NBA commissioner Adam Silver's news conference in December 2020 was remarkable for several reasons. Similar to many large gatherings during the depth of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was conducted entirely on Zoom. But it was also when he was first asked whether the NBA would consider expansion again for the first time in two decades.
The question, from then-ESPN reporter Tim Bontemps, was framed as a discussion of how the league might recover some of the revenue lost during the pandemic. Silver responded that expansion wasn't on "the front burner," but added that it was "sort of the manifest destiny of the league."
In other words, expansion was inevitable. The only question was when.
First, the NBA focused on securing its new 11-year, $76 billion broadcast deal. Then, it turned its attention to expansion. That process is now nearing its conclusion, with ESPN's Shams Charania reporting this week that the league is expected to select the winning bid for ownership of the Las Vegas team in the very near future, from among three finalist groups.
Here's our latest intel from sources around the NBA on how the final stages of this six-year process could play out.
Where does expansion stand heading into the 2026-27 NBA season?
Silver said he wants a vote on expansion before the end of this calendar year.
That's a broad enough statement to leave a lot of room for negotiations. As it stands, the NBA and strategic adviser PJT Partners, which is handling the process, are more focused on getting a team in Las Vegas, where the interest and bidding have been far more robust than in Seattle.
The expectation is the Las Vegas franchise will go for around $10 billion, with the winning group also expected to spend an additional $2-3 billion to construct a new arena.
As Silver mentioned, there is still discussion among current owners and the bid groups about the best place for a new arena.
A vote on the three groups bidding on Las Vegas -- Nancy Walton Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo -- could come soon, sources told Charania.
The runner-up groups could then pivot to Seattle, where Kraken owner Samantha Holloway's group appears to be in pole position, with a valuation sources with knowledge of the process currently estimate to be around $6 billion.