National Basketball Association

NBA: 5 Best Cities For NBA Expansion

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:56 p.m. ET

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If the NBA were to expand to new places, where might it go? Here are the 5 best cities for NBA expansion.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 26: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver(L) and David Stern attend the ‘Kareem: Minority Of One’ New York Premiere at Time Warner Center on October 26, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)

NBA expansion has been discussed many times before. There are struggling NBA franchises and there are struggling cities. There’s also a desire for the league to expand beyond the domestic territory as commissioner Adam Silver seeks to grow the game of basketball on an international front.

Though discussing expansion hasn’t resulted in many tangible changes towards progression, there are signs of life for cities that want to make a bid for an NBA team

Owners are selling their stakes in teams. Investors are buying land and trying to finance the build or remodeling of arenas. Fans are starting petitions to bring NBA franchises to their city.

Still, the idea of expansion has met resistance from owners who say they aren’t making enough money to expand the number of teams in the league. While this isn’t a big problem in-and-of itself, it’s an issue because the franchises that are struggling want to stay in their current cities.

Nonetheless, the NBA would possibly be more competitive with more than 30 teams. Marquee NBA players may find a new destination to make their mark in the league. Yet if the number of teams remains the same, there’s little reason to keep a franchise in places where the fans aren’t supporting it.

As the NBA decides its next move, fans can only hope that there will eventually be serious bidding for an expansion team. If the NBA does decide to expand, here are five cities that would thrive as hosts to an expansion franchise.

Jan 15, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Supersonics former guard Gary Payton and former forward Shawn Kemp react to a play during the second half of a game in which their sons Oregon State Beavers guard Gary Payton II (1) and Washington Huskies forward Shawn Kemp, Jr. (40) play at Alaska Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Seattle, Washington

Seattle has been pining for the NBA to return a franchise to the city since they left in 2008. The Seattle SuperSonics, which became the Oklahoma City Thunder, have been one of the NBA’s most successful franchises since 1967.

The SuperSonics won six divisional titles (1979, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005), three Western Conference Finals (1978, 1979, 1996) and one NBA Finals series in that time (1979).

The Seattle Supersonics were also home to some of the most memorable stars, superstars and player-coaches in NBA history. Lenny Wilkens earned four of his nine All-Star appearances with the SuperSonics and led them to their lone NBA championship.

Paul Silas was on that championship team and coached was LeBron James‘ NBA first coach. Bill Russell led the team to their first playoff appearance in 1975 as head coach. Legendary coach George Karl coached some of the best Sonics teams in history.

Nine-time All-Star Jack Sikma, nine-time All-Star and 1996 Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton, six-time All-Star Shawn Kemp, 10-time All-Star and all-time three-point leader Ray Allen, and Kevin Durant also played for the Supersonics.

The hope is that Christopher Hansen keeps up his efforts and, after being rebuffed on the relocation of the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks, finds a franchise to purchase and bring to Seattle. While Hansen has been unsuccessful thus far, the NBA would profit from a franchise in Seattle.

Sep 26, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Cincinnati Reds center fielder Scott Schebler (43) is congratulated by starting pitcher Tim Adleman (68) after scoring during the fourth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio. Putting a team in Cincinnati allows the NBA to bring basketball to the three largest cities in the state. The Ohio State Buckeyes are in Columbus, the largest city in Ohio. The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the second-largest city.

While being a great in-state rival for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cincinnati is also home to the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals. Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds have an outstanding fan base and, like the Cleveland Indians, should partner up with a NBA counterpart to maximize their popularity and profitability. In addition, with the Cincinnati Bengals failing to draw many fans, an NBA franchise in Cincinnati wouldn’t have much competition in the winter.

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Cincinnati has already had an NBA franchise, the Cincinnati Royals. The Royals were made famous by Hall of Fame point guard Oscar Robertson. Robertson’s a player whose name is still relevant in the NBA today as players like Russell Westbrook and LeBron James emulate his propensity for triple-doubles performances.

Cincinnati has a viable arena as well. The U.S. Bank Arena currently serves as the Arena for the EHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones, but it was the home of the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball games until 1987.

In addition, the Cleveland Cavaliers played a preseason game at U.S. Bank Arena as recently as 2013. The U.S. Bank Arena currently holds 17,000 people and a bid has been proposed for the arena to have $200 million in renovations that would boost the seating capacity to 18,500.

Jun 10, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; The crowd gathers hours before the Muhammad Ali memorial service at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is generally known as the home of the Kentucky Derby. Already set with an arena that can hold 22,049 people, the KFC Yum! Center, Louisville is one of the few cities that are an option for NBA expansion prepared to house an NBA team.

