Source: PATRICK T. FALLON / Getty
As if you didn’t already have enough teams for your parlays, the NBA may be expanding beyond 30 teams.
The Toronto Raptors may no longer be the only franchise outside of America, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver toying with the idea of starting a Mexico City team.
The NBA’s already had some experience in Mexico, after a game between the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks took place there last week.
“We think there’s an enormous opportunity to continue growing the game of basketball here in Mexico City and throughout the country,” Silver hinted at the time. “And we also see this as a gateway essentially to the rest of Latin America.”
Then, earlier this week, when the Boston Celtics took on the New York Knicks, expansion was brought up again, and Silver gave a few other cities that would like to join the league, and it seems the NBA is seriously attempting to make the game as international as possible.
According to journalist Keith Smith, during that broadcast, Silver “all but confirmed” that the league’s getting new teams once the TV deal —which yields the NBA $2.6 billion a year— expires at the end of the 2024-2025.
Canada is top of mind, and he added that Montreal has proactively reached out to NBA brass.
”That’s become a great basketball market,” he said. “I will say the Toronto Raptors have done a good job … of making themselves Canada’s team. I know there’s interest from Montreal. There’s still ongoing interest in Vancouver.”
Silver credits the idea of continuously trying to globalize the game of basketball to David Stern, who, during his 30 years as the NBA Commissioner, fought for global growth and introduced the Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies as the first international teams in 1995.
Growth has also touched the WNBA recently, with the Golden State Warriors ownership group getting a new yet-to-be-named team.
