5 best locations for NBA expansion

The NBA continues to grow its brand in North America and overseas. With an increased fanbase and immensely talented young players showcasing their skills at multiple levels, it won't be long before the NBA moves to expand and add new teams to its league.

The question is, where should those teams be based? Adding new franchises in cities with little interest in basketball or cities with a thriving football culture makes no sense. Any new team should be a medium-sized market at least. Even with these parameters, multiple options are still available to the NBA in terms of expansion.

This article will explore the five potential locations for new NBA teams to be set up. Let's begin.

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Five best locations for NBA expansion

#1 Seattle

The former home of the Seattle SuperSonics, Seattle is a basketball-starved city with a pre-existing fanbase ready to show their love of the sport and support their hometown team. It is a big-time market that could attract legitimate stars, which will only aid their reintegration into the league.

Seattle currently has a WNBA team in their city — the Seattle Storm. Therefore, you can count on the infrastructure for housing an NBA team is already in place, and things could hit the ground running.

#2 Las Vegas

Outside of Seattle, Las Vegas is arguably the biggest sports market in North America without an NBA team. Given the success of the Las Vegas Aces in recent years, the city would like to welcome an NBA franchise with open arms as they look to develop a winning sports culture in Sin City.

Vegas has the weather, the nightlife, and the funding to be a major player in the NBA market and is viewed as a shoo-in to land an NBA team at the first sign of an expansion.

#3 St. Louis

St. Louis might not hold a big market like Las Vegas or Seattle, but it has a pedigree when it comes to developing elite talent. Stars such as Jayson Tatum and Bradley Beal would likely jump at the opportunity to represent their hometown team on the biggest stage.

Furthermore, St. Louis is a rabid basketball city based in the Midwest, where college basketball is rampant. Similar to Seattle, St. Louis would have a pre-built fanbase in a large metropolitan area and could attack some significant talent upon its inception.

#4 Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has some questions regarding its market size and how the city would embrace a fourth major sports franchise. The Pittsburgh Steelers reign supreme in the city and that would be unlikely to change should an NBA franchise be dropped into a market that is already teeming with sports teams to root for.

Nevertheless, Pittsburgh has the infrastructure and cache to host an NBA team and could become a legitimate basketball city over the years. However, the league likely has more enticing options available to them.

#5 Louisville

Louisville would be the smallest market team on this list. Yes, there is a true basketball fandom within the city, and the collegiate team consistently draws a significant crowd. But in terms of overall market size, geographic location, and marketability, Louisville would certainly struggle to compete.

They might have the Cardinals (a college team), yet Louisville doesn't have any major sports franchises within the city. As such, there will be genuine concerns regarding infrastructure and sustainability. Things could get more murky if an NBA team ever relocated to Kentucky, which isn't as crazy as it may seem.