NBA expansion has been discussed a lot in recent years as a possibility, but now it appears that not only is the league on the verge of expansion; two cities have been selected for the new franchises.
While no formal announcement has been made by the NBA, Forbes Sports’ Evan Sidery put out on Monday as affirmative a statement as you’re going to find regarding expansion.
“It’s viewed as a foregone conclusion in league circles that Las Vegas and Seattle will eventually become the next two NBA franchises via expansion,” Sidery posted to X.
“16 teams in each conference as one current franchise in the Western Conference would be moved to the Eastern Conference.”
Many X users speculated beneath Sidery’s post that the Memphis Grizzlies would be the Western Conference team to move to the Eastern Conference, while other users called for an abolishment of the conference system altogether.
News of Seattle hosting an NBA team again is not necessarily new information (it’s been rumored for over a decade), but Sidery’s report is sure to inspire happiness in plenty of Seattle basketball fans who miss rooting for the Seattle SuperSonics.
The SuperSonics existed between 1970 and 2008 before relocating to Oklahoma City and evolving into the OKC Thunder.
It’s not clear whether a new franchise in Seattle would revive the SuperSonics name, but it would be surprising to the average NBA fan if that didn’t happen.
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