Seattle’s long-awaited return to the NBA may no longer be as straightforward as it once appeared.
According to ESPN, commissioner Adam Silver left owners with the impression at last month’s Board of Governors meeting that Seattle is no longer guaranteed to receive an expansion franchise. Mexico City was also reintroduced as a potential alternative, adding another serious variable to a process that had largely been framed around Seattle and Las Vegas.
That represents a notable shift from earlier this year. In March, the NBA’s Board of Governors formally authorized the league to explore expansion specifically in Seattle and Las Vegas, hiring investment bank PJT Partners to evaluate prospective ownership groups, arena situations and the broader economics of adding new teams. At the time, Silver stressed that the process was exploratory and that expansion itself was not guaranteed.
Now, Mexico City appears to have forced its way back into the conversation. ESPN reported that owners were informed about at least one Mexico City-based group that has approached PJT Partners with a proposal centered on launching an NBA franchise and developing a new arena district. The project has reportedly generated enough interest inside the league to be discussed as a legitimate option rather than merely a long-term possibility.
Seattle still has obvious advantages. The SuperSonics played in the city from 1967 until the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008, and the market already has an NBA-ready arena in Climate Pledge Arena. Earlier this year, Silver openly acknowledged Seattle’s long history of supporting the league, while the NBA itself identified Seattle and Las Vegas as the two markets it intended to study first.
But the league has repeatedly avoided promising that expansion will necessarily mean two teams, or even that expansion will happen at all. Silver said in March that the NBA could ultimately add one team, two teams or none, depending on the financial and competitive conclusions reached during the review.
Las Vegas, meanwhile, continues to be viewed favorably by the league. At the September Board of Governors meetings, Silver spoke positively about the market and its potential arena options, while reaffirming the NBA’s goal of reaching a decision on expansion by the end of 2026.