The city already has a basketball team with significant popularity in the Louisville Cardinals and basketball fans that would certainly love to attend more basketball games than just the collegiate ones that are currently available for them.

The Louisville franchise would be in a Central Division competing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks.

While it’s rarely mentioned, Detroit is one of the cities with the weakest economies. While it was one of the most wealthy cities in the country after the establishment of Ford Motors and other automobile companies, the city filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

The Detroit Pistons aren’t a struggling franchise failing to draw attendance. However, it may eventually seem more viable for the city to stop paying for the arena, even as they prepare to move downtown where the Red Wings play.

Oct 13, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view prior to the banner raising as the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Washington Capitals at the PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins won 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the 23rd largest media market in the United States. For a revenue-sharing league that profits mightily from media exposure, Pittsburgh has to look attractive. It’s a city with a rabid sports fan base. The Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Pittsburgh Pirates are successful franchises in the city.

While Pittsburgh has no professional basketball team, the city does have an ABA team, the Steel City Yellow Jackets. Pittsburgh also has highly successful collegiate basketball team’s for both the men and the women’s basketball programs at the University of Pittsburgh. The prominence of higher-level basketball in the area is cause for the NBA to pay attention. The basketball fans in Pittsburgh would be some of the best in the NBA and would expect their franchise to be successful like every other professional sports franchise they have.

What’s even more of a draw for people like commissioner Adam Silver in particular, is that Pittsburgh has consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the country. As NBA players look for places to raise their families and the NBA looks to steer NBA players away from temptations and violence, Pittsburgh is a city that makes sense.

Pittsburgh also has an arena available for use. PPG Paints Arena, having just been built in 2008, is one of the newest arenas and will seat 19,000 fans.

Feb 21, 2015; Albuquerque, NM, USA; General view of The Pit Arena exterior beforet he NCAA basketball game between theUNLV Runnin

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Having a team in Albuquerque, New Mexico is the NBA’s first chance at creating a franchise that draws in a large number of Hispanic fans. In Albuquerque, 46.7 percent of the citizens are Hispanic or Latino. As Major League Baseball has seen, the league can grow and become more profitable when the Hispanic culture is embraced.

While many Hispanics follow baseball or soccer closely and have a team they can identify with from an ethnic-standpoint, the number of Hispanic basketball players in the NBA is low. According to racial equality activist Richard Lapchick, 1.8 percent of all NBA players were Latino.

Furthermore, there are well-known Spanish and Latino basketball players such as Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobli, Brook Lopez and Ricky Rubio. However, there aren’t many who are of Mexican descent. In fact, there have only been four players in the NBA of Mexican descent: Gustavo Ayon, Jorge Guttierez, Horacio Llamas and Eduardo Najera.

A franchise in Albuquerque will draw in basketball fans from El Paso, Texas and perhaps Mexico itself. El Paso’s population is 80.7 percent Hispanic or Latino. The NBA wants to extend basketball beyond borders. Placing a basketball franchise near the border, especially in a basketball city like Albuquerque that draws huge support for the University of New Mexico’s basketball program, could be a great start.

There’s no stadium in Albuquerque, currently. The Pit where the UNM Lobos play seats over 15,000, but that’s probably not quite enough for an NBA team.

Apr 29, 2014; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver addresses the media regarding the investigation involving Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling (not pictured) at New York Hilton Midtown. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Conclusion

In conclusion, the NBA has great options for expansion. The best bet for expansion seems to be the NBA increasing the number of teams. Expanding the number of teams from 30 to 32 would be a fine start. In a league that complains about the lack of parity, increasing teams would undoubtedly spread the talent out.

However, if the owners budge in their positions to keep their struggling franchises in their current city, there’s an even greater chance for the NBA to grow than starting from the grassroots. The Oklahoma City Thunder were in love with Durant after his arrival.

An NBA franchise in Louisville would make former University of Kentucky star DeMarcus Cousins feel right at home. Actually, a franchise in Louisville could be a major draw for every former Kentucky star, from Cousins, to Eric Bledsoe to Brandon Knight to John Wall.

While the NBA seems to be choosing whether to expand the number of teams or simply relocate struggling teams, doing both may be best for the league. Cities like Albuquerque and Pittsburgh could be useful tools for building NBA brand globally and domestically.

Ultimately, talk of expansion is just that. Talk. Until the NBA decides it truly wants to grow, that is.

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