The NBA has cleared the first formal step toward a Las Vegas franchise after the league’s Board of Governors voted to explore expansion in Las Vegas and Seattle. Commissioner Adam Silver said the league has hired PJT Partners to assess the markets, ownership groups, arena plans, and the financial effect of adding two teams.
The vote does not create a franchise yet, but it turns years of talk into an active process. Bids for the new teams are expected to land between $7 billion and $10 billion, with the league looking at the 2028-29 season as a possible starting point if expansion goes ahead.
Las Vegas now moves from rumor to real bidding
Las Vegas has been tied to NBA expansion for years, but this is the first time the league has formally opened the door. Silver said the city’s long support for basketball helped drive the decision, and the league will now work through the practical questions that come with adding a team.
Interest is already there. Recent reports out of Nevada said Gov. Joe Lombardo met with Magic Johnson and other local figures about a possible Las Vegas ownership push. MGM has also publicly welcomed the idea of working with the league on an NBA fan experience in the city.
Arena plans will be one of the first real tests
The league’s review will not just be about who wants a team. Arena readiness is part of the process, and that could be one of the harder parts of the Las Vegas bid. T-Mobile Arena is the obvious existing option, but the city has also seen other NBA arena ideas come and go in recent years.
That question matters because the money will be huge from the start. A Las Vegas team priced near the top of current estimates would rank among the most expensive franchise purchases in U.S. sports history.
A franchise would land as Vegas looks for another tourism draw
An NBA team would give Las Vegas 41 regular-season home dates a year before playoffs, adding another anchor to a city that already hosts the Raiders, Golden Knights, Aces, Formula 1, and soon the Athletics.
The timing also lines up with a softer tourism stretch. Las Vegas visitation fell 7.5% in 2025, and January 2026 visitors were down 2.2% while airport traffic dropped 7.9%. An NBA club would not fix that on its own, but it would give the city another high-value event stream to sell year round.
