For the first time, NBA commissioner Adam Silver laid out a definitive timeline for domestic expansion, saying a decision would be made on whether to proceed sometime in 2026.

“I’d say in terms of domestic expansion, that is something we’re continuing to look at,” Silver said at a news conference before the NBA Cup final between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. "It’s not a secret we’re looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle. We’ve looked at other markets, as well. I’d say I want to be sensitive there about this notion that we’re somehow teasing these markets, because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while.

"As I’ve said before, domestic expansion, as opposed to doing a new league in Europe, is selling equity in this current league. If you own 1/30 of this league, now you own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it’s a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires predicting the future.