Expansion continues to be a hot topic in the modern NBA landscape. As talks will heat up this summer, commissioner Adam Silver provided a new update on the subject.

Silver did a press conference ahead of Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals between the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. He addressed multiple questions, including the series itself, the appeal of the two teams and the possibility of the league expanding in the near future. For the latter, he stated that there will be an owner's meeting in July to discuss it.

“I'd say the current sense is that we should be exploring it. I don't think it's automatic… We have an owner's meeting in July in Las Vegas, and it will be on the agenda to take the temperature of the room,” Silver said.

“What also comes to mind with expansion is to create other competition around the world.”

How expansion can change NBA landscape for Adam Silver

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, center, watches a game between the Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.
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It's a solid update for Adam Silver to provide on the topic. The last expansion team to enter the NBA was the Charlotte Bobcats in the early 2000s. They replaced the outgoing Charlotte Hornets who moved to New Orleans before they changed their name to the Pelicans. As a result, they replaced the Bobcats and returned to the Hornets name in 2014.

Seattle and Las Vegas continue to be the most popular choices when it comes to locations for new NBA teams. Seattle used to have the Supersonics before moving to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder. The city hasn't had an NBA team since.

As for Las Vegas, it would be a new venture into a unique market. The city continues to grow with sports teams thanks to the NFL's Raiders, NHL's Golden Knights and WNBA's Aces. It's clear that having a NBA franchise might be on the table. It's only a matter of whether there will be a collective group of people that can make it happen, as the same goes for Seattle.

Expansion would significantly change the landscape, requiring conference realignment. If Seattle and Las Vegas enter the fold, it would have a team like Memphis move to the Eastern Conference, balancing it out as 16 teams in each conference. How the NBA approaches this topic this summer will be worth keeping track of.