NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed at a pre-NBA Cup press conference on Wednesday that the league will decide next year (2026) whether to expand and add new teams from Las Vegas and Seattle.

Silver said at the press conference that the league is actively exploring the possibility of expanding and adding two new teams, and has identified Las Vegas and Seattle as key cities for potential additions.

Later, when pressed by The Athletic, Silver explained that the main reason the league is prioritizing Las Vegas and Seattle is the significant role these cities play in meeting the demands of the sporting industry.

He stated that, based on precedents from leagues like the NFL, WBNA, and NHL in terms of attendance, Las Vegas has always been one of the cities with the highest concentration of sports enthusiasts. 

Furthermore, the city of 2 million residents is expected to build a large professional ballpark in 2028, and it has been the primary venue for the league's Cup since 2004. Therefore, he couldn't see any reason to refuse adding an NBA team to Las Vegas.

Silver also believes that since the SuperSonics relocated, rebranded, and renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder, Seattle's passionate fans need a team that can represent their city and provide them the opportunity to support.

However, Silver said that the biggest challenge that the league is facing right now is obtaining the approval of the largest shareholders and stakeholders of the remaining 30 NBA teams for this plan, and further sharing the league's potential $11 billion in commercial profits.

In addition, Silver also took the opportunity to address why the NBA isn't considering further international team expansion plans in other North American countries, following Canada.

He said that the league is in discussions with FIBA to expand the NBA's game format to Europe, allowing the competition to be held simultaneously in the US and Europe, realizing the idea of globalizing NBA culture.

Furthermore, recognizing that the global economic system has been completely transformed after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the influenza pandemic, the plan to expand a NBA team in Mexico is currently not feasible.

The last time the NBA expanded its team was in 2004, when the Charlotte Bobcats (Charlotte Hornets) became the league's 30th team. 

Under the collective bargaining agreement, players receive 51% of all basketball-related revenue, meaning team owners will share a slightly larger "pie" than $5 billion.

The league's largest source of fixed revenue is perhaps the $76 billion 11-year broadcasting deal with major television networks and streaming services. This deal was initially negotiated for 30 teams but will ultimately be split among 32.

All team owners must be confident that the revenue generated by the new teams — including billions of dollars in expansion fees — will be sufficient to offset the media rights losses incurred by adding two new teams for Silver's plan to expand the NBA to be feasible.