

In March, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that expansion would be on the table at the next board of governors meeting. Since then, there has been a whirlwind of speculation on which direction the vote would go. Some have reported a potential inner Texas divide. Prior to Silver's announcement, Mark Cuban had been publicly against expansion, stating on the Bill Simmons podcast it's "short-sighted." Meanwhile on Twitter, the Athletic's Shams Charania reported that Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta and San Antonio Spurs owner Peter J. Holt were allegedly major proponents of expansion.

Today we finally got our answer, it was announced that the board of governors voted 23-7 in favor of expanding the NBA to 32 teams starting in 2023-24. That number is important because it is the exact number, which is required for the vote to pass. This came as a surprise as many reporters had believed that the vote would fall short. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported today that several owners decided to support expansion at the last minute after agreements were made to modify the NBA's expansion rules to make them much tougher on the incoming expansion teams.
In a press conference announcing the results of the vote this morning, Adam Silver told the media, "This is an exciting time for the league and its fans. It's been close to twenty years since we last expanded, and we are ecstatic to bring in two new franchises to the league."
When asked about how the expansion process will play out, Silver stated, "We have already been investigating potential expansion locations. In the coming weeks, we will begin to hold discussions with potential governors."
Although the NBA has not made an official statement, it is anticipated that the cost for the two new expansion teams will exceed that of any previous NBA expansion. It's no secret Las Vegas and Seattle are the favorites to land the two new expansion teams, but Mexico City, Vancouver, Louisville, and Montreal are also likely in the running.


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