1) Mexico City

It’s a long flight from most of the existing NBA cities, the culture and language are completely different, security concerns abound, and soccer will always dwarf all other sports in popularity. But Mexico City is still heavily rumored as a destination for not just an NBA franchise but also NFL and MLB ones and there’s approximately 22 million reasons why. That’s the estimated population of the Mexican capital, which makes it the fifth largest city in the world. In fact, that’s twice as many citizens as any current NBA home base aside from New York and Los Angeles. While the NFL and MLB have made only cursory appeals to our southern neighbor, with occasional neutral site games (which the NBA has done too, dating back to 1992) amidst hushed intonations of possible long-term expansion, the NBA firmly planted its flag in Mexico City in 2022, with a G-League affiliate. The Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico started off in Mexico’s top basketball league (LNBP) but switched over to the G-League starting in ’21-’22, becoming the first non-American, non-Canadian franchise officially associated with the NBA. While commissioner Adam Silver has been coy about a full-on NBA franchise starting playing in Mexico, he has outright stated that the Capitaines will serve as a proof of concept.

2) Montreal

As the NBA appeals further to Mexico, will it attempt expansion again in our neighbors to the north? The Toronto Raptors are the only current Canadian NBA franchise but there have been two other prior endeavors. The first was the Toronto Huskies, who were not just part of the inaugural NBA season in ’46-’47, they in fact hosted the league’s first game, at the famed Maple Leafs Garden against the Knicks. Aside from that historical significance, there’s not much else to Huskies history, and the franchise was disbanded by league after just one season. The second was the Vancouver Grizzlies, who last just seven unsuccessful and largely unnoticed seasons in Canada before packing up and heading south to Memphis. But the calculus has changed since that Grizzlies move, as a new generation of Canadian stars raised on Raptors basketball has taken the NBA by storm, led by Andrew Wiggins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jamal Murray. Rather than a return attempt in Vancouver, the league has set it sights on Montreal, the nation’s second largest city. With its state-of-the-art arena (Bell Centre, home of the NHL’s Canadiens), sizable fan base, and proximity to the U.S. Northeast (rivalries with the Celtics, Knicks, and Nets would come natural), the city certainly holds some allure for the NBA brass and they’ve responded by regularly scheduling exhibition games there to gauge interest.

3) Louisville

Basketball is more a way of life in Kentucky than just a sport, and Louisville was the home of the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels, who didn’t make it to the 1976 merger but were arguably the league’s most stable franchise. With that built-in fanbase and historical achievement, Louisville has long been a rumored NBA franchise destination. But its two serious attempts at landing one were both failures, first in 2001 when the Grizzlies instead chose Memphis, and again in 2005, when the Hornets opted to play in Oklahoma City. One of the issues from that era has been resolved, as the KFC Yum! Center opened in 2010 and is more than equipped to host an NBA team. But the other two concerns about Louisville are still pressing. First, there’s the population, with a metro area that ranks only 45th in the U.S. in terms of size, which is larger than only two existing NBA markets (New Orleans and Salt Lake City). Second, there’s college basketball, which reigns supreme in the state. When the Hornets were evaluating using Louisville as a home base in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, it was reportedly then Louisville coach Rick Pitino who scuttled the deal to preserve the school’s strange hold on the city’s basketball culture. All of this adds up to an uphill battle for Louisville but the city is still throwing its hat into the latest expansion ring, with state basketball legend Dan Issel leading the charge.

4) Pittsburgh

Speaking of ABA franchises, the Pittsburgh Pipers were champions of the inaugural ’67-’68 ABA season, led by league MVP Connie Hawkins. But a series of unlucky breaks and poor decisions by team ownership ensued and the franchise lasted just five seasons before the league shuttered it due to financial insolvency. Two decades prior to the Pipers, there was the Pittsburgh Ironmen, who finished with the worst record in the NBA in their own and only season before folding. Would a third time be the charm? With its reputation as one of the premier sports towns in America, Pittsburgh has often been floated as a potential NBA team host. But that potential fanbase is a double-edged sword, as the NFL’s Steelers already rule the town, while any left over oxygen is scooped up by the MLB’s Pirates, NHL’s Penguins, and NCAA’s Panthers. While the Pittsburgh metro area is larger than seven current NBA sites (plus most of the other cities on this list), adding an NBA team would make it by far the smallest U.S. metro area with franchises in all four major sports.

