Expansion of the NBA
Since beginning with 11 teams in 1946, the National Basketball Association expanded several times before reaching its current 30 teams. The most recent additions were the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic, the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies, and the New Orleans Hornets.
Commissioner Adam Silver stated in a February 2024 interview on The Pat McAfee Show that Las Vegas was an expansion team candidate. Seattle is also considered a top expansion candidate should an expansion occur, with Mexico City, Montreal, and Vancouver also being less likely expansion options. In September 2024, Silver stated that the NBA would have discussions about a potential expansion of the league sometime during the 2024–25 season, with an ESPN article stating that the potential expansion teams may begin play in the 2027–28 season should one occur. In April 2025, Silver stated that the league could begin a formal expansion process in the summer of 2025. In late 2025, Silver said that a decision would be made in 2026 on whether to proceed with expansion.
Early years (1946–1966)
There was a lot of expansion and moving of organizations in the early years of the NBA. During this 20-year time period is when notable franchises entered the NBA like the Syracuse Nationals, the Philadelphia Warriors, Minneapolis Lakers, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Rochester Royals.The league experienced its first substantial growth, although short-lived, as the league was back down to eight teams by 1955 after peaking to 17 teams in 1949–50.
Expansion era (1966–1980)
During a span of 15 years, 14 of the 30 current teams were brought into the league, beginning with the Chicago Bulls in 1966. The San Diego Rockets and Seattle SuperSonics joined one year later, with the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks following them in 1968. After two more seasons, in 1970, the Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers all began play. The New Orleans Jazz became the league's 18th franchise in 1974.Following the 1975–76 season, the NBA merged with the American Basketball Association, a competing league that had operated for nine seasons beginning in 1967. With the ABA–NBA merger, four ABA teams became members of the NBA: the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets and the San Antonio Spurs. In 1980, the Dallas Mavericks were created as the league's 23rd member.
Modern expansion (1988–2004)
The NBA has added seven more franchises from 1988 to present, the latest in 2004. Four teams were created in 1988 and 1989: the Charlotte Hornets, the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, both in Florida, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. In 1995 the NBA created two new teams in Canada: the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. The Raptors and Grizzlies were the first two Canadian teams since the now-defunct Toronto Huskies in the inaugural 1946–47 season. The league expanded to 30 with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004, following the 2002 relocation of the Charlotte Hornets to New Orleans. In 2014, the Bobcats rebranded to and acquired the history of the Charlotte Hornets, with the New Orleans Pelicans being retroactively recognized as a new franchise established in 2002.Timeline
Expansion drafts
There have been 11 expansion drafts in NBA history. An additional four of the league's current teams joined via the 1976 ABA–NBA merger.| Year | New teams | Team | Total teams after draft |
| 1961 | 1 | Chicago Packers | 9 |
| 1966 | 1 | Chicago Bulls | 10 |
| 1967 | 2 | San Diego Rockets, Seattle SuperSonics | 12 |
| 1968 | 2 | Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns | 14 |
| 1970 | 3 | Buffalo Braves, Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers | 17 |
| 1974 | 1 | New Orleans Jazz | 18 |
| 1976 merger with ABA | 4 | Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, New York Nets, San Antonio Spurs | 22 |
| 1980 | 1 | Dallas Mavericks | 23 |
| 1988 | 2 | Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat | 25 |
| 1989 | 2 | Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic | 27 |
| 1995 | 2 | Toronto Raptors, Vancouver Grizzlies | 29 |
| 2004 | 1 | Charlotte Bobcats | 30 |
Potential future expansion
In the United States
Seattle
is both the most populous metropolitan area and the largest American media market without an NBA franchise. The city hosted the Seattle SuperSonics from the season until the season, after which the team was relocated to Oklahoma City, due to team and Seattle officials being unable to come to an agreement to build a new arena. Seattle is widely considered the leading candidate to host a potential NBA expansion team.On December 3, 2018, the renovation of what was once KeyArena began, bringing the arena to current NBA standards and in preparation for the then upcoming National Hockey League expansion franchise, the Seattle Kraken, who began play in 2021. Since the renovations, the NBA has hosted a preseason game known as the "Rain City Showcase" starting from 2022.
In late 2025, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that a decision would be made in 2026 on whether to proceed with expansion with Seattle being one of the markets to be considered.
In addition to the expansion Kraken, Seattle also hosts the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League, Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball, Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer, Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association, Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League, and Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League.
Las Vegas
has long been rumored as a potential destination for a future NBA franchise. The city already hosts the annual NBA Summer League, in which all teams have participated since 2018.The 2007 NBA All-Star Game took place in the city at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The arena is home to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels team of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference.
In 2001, Las Vegas was included in the list of cities the Vancouver Grizzlies were considering relocating to, before the team ultimately chose to move to Memphis, Tennessee, to become the Memphis Grizzlies.
T-Mobile Arena, opened in 2016 and home of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, has been suggested as a potential destination for a future franchise in the city. Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman has been a vocal supporter of landing an NBA team for the city, including personally contacting NBA commissioner Adam Silver in early 2021. The arena has hosted part of the NBA Cup in 2023, 2024, and 2025, which some believe is a test run for expansion into the city.
In 2022, LeBron James expressed interest in owning an NBA team, specifically one located in Las Vegas.
In February 2024, during an interview on The Pat McAfee Show, Silver stated that Las Vegas was on the league's list of potential expansion cities.
In late 2025, Silver said that a decision would be made in 2026 on whether to proceed with expansion and reiterated that Las Vegas will be one of the markets considered.
In addition to the Golden Knights, who began play in 2017, Las Vegas also hosts the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, who relocated from Oakland to the city in 2020, and the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces, who relocated from San Antonio to the city in 2018. MLB's Athletics are due to begin playing in a new stadium in Las Vegas in 2028.
Hampton Roads
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.The region previously hosted the Virginia Squires of the ABA from 1970 to 1976. Hampton Roads was also briefly considered for the relocation of the-now Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans, as well as an attempt to move the Sacramento Kings in 2012.
In 2025, entrepreneur Coleman Ferguson launched a new initiative to develop a multi-purpose arena in Virginia Beach with the aim of attracting an NBA franchise. The proposal remains under review by the city.
Hartford
In the spring of 2024, New York City-based advertising agency B.L.A.I.R. Creative Marketing created a proposal for a potential NBA expansion team named the New England Founders that would target the combined Hartford–Springfield market. As the two largest current arenas in the area, PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford and MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, are not suitable for an NBA team, the proposal suggested that a new stadium would be built in a smaller town like Enfield or Windsor Locks, located between the two cities.Hartford is the largest television market without a Big Four sports team since the Hartford Whalers relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina as the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. It is home to the University of Connecticut, whose men's and women's basketball teams have long been successful on the court. Additionally, the WNBA's Connecticut Sun play in nearby Uncasville. Springfield, meanwhile, is the city where James Naismith invented basketball, and the Basketball Hall of Fame is based there. The Springfield Armor played in the NBA G League from 2009 to 2014, when it moved to Grand Rapids.
However, writer Eric Bedner of CT Insider cited the location as an obstacle that would prevent the Hartford from receiving an NBA team. The Northeastern United States is already well-represented in the NBA, with the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Brooklyn Nets all including the state of Connecticut within their respective territories, with the league reportedly more interested in expansion into other territories, including outside of the United States.