NEW YORK — Erik Spoelstra has long had mixed feelings about Seattle basketball, but he’s all for the NBA’s potential return to the city.
The National Basketball Association is formally exploring expansion, with Seattle and Las Vegas identified as leading candidates. The move has drawn widespread support from coaches, players and league officials.
Spoelstra, head coach of the Miami Heat, said the idea of bringing NBA games back to Seattle — nearly two decades after the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City — would be exciting for fans and the league.
“I think all the Pacific Northwest people were sad when it left,” Spoelstra said. “It was an awesome environment. It’s a city that can really rally around their team.”
San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson echoed that sentiment, noting his personal ties to the SuperSonics through his father, who played on the franchise’s 1979 championship team. He said both Seattle and Las Vegas offer strong markets capable of supporting NBA franchises.
Meanwhile, Becky Hammon, head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, said Las Vegas has long been a basketball city and would embrace an NBA team.
League commissioner Adam Silver and team owners have only begun the expansion process, and no final decision has been made. The earliest a new franchise could debut is the 2028–29 season.
Even so, the momentum behind expansion is building, with many around the league viewing it as a major step forward.
“It’s only the first step, but it’s a big step,” said MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle, whose company could play a role in a Las Vegas bid.
If approved, expansion would mark the NBA’s first addition of new teams in more than two decades, potentially reshaping the league’s landscape while bringing professional basketball back to Seattle and introducing it to Las Vegas.
