NBA commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media following the Board of Governors meeting on March 25, 2026.
NEW YORK – Of all the great NBA players who passed through the Seattle SuperSonics franchise in its 41-season existence, Kevin Durant’s stay was one of the shortest. He arrived in the summer of 2007 as the league’s No. 2 overall draft pick and got relocated a mere 12 months later, when the team moved to Oklahoma City.
Durant turned in a terrific debut season, earning Kia Rookie of the Year honors and joining Sonics teammate Jeff Green as All-Rookie First Team selections. The future was bright … until it wasn’t. Nineteen years later, Durant and Green aren’t just the last active links to that 2007-08 Seattle squad – remarkably, they are teammates again, ever since Durant joined Green this season on the Houston Rockets.
So when Durant heard the news late Monday in Chicago that their old city was about to get green-lit for one of two possible expansion franchises – news made official Wednesday at the NBA’s Board of Governors meeting – the legendary scorer beamed.
“It’s about time Seattle gets basketball back,” Durant said, after his team’s loss to the Bulls at United Center. “It’s been sorely missed in the Northwest.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was specific in his phrasing at a news conference Wednesday afternoon that the league is “exploring expansion,” not committing yet to expanding. There remain many variables in play, such as who the chosen ownership groups might be, the costs and benefits of a move that could bump league membership to 32 franchises, the availability of player talent to staff two more competitive teams and a final vote by the Governors.
The NBA has hired investment bank PJT Partners as a strategic adviser to evaluate potential owners, arena situations and other financial issues. It hopes to be ready to move ahead by the end of 2026, Silver said.
“There is absolutely a chance expansion may not happen,” he acknowledged. “It’s also possible we could expand to one market. Maybe two, or no markets.”
Thus, the conjecture about a franchise entry fee ranging from $7-10 billion, built off recent sales of established franchises such as the Celtics and the Lakers, remains just that. The same goes for 2028-29 as the speculated inaugural season for any newcomers.
But Silver and the NBA consider Seattle and Las Vegas to be markets with long histories in supporting the league – likely to resume in the former’s case and continue in the latter’s. So much so that, unlike in previous expansion explorations, no other markets (Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Mexico City, etc.) emerged as contenders.
For all the details to be ironed out in the next eight months, both Seattle and Las Vegas meet broader requirements as familiar and presumably eager, lucrative destinations.
Seattle doesn’t just represent an investment opportunity – it’s a way to settle a debt as well. The SuperSonics were born in an earlier expansion and operated in the Pacific Northwest for 41 seasons from 1967 to 2008. They won the NBA championship in 1979, went to the Finals two other years and were fronted by notable players such as Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Spencer Haywood, Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams, Jack Sikma, Tom Chambers, Ray Allen, and briefly Durant.
The franchise was purchased by Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett in October 2006 and moved to OKC in July 2008. The Thunder have crafted a strong presence, reaching the NBA Finals in 2010 and winning the NBA title last June. Durant, Russell Westbrook and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all have been named the league’s Most Valuable Players as OKC players.
But the success there hasn’t erased the sense of loss, sometimes veering into bitterness, for many Sonics fans. Support was strong and, with Durant, the team was on the uptick when it was moved.
Said Durant: “They do [deserve a team]. They must be super-excited, being it’s been [nearly] 20 years without basketball, man.”
Durant, 37, has been around long enough to move into fifth place in career points, passing Chamberlain, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Jordan all this season. But he hasn’t forgotten the thrill of getting his feet wet with the Sonics, or even how his friends felt about visiting and playing there.
“[They said] it was always good to go on those Seattle-Portland road trips, so I’m looking forward to that,” Durant said. “For the NBA – I don’t know if I’ll be around when the Seattle team comes back. I’m still thinking about it.”
Las Vegas never has had an NBA franchise but it has been a little brother to the league as home of the burgeoning Summer League, as well as the host to meetings, offseason training programs, Team USA practices and functions and other NBA business. The 2007 All-Star Game was held in Vegas, which has since boomed as a sports mecca by attracting franchises in the NHL, NFL, MLB and WNBA.
In his news conference, Silver addressed various issues surrounding expansion, matters discussed in the two-day Board of Governors meetings and assorted topics:
• How does a league add 30 or more additional players who aren’t currently NBA caliber, while maintaining quality of play? Silver cited the explosive growth of global talent markets in the three decades since the most recent multi-franchise expansion to Toronto and Vancouver.
“It’s my view we have ample talent to fill 32 competitive teams,” he said.
• Give the 65-game rule more time. The league’s decree that most NBA awards and honors are available only to players who appear in at least 65 games is in its third season. It was introduced at a time when “load management” – sitting out healthy players allegedly to lessen wear and tear – was a sore point for the league. Detroit guard Cade Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung in a recent freak injury, requiring a layoff that could cost him All-NBA and MVP eligibility. The National Basketball Players Association even called this week for the rule to be abolished or altered.
Doesn’t sound like that will be happening soon.
“It is working,” the Commissioner said. “I’m not ready to say because there is a sense of unfairness for one player, that the rule doesn’t work.”
• In a brief update on NBA Europe, Silver said: “The best outcome would be if we came together with the EuroLeague,” rather than competing with the long-running hoops entity.
• Silver was most adamant about fixing the issue of tanking, the nagging problem of low-success teams vying to lose their way to improved odds for high draft picks. The problem, which appears to involve as many as 8-10 teams this season, is paramount, judging from the tone of the Commissioner’s comments Wednesday.
A special session of the Board of Governors will be convened in May to vote on lottery reforms that will be in place of the June Draft, free agency and other preparations for the 2026-27 season. There are myriad possible fixes on the table to disincentivize intentional losing.
“Going into next season, the incentives will be completely different than they are now,” Silver said.
He added, “We are going to fix this. Full stop.”
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
