NBA votes to explore Seattle expansion, possible Sonics return

NEW YORK — With one affirmative vote, the NBA appears to be on the doorstep of a return to the Emerald City.

The NBA Board of Governors gave the go-ahead for Commissioner Adam Silver to begin holding formal talks with prospective ownership groups in Seattle and Las Vegas, with the possibility of adding two expansion franchises to the league as soon as the 2028-29 season.

Silver is scheduled to discuss the vote and next steps moving forward at a news conference later Wednesday.

“Today’s vote reflects our Board’s interest in exploring potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle — two markets with a long history of support for NBA basketball,” Silver said in a statement. “We look forward to taking this next step and engaging with interested parties.”

The vote required at least 23 votes from owners in favor of moving forward on the expansion process and brings the NBA closer than it has ever been to returning to Seattle since the departure of the SuperSonics for Oklahoma City after the 2008 season.

The vote allows Silver and his staff to go into the marketplace and begin having substantive talks with prospective groups that are interested in bringing franchises to the respective cities.

The league said it has engaged with investment bank PJT Partners, “as a strategic adviser to evaluate prospective markets, ownership groups, arena infrastructure, and the broader economic impacts of expansion.”

Though there are expected to be two groups vying for Las Vegas, there is only one group that has made its intension known in Seattle — One Roof Sports and Entertainment, the Kraken’s umbrella group that was unveiled this week.

The most significant step in the expansion conversation brings an end to five years of wondering if the NBA would finally decide to move forward with this process.

It was a half-decade ago when Silver first mentioned the possibility of expansion. The league was coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and was forced to finish the previous season playing in a bubble in Florida with no fans in attendance. Revenues were lost. Money needed to be recouped.

But the expansion talks didn’t take that next step until now. The league had a collective bargaining agreement and media-rights deals to get settled. At the same time, franchise valuations were going through the roof with no apparent ceiling. Holding off on deciding whether to expand and what that possible expansion fee might be was the best financial decision to make.

All those issues were solved with a new CBA and a lucrative media-rights deal agreed to nearly two years ago. And now expansion, which if formally approved would put money in the pocket of owners and ultimately return the SuperSonics to Seattle.

The approval vote for Silver to move ahead is the first step. The next would be final approval by the Board of Governors, which could come as soon as the summer owners’ meetings during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, depending on how quickly the ownership groups are vetted and settled upon.

This story will be updated.