Billion-dollar move in basketball: Legendary club set to return to the NBA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is preparing to increase the number of teams to 32. Starting with the 2028/29 season, new franchises representing the cities of Las Vegas and Seattle are expected to join the league.

TodayPress TV reports that renowned insider Shams Charania revealed the information on ESPN.

According to expert estimates, the Las Vegas franchise could be valued at more than $10 billion, while the Seattle team is estimated to be worth around $7 billion.

The return of a team to Seattle would mean the revival of the legendary SuperSonics’ history. The club competed in the NBA from 1967 to 2008 and won the only championship in its history in 1979, defeating the Washington Bullets in the Finals. The SuperSonics last played in the Western Conference Finals in 1996. Twelve years later, the team relocated to Oklahoma and became the Thunder, while the SuperSonics name and history remained in Seattle. The new franchise is expected to carry on that legacy.

For Las Vegas, the creation of a new NBA franchise would bring the city closer to becoming the 13th market represented in all four major North American professional leagues — the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

It should be recalled that the Vegas Golden Knights made their NHL debut in 2017, the Las Vegas Raiders relocated to the city in 2020, while the Athletics baseball club plans to begin playing its games at a new stadium in Nevada from 2028.

Namiq HUN