Sources: NBA set for 1st vote in Las Vegas-Seattle expansion - ESPN

The NBA will hold a vote at the board of governors meetings next week to explore adding expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, sources told ESPN, with the two new franchises being targeted to start play in the 2028-29 season.

There is momentum within the board of governors and league office to approve moving forward with taking bids for franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, according to sources with knowledge of the discussions.

Industry executives project proposals in the $7-10 billion range for each team and estimate that both markets would be among the NBA's top eight revenue generators. The market appeal of Las Vegas and Seattle, plus the parity-friendly collective bargaining agreement, will likely lead to a robust purchase market for expansion.

This marks the first of multiple critical steps toward NBA expansion. This first vote will allow the league to focus on Las Vegas and Seattle and have a bidding process for the teams. There will then be a potential final vote later in the year to finalize the transactions to 32 teams. In both voting rounds, 23 of 30 governors must vote in favor.

A growing number of owners are believed to support expansion because of the long-term revenue growth for the league from the Las Vegas and Seattle markets. Some owners remain hesitant on selling some of their shares and having their league equity go from 1/30 to 1/32, and want to see the final valuations of the bids plus the individual franchise fees before deciding whether to expand now or in a few more years.

The NHL recently had two of its recent expansions come in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights (2017) and Seattle with the Kraken (2021). In the NFL, the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020, and Major League