FlurrySports breaks down five possible NBA expansion cities and new team names, including a new team in Seattle.
With recent reports surfacing of possible NBA expansion, that immediately brings up the thought of which cities the Association will expand to. The two most-likely cities are Seattle and Las Vegas, which makes sense, given the history of basketball in Seattle as well as Las Vegas existing as one of the most-visited cities in the entire country. According to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the NBA’s Board of Governors is expected to vote on possible NBA expansion cities sometime in 2026, which is leading many to believe that it will happen this summer (likely after the NBA Finals).
While 30 is a good number for teams in the league, expanding to 32 teams makes sense, given league makeup, playoff seeding and conference realignment. With that being said, we will work through five cities that the NBA needs to expand to, with of course Seattle and Las Vegas topping the list. We will throw out some possible new NBA team names as well!
5 Possible NBA Expansion Cities With New Team Names
Seattle, Washington
The first and most obvious city that the NBA should expand to is Seattle. When the SuperSonics moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008, fans in Seattle were devastated. In a sports-frenzied city, the fans lost their team immediately after the draft picks of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook. To add to the pain, the Thunder drafted James Harden the next season. While those three never won a championship with Oklahoma City, it felt like something special got ripped out of Seattle fans’ hands.
It has been proven that Seattle can host an NBA franchise, as the SuperSonics had a loyal fanbase and success in the league, winning the championship in 1979. Seattle recently introduced the Kraken in the NHL, so finding a stadium to house the team will be incredibly easy. This is an incredible fanbase that deserves its team back. The only question being if Seattle is granted an expansion team and hypothetically they take back the name SuperSonics, do they get to claim their history of 1967-2008, or does that belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder?
Possible NBA Team Names: SuperSonics, Sonics, Sasquatch
Las Vegas, Nevada
It is no secret that the NBA has wanted to expand to Las Vegas for some time now. With the Athletics from the MLB planning to move to Las Vegas in 2028, the NBA is the last major sports league to not have a team in Sin City. It makes sense that Adam Silver and the Board of Governors hop on the bandwagon and get a team to Nevada as quickly as possible. While Las Vegas does have a strong base – look at all of the loyal fans of the Vegas Golden Knights – the obvious attraction here is tourism. Las Vegas consistently ranks among the top 10 most visited cities in the country. That number will jump if fans plan trips around their favorite basketball team playing there.
Just like Seattle, Las Vegas already houses an NHL team, so finding an arena to play at will be very simple. While you may not like him, LeBron James has also reportedly been interested in a possible NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, where he might join an ownership group when his playing career is over. Given the recent history of the Golden Knights, Raiders and Athletics all calling Las Vegas home, it is inevitable that the NBA sees a team here sooner than later.
Possible NBA Team Names: Vandals, Scorpions, Lions
Louisville, Kentucky
While this may seem like an odd pick, the state of Kentucky has one of the strongest basketball traditions in the entire country. Look at the college teams: Kentucky, Louisville and even Northern Kentucky have three of the strongest fan bases in Division 1. That proves that if an NBA came to the state, there would be an immense amount of interest. When looking at the areas that the NBA could expand to, the area of the United States between the midwest and south is lacking in NBA representation outside of the Memphis Grizzlies. Louisville feels like the perfect city to help fill that void.
Louisville already features the KFC Yum! Center, where the Louisville men and women play their games. While there could be some scheduling issues with college and NBA home games, it has worked where they have shared an arena. Look at Milwaukee; both the Bucks and Marquette University share the Fiserv Forum. The Louisville metropolitan area houses 1.4 million people, so the city surely can host an NBA franchise. While it may not be the flashiest city, it may be near the top for hardcore basketball sickos. This is also one of those cases where the team could use the state as its name, rather than the city, given Kentucky’s overall love for the sport.
Possible NBA Team Names: Colonels, Liberty, Stallions
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San Diego, California
Continuing the idea of the NBA going back to where they had a team previously, I think San Diego could be in the cards at some point for an expansion franchise. From 1978-84, the now Los Angeles Clippers were located in San Diego. While, in the grand scope of the NBA, they were not relevant, similar to the Los Angeles Clippers today, they did feature names like Bill Walton, Randy Smith, Bob McAdoo and World B. Free. Even though California already has four NBA franchises, San Diego seems to be an attractive place for players to play and fans to visit.
San Diego stands as one of the nicest cities in the entire country, opening the door for increased tourism and revenue. On top of that, San Diego feels like the perfect place to host the NBA All-Star Weekend, not that this should be a reason for a franchise, but given the weather, it is hard to pass up that opportunity. The city of San Diego is in the process of creating a multi-sport arena already, so if they were to bring an NBA team there, that box is already checked.
Possible NBA Team Names: Sharks, Surf, Sailors
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
When we talk about the expansion of any sports league in today’s day and age, we have to think about expanding internationally. The NBA has brought up the idea of Mexico City being one of the possible NBA expansion cities, but given the distance, as well as crime, there may be some logistical issues. That leads me to believe the next international city on the list is Vancouver. Similar to Seattle and San Diego, Vancouver has actually been the home to an NBA franchise before – the Grizzlies, now in Memphis, from 1995 to 2001. That proves that Vancouver has the capability to host an NBA franchise with an already loyal fan base.
Canada already has an NBA team with the Raptors, but in my mind, it seems strange that a country as spread out as Canada only has one team to really rally behind. With Toronto stretching so far east, those who live in Vancouver are probably fans of teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves or the Portland Trail Blazers. Canada needs a team on its west coast and, with Vancouver having been home to a franchise in the past, it works perfectly. Not to mention that finding a place won’t be hard, as the Canucks play their hockey games in the city.
Possible NBA Team Names: Timber, Union, Admirals, Orcas