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5) Las Vegas

With its built-in infrastructure, destination status, growing populace, and easy flow of capital, Las Vegas has been at the center of nearly every major pro sports expansion or re-location discussion in the 21st century. It finally began to pay dividends in 2017, with the Vegas Golden Knights joining the NHL, followed by the NFL’s Raiders re-locating to the desert three years later, and the Oakland A’s of the MLB reportedly planning to join them in 2024. Adding an NBA franchise into the mix seems inevitable, not only for the reasons listed already but also the league’s long-standing relationship with the city. That started in earnest in 2006, when Vegas became the main site of the yearly NBA Summer League, followed soon after by its 2007 hosting of the All-Star Weekend. Factor in the Las Vegas Aces becoming the premier WNBA franchise, as well as the league’s increasing relationship with sports gambling and a new Las Vegas NBA franchise does feel like a shoo-in. The city’s sports books agree, as Vegas has been established as the odds-on favorite to receive a franchise if the NBA opts to expand.

6) Kansas City
7) St. Louis

These cities have a lot in common, besides their obvious proximity (about 250 miles apart). Both have a track record of hosting an NBA team, as the Kansas City Kings competed in the city for 13 seasons starting in 1972, before re-locating to their current home of Sacramento. Granted, that was hardly a successful endeavor, with the Kings languishing in the standings for much of that stretch and failing to draw many fans in the heartland city. St. Louis’ NBA experience was much more lucrative, as the Hawks won the 1958 title, played in three other Finals, and generally maintained fan interest until a 1968 sale to a group of Atlanta investors portended their move. Despite the lack of NBA status, both cities also have an enduringly strong basketball culture, exemplified by Kansas City being the site of the College Basketball Hall of Fame. While Kansas City has remained quiet in any pursuit of a second NBA team, St. Louis has actively pursued one multiple times, most notably in 1999 when St. Louis Blues owner Bill Laurie made a failed attempt to purchase the Vancouver Grizzlies.

8) Anaheim

The home of Disneyland, the NHL’s Ducks, and an arena that regularly hosts major basketball events (including NBA preseason games) has been mostly ignored in the most recent theoretical expansion discussions. But Anaheim was once arguably the top contender in that regard and came quite close to becoming an NBA city on three occasions. The first was in 1996, when Donald Sterling agreed in principle to move the Clippers 30 miles south to the newly opened Honda Center (then called Arrowhead Pond) but backed out at the last minute for reasons unknown (and likely unknowable, given his track record). Five years later, Anaheim was considered a frontrunner to receive the re-locating Grizzlies but ultimately lost out to Memphis. Then in 2011, a Kings move to Anaheim seemed like a done deal, to the extent that a trademark was even filed for the name Anaheim Royals. But Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson managed to sink that deal and keep the Kings in the state capital. That was likely Anaheim’s last decent chance at an NBA franchise, at least unless the Clippers and/or Kings de-stabilize again, as the NBA is unlikely to sanction five teams in California.

9) Hampton Roads

You may not be familiar with the Hampton Roads region of Virginia but it’s the second largest metro area in the U.S. without an NBA, NHL, NFL, or MLB franchise, trailing only Austin, Texas. It was also the site of the Virginia Squires, an ABA franchise that lasted for six seasons and launched the careers of Julius Erving and George Gervin before dissolving ahead of the 1976 merger. In the nearly 50 years since the Squires’ demise, Hampton Roads has emerged as a serious NBA location twice. When George Shinn was mulling re-locating the Hornets in the early ’00s, Norfolk was supposedly on his short list of landing spots, before he eventually picked New Orleans. Then, when the Maloof family essentially placed the Kings on eBay circa 2011, Hampton Roads emerged as a top contender. In fact, the Maloof brothers went as far as touring the region to check viability. While the Squires’ main home, the Scope Arena in Norfolk, was likely too small and too outdated to be considered an NBA site, the city of Virginia Beach reportedly offered to help finance a brand new arena. But the offer apparently wasn’t enticing enough for the Maloofs, who soon after began negotiations with an ownership group in Seattle instead.

10) Seattle

It’s been 15 years now since the assassination of the SuperSonics by the cowards Howard Schultz and Clay Bennett. When the city of Seattle refused to publicly fund a replacement for KeyArena, the former sold the franchise to the latter in 2006, setting the stage for an Oklahoma City move. Even though this left Seattle as the largest metro area in the United States without an NBA team (larger, in fact, than 14 current markets, including OKC), commissioner David Stern was apparently in no rush to return basketball to the Emerald City. In fact, he seemed downright hostile to the idea, openly musing at one point that he never expected the NBA to return to Seattle again. It’s been a different tune from Adam Silver, who has consistently insisted that expansion is inevitable and Seattle is at the top of the list of sites. In the meantime, the city also got the Kings in 2013, when an ownership group led by hedge fund billionaire Chris Hansen and former Microsoft exec Stebe Ballmer made a bid that was ultimately rejected by the NBA Board of Governors. While Hansen and Ballmer have moved on to other endeavors, there are still plenty of insanely wealthy Seattle-ites who could make a bid for an expansion franchise, from Seahawks owner Jody Allen to Amazon CEO (and Climate Pledge Arena owner) Jeff Bezos to the Nordstrom family to Bezos’ ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott.