Want to witness history? Xiao Hua: He will meet with all NBA team owners in July to formally discuss expanding the army to the 32nd Team!

On May 14, 2025, NBA President Adam Xiao Hua said that he is expected to meet with league bosses in July this year to formally discuss matters related to expanding the NBA to 32 teams. Seattle and Las Vegas have shown great enthusiasm for joining the league, and are the two cities with the most discussions and the highest voices.

Conference Background

The last expansion of the league was in 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats (now the Hornets) became the 30th NBA team. The expansion discussion was put on the agenda, on the one hand because the league successfully confirmed the TV broadcast contract at the beginning of this season, and the Celtics also successfully completed the sale for US$6.1 billion, providing an opportunity to promote the expansion discussion. On the other hand, cities such as Seattle and Las Vegas have a strong desire to join and have potential market value.

Potential City Advantage

Seattle: The Supersonics (now the predecessor of the Thunder), Durant started his career here, and there is a huge fan base in the area. In addition, consortiums supported by technology giants such as Microsoft have also been in place. If there is a new team, it is likely to inherit the honors of the Supersonics team history, which can trigger a double boom in sentiment and business.

Las Vegas: As the global entertainment capital, it attracts more than 40 million tourists every year and has huge commercial potential. In recent years, he has accumulated rich experience in hosting the All-Star Game and the Summer League. In addition, the league has in-depth cooperation with Disney (ESPN parent company), and the background of legalizing gambling has made it a dual focus of traffic and capital. James has also publicly expressed his hope to own a team here many times.

Core topics discuss the allocation of franchise fees: New teams may have to pay $2.5 billion each "entry fee", a total of $5 billion will be divided equally by the existing 30 teams, each team receiving about $160 million, which can alleviate the team's financial pressure caused by the epidemic and fluctuations in broadcast contracts in recent years.

New broadcast contract linkage: The league's new broadcast agreement with media giants such as Disney (ESPN), Warner (TNT) is about to be finalized, with annual revenue exceeding US$10 billion. The dividend model of the 32 teams after the expansion of the army will reshape the alliance's economic structure.

Labor-Management Agreement Guarantee: The labor-Management Agreement expires in 2030 has ensured the balance of interests between players and the team, clearing institutional obstacles for military expansion.

Division adjustment: Seattle and Las Vegas are both located in the west. In order to balance the east and west, the Grizzlies may be assigned to the east from the west to avoid imbalance in division competition.

New team formation method

Army expansion draft: The 2004 Bobcats model may be replicated, but the rules are upgraded. Each of the 30 existing teams protects only 4 core players (formerly 8 people), and new teams can select players from the non-protected roster, with the goal of potential new stars and high-quality role players.

Draft Compensation: The new team will receive a lottery draw and participate in the first round 32 pick to accelerate the team building.

Salary Space Advantage: There is plenty of initial salary space to compete for All-Star players in the free market. If the military expansion plan is successfully implemented, the 2026-2027 season may witness the birth of two new troops.