NBA Expansion: Largest Markets Without an NBA Team

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1987: Xavier McDaniel #34 of the Seattle Supersonics looks on during a game in the 1989-1990 NBA season.
(Rick Stewart/Getty Images)
Chase Kiddy @chaseakiddy Oct 24, 2024, 4:25 PM

It’s been nearly 20 years since the last expansion franchise was christened, which is now the longest static period in NBA history. Expansion feels overdue and fast-approaching. 

Commissioner Adam Silver has alluded to league growth multiple times in recent years. At this point, franchise additions are simply a matter of where and when. 

While much of the focus remains on Seattle and Las Vegas, it’s unclear which city (or cities) the league might bless with professional basketball. 

Biggest Cities Without an NBA Team

RankCityTotal Homes (2024)
1Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota)2,221,240
2Seattle-Tacoma2,098,240
3Raleigh-Durham (Fayetteville)1,345,840
4St. Louis1,273,870
5Nashville1,199,400
6Pittsburgh1,167,890
7Baltimore1,155,000
8San Diego1,116,150
9Hartford & New Haven, CT1,060,910
10Kansas City1,033,680
11Austin, TX1,029,800
12Columbus, OH1,018,390

NBA Expansion History

The Charlotte Bobcats were the most recent expansion team, joining the league in 2004-05, just nine years after the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies were added in 1995. 

The Bobcats replaced the Hornets, who departed the much larger Charlotte media market for the NBA’s second-smallest active market, New Orleans, in 2002.

Only Memphis, which landed the Grizzlies from Vancouver in 2001, is currently a smaller market. And each of the top 11 media markets in the United States has a team.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has reported on expansion potential several times in recent years.

“Within the league office, sources said officials have floated the price tag of $2.5 billion each for two expansion teams in the near future,” Windhorst said in late 2020. “Unlike other major revenue streams such as TV and ticket money, expansion fees are not split with players. Such a haul could mean about $160 million per team, a windfall that could wipe out the massive debt load that’s piling up, and that alone has perked interest in the expansion path.”

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About the Author

Chase Kiddy

Read More @chaseakiddy

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.

Chase Kiddy is a writer for BetMGM and co-host of The Lion's Edge, an NFL and college football podcast available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere else. He has also written for a number of print and online outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Post, Daily News-Record, and HERO Sports. His first novel, Cave Paintings, is in development.