Sources: NBA votes to explore Vegas, Seattle expansion bids - ESPN

The NBA's Board of Governors has approved a vote for the league to explore bids and applicants for expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, sources told ESPN.

A bidding process is expected to generate offers in the $7-10 billion range for each team, according to sources.

Sources told ESPN last week that the league is targeting the 2028-29 season for the two expansion franchises to start playing.

The vote starts the NBA's process of expanding to 32 teams. Multiple high-ranking officials have termed expansion as «when, not if.»

The league now will examine Seattle and Las Vegas bids over the next several months, and whether to execute the new franchise purchases in 2026 or in a few years. There will be a potential final vote later this 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.

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 Baseball's Athletics are in the process of doing the same for the 2028 season.

Las Vegas also has been home to the WNBA's Aces since 2018. The Aces are three-time champions (2022, 2023, 2025) since the move.

Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008, when the SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City and changed their name to the Thunder. The Sonics played in the NBA from 1967 through 2008 before leaving because of a dispute about the lease for KeyArena, which owner Clay Bennett said was outdated. The venue underwent