This year marks the 10th anniversary of a 30th team entering the NBA. While there has been a relocation since, it has also been 10 years since a new city was introduced to NBA basketball.
Adam Silver has recently inherited the league from long-time commissioner David Stern, and expansion could very well be one of the points on his agenda.
Considering that, let’s discuss (in no particular order) which North American cities could be in line for an NBA franchise.
Mexico City, Mexico
Conference: West/Southwest
Population: 8,851,000
Arena: Mexico City Arena (22,300)
Probably the boldest consideration for expansion that has been brought up, Mexico City has the potential to be a great NBA city.
If you look past the fact that an NBA game was cancelled there earlier this season, you will realise that Mexico City is one of the most important financial centres in North America and would provide plenty of revenue for the league.
If a team were placed here, it should no doubt play under the Mexico banner to create an effect similar to the way the Indiana Pacers unite the state.
Unfortunately, the main thing stopping the NBA from already being in Mexico is the state of the country itself. The crime rate in Mexico is through the roof, making it an even more unattractive place to want to play basketball, let alone to have a team.
And while basketball has been a popular one-off spectacle, an entire 82-game season may not be as popular with the football-loving population, especially if the team is losing.
Montreal/Vancouver, Canada
Conference: East/Atlantic, West/Northwest
Population: 1,650,000/605,000
Arena: Bell Centre (22,114)/Rogers Arena (19,700)
Canada certainly needs another NBA team, and either of these two cities would make sense. Montreal is a city of over one-and-a-half million, which would slide it into the top six biggest NBA cities.
Montreal sports fans are passionate and expectant of success; their ice hockey team the Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups by a long way (23).
Montreal is considered an international city and drawing crowds would not appear to be a problem – as long as NBA games are scheduled far and away from the NHL season. Montreal seems like a perfect new NBA city.
Vancouver is the other Canadian city leading the pecking order for an NBA franchise. While not nearly as big as Montreal, Vancouver has the benefit of previous NBA experience with the Grizzlies.
While dwindling attendance caused the sale and eventual relocation of the Grizzlies to Memphis, the NBA is much bigger and more successful than in 2001 when Vancouver saw its last game in the NBA.
One does wonder whether or not the NBA would be reluctant to try their hand again at an already failed market.
San Diego, California
Conference: West/Pacific
Population: 1,338,000
Arena: Valley View Casino Center (14,500)
The largest city in America without an NBA team is a no-brainer to come up in a discussion of where to place a new team.
San Diego is a diverse city and a tourist hub that, with only two professional sports franchises, would happily welcome a third back into the fold after the Clippers went north 30 years ago.
While not traditionally viewed as a sporting city, having won no professional titles, a successful San Diego team would unite the population and perhaps turn the city into a basketball city.
One drawback for the southern Cali city is that the city’s biggest sporting arena is much too small to host NBA games, holding only 14,500. Not only would an NBA license be required, but so would a contract for a new stadium.
For now, San Diego should probably put on the shelf for later.
Jacksonville, Florida
Conference: East/Southeast
Population: 837,000
Arena: Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (14,091)
Jacksonville can be seen by the NBA as a virtually untapped market for professional sports. Despite the presence of an atrocious NFL team, an NBA team should have no problems drawing crowds, especially if the team is successful.
Despite the contrary view that Floridian sports fans are fickle, Jacksonville sports fans are generally considered passionate, sticking by their football team. A successful team in the city would be embraced by the community much as the Oklahoma City Thunder have been.
A Jacksonville bid would, however, face the same problems that a San Diego one would – not having an arena big enough to host NBA games.
Columbus, Ohio
Conference: East/Central
Population: 810,000
Arena: Nationwide Arena (19,500)
Columbus is a city that would be seen by the NBA as similar to Jacksonville in the fact that it is home to only one professional sports franchise within the big four, and a fairly unsuccessful one at that.
Similar to Jacksonville, it is a big city that has a lot of support for its sport franchise(s), and a successful NBA team could make serious headway into turning Columbus into a notorious basketball city.
Columbus also has the perk of having an arena big enough to host an NBA team, Nationwide Arena, which they would share with NHL team the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
https://twitter.com/KatieMox/status/1780695947481174464 https://twitter.com/CWilliamson44/status/1780696642917994703
LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Steph Curry is headed to the games for the…
The only realistic threat to Boston’s chances of strolling through the Eastern Conference is a team that could still end up in the play-in…
Australian guards Dante Exum and Josh Giddey have both come up big for their NBA clubs in crucial wins in the lead-in to the…
Minnesota Timberwolves fans have endured plenty of pain in their 35 years of being a laughing stock in the NBA. In all that time,…
It’s a pretty good time to be a Tasmanian sports fan right now. After years in the sporting wilderness with not much to celebrate,…
