will take place In no particular order here are five deserving cities that are willing for an NBA franchise.
5. Louisville, Kentucky
Dan Issel, president of the Louisville Basketball Investment & Support Group thinks Louisville is ready for a team.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we would be able to support an NBA team in this area”, Issel said earlier this year.
Louisville has a rich basketball history and was the home to successful ABA franchise the Kentucky Colonels. They won the 1975 ABA Finals and also have the highest percentage of any franchise in the ABA’s history.
Louisville is a basketball city, one of the best college sports towns in America with the Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats.
Working against them is that they are in a fairly small market area but they do have an NBA ready arena which works in their favor with the KFC Yum! Center.
4. Montreal, Canada
In the 90’s the NBA gave up too quickly on the Vancouver Grizzlies. That doesn’t mean that Montreal shouldn’t be given a shot.
With a bigger metro area than Vancouver and an NBA suitable Bell Centre holding up to 22,000, they’re a genuine shot for international expansion and a second Canadian team..
“We got a large influx of Haitian and French speaking Africans. So, our basketball community is reflective of that now”, Montreal Basketball League president Joey McKitterick said.
With an exploding basketball culture led by first and second waves of immigrants, combined with Montreal being one of the largest markets in North America without an NBA franchise, they’re a genuine shot.
3. Seattle, Washington
Kevin Durant has an affinity with Seattle and still has a connection to the franchise which drafted him with the second pick of the 2007 draft.
It’s a basketball city. It’s a sports town,” Durant said before a preseason game in Seattle in 2018. He also said to the Seattle crowd prior to tip-off, “[the] NBA is back in Seattle for tonight. Hopefully it’s back forever soon.”
The passion Seattle fans have for their sport teams is unrivaled. The Seattle-Tacoma region also has the 12th largest media market in America. The Supersonics is a very strong and renowned brand within NBA circles.
Related: Are the Seattle Supersonics Making a Return to the NBA?
The lack of a suitable NBA standard arena in the city and a failure to obtain state funding for an upgrade to KeyArena was a major reason for relocation.
In preparation for an NHL expansion team to begin playing in the city in 2021, an $850 million renovation of KeyArena is underway, setting Seattle up to possibly be the next expansion franchise.
2. Kansas City, Missouri
KC is an underrated city with fans that go absolutely crazy for their Chiefs and Royals.
Basketball culture runs deep in the city’s veins and college teams Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri are among the best in the country.
The college basketball half of fame is also located in Kansas City.
In 2018 it was mentioned by the Bleacher Report that an NBA executive speaking with anonymity thinks Kansas City is next on the list for expansion.
“It’s a real thing I’ve heard from multiple sources,” the executive said. “Just a matter of time. Seattle and KC to me are most valuable markets for league expansion when it makes sense.”
The Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City is more than capable of hosting NBA games and the city is also nowhere near any existing NBA teams.
The closest NBA cities are 350 miles away in Oklahoma City and 450 miles away in Memphis, ideal to avoid any local competition.
1. Hampton Roads, Virginia
In 2017 NBA Editor Tom Ziller ranked Hampton Roads fourth in line for an expansion at SBNation.com.
According to the NBA last year the area ranked #1 among all markets nationally for percentages of TVs tuned to watch NBA games.
Hampton Roads (Virginia Beach & Norfolk areas) lies within the 12th most populous state in the country.
The Washington Wizards are located only 200 miles north of Norfolk and there is no arena suitable for the NBA.
The metro area would be among the smallest in the NBA however the lack of any pro sports in the state would make any NBA franchise the pride of the entire state.
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I'm just a 30-something year old who loves sports, but I ain’t flexin’. I’m a completely amateur sports writer ‘journalist’ inspired by US and UK sports covering basketball, soccer, American football and more. I’m not a pretender, it’s a hobby and if I sound like I’m half street half corporate talk that’s my holistic approach. Peace bro.