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USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

The NBA is one of the richest and most popular leagues in the world. While it seemed like it couldn’t get any bigger, commissioner Adam Silver broke a huge announcement during the Monday night game. Importantly, this announcement could fulfill superstar LeBron James and several other NBA players’ dreams of owning a franchise.

The league originated in 1946 with just 11 teams and over the course of 75 years; it expanded up to 30 teams. 29 from the USA and 1 from Canada. The talks about expanding the league were in the air for quite a while. Even King James has spoken about his ambition to claim ownership of his own NBA franchise. Now that Silver cleared the air with his announcement, let’s find out more in detail.

Adam Silver almost fulfills LeBron James’ dream

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During the game between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks, Silver took up the commentators’ mic for a moment. The 61-year-old discussed several important aspects of the league to the public. And importantly, he hinted at the expansion of the league with two teams.

Even though Silver’s initial two cities for expansion were Mexico City and Vancouver, a veteran NBA reporter, Keith Smith, broke another important update. Smith, in his tweet, wrote, “It’s a pretty open secret that Seattle and Las Vegas are clear frontrunners for the next two NBA teams. It would be a surprise if they didn’t get the two teams.”

The league has already given its importance to the Sin City, as it conducted the Summer league there and the Sphere has already garnered a lot of attention to the city. The recently announced In-Season Tournament will also have its final played in Vegas. So it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Las Vegas as the first city in the expansion plan.

At the same time, Seattle could also be in contention, as it was the last city to lose its franchise in 2008.

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But let’s find out what LeBron James said when he wanted to own an NBA franchise.

King James on owning a franchise

During a press conference, when a reporter asked about a team from Las Vegas, James jumped in with a positive answer. He said, “I think it’s only a matter of time. I hope I’m a part of that time. I’m looking forward to that.” Additionally, it isn’t just James who wants a franchise with Las Vegas, even Michael Jordan has shown an interest in buying a team for Las Vegas. Now that he has left the majority ownership of the Charlotte Hornets, will he buy a new franchise?

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What do you make of the expansion of the league? Will it cause a congestion of fixtures? Let us know in the comments below.