2024 NBA Expansion(SportsFan958)

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During the 2023 NBA Summer League and offseason, the Board of Owners of every team voted to bring in a whole lot more expansion teams for the 2024-25 NBA season. The $3 billion expansion fees for each team was spread out evenly to the other 30 teams. It would later be decided that the expansion teams would be the Seattle Supersonics (making their return after moving to Oklahoma City in 2008), the Las Vegas Blackjacks, the Pittsburgh Hammers (after lot of request for an NBA team in the city of Pittsburgh), the Alabama Airmen (expected to play in the Legacy Arena in Birmingham), and more. As a result of a whole lot of new teams being added, the NBA would realign the two conferences to have 4 division each instead of 3. The league held an expansion draft on Thursday, June 19, which was one week before the NBA Draft on June 26.
== Las Vegas Blackjacks ==
The Las Vegas Blackjacks are owned by a consortium of individuals led by NBA star LeBron James. The Blackjacks play their home games at T-Mobile Arena, which is also the home of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights franchise
== Los Angeles Clippers Move ==
On September 17, 2021, the Los Angeles Clippers and software company Intuit announced a 23-year naming rights agreement for the Clippers planned stadium, the arena would be known as the Intuit Dome. On the same day, ground broke officially starting construction.
== Seattle Supersonics ==
Originally an NBA franchise that operated with the name from 1967 to 2008 before relocating to Oklahoma City and renaming to the Thunder. After years of requests from the city and the fan base, the Supersonics made their return for the 2024-25 NBA season. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is the owner of the team, and they play their home games in Climate Pledge Arena, which is also the home of the NHL's Seattle Kraken franchise. All Oklahoma City Thunder history and stats from before 2008 was returned to the Supersonics.
== Expansion & Realignment ==
* The Las Vegas Blackjacks and the Seattle Supersonics were added to the Western Conference.
* The Alabama Airmen and the Pittsburgh Hammers were added to the Eastern Conference.
=== NBA Teams ===
Division 	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
Eastern Conference	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference
Atlantic 	Boston Celtics 	Boston, Massachusetts 	TD Garden 	19,156
Atlantic 	Brooklyn Nets 	Brooklyn, New York 	Barclays Center 	17,732
Atlantic 	Montréal Alliance 	Montréal, Quebec 	Bell Centre 	21,000
Atlantic 	New Jersey Chaos 	Newark, New Jersey 	Prudential Center 	19,500
Atlantic 	New York Knicks 	New York City, New York 	Madison Square Garden 	19,812
Atlantic 	Philadelphia 76ers 	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 	Wells Fargo Center 	20,478
Atlantic 	Toronto Raptors 	Toronto, Ontario 	Scotiabank Arena 	19,800
Central 	Chicago Bulls 	Chicago, Illinois 	United Center 	20,917
Central 	Cincinnati Lightning 	Cincinnati, Ohio 	Heritage Bank Center 	17,556
Central 	Cleveland Cavaliers 	Cleveland, Ohio 	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse	19,432
Central 	Detroit Pistons 	Detroit, Michigan 	Little Caesars Arena 	20,332
Central 	Indiana Pacers 	Indianapolis, Indiana 	Gainbridge Fieldhouse 	17,923
Central 	Milwaukee Bucks 	Milwaukee, Wisconsin 	Fiserv Forum 	18,119
Central 	St. Louis Rock 	St. Louis, Missouri 	Enterprise Center 	22,000
Metropolitan 	Baltimore Revolution 	Baltimore, Maryland 	CFG Bank Arena 	14,000
Metropolitan 	Buffalo Braves 	Buffalo, New York 	KeyBank Center 	19,200
Metropolitan 	Hamilton Athletics 	Hamilton, Ontario 	FirstOntario Centre 	17,383
Metropolitan 	Ottawa Bullets 	Ottawa, Ontario 	Canadian Tire Centre 	18,652
Metropolitan 	Pittsburgh Hammers 	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 	PPG Paints Arena 	19,758
Metropolitan 	Nashville Musicians 	Nashville, Tennessee 	Bridgestone Arena 	20,000
Metropolitan 	Virginia Colonials 	Norfolk, Virginia 	Norfolk Scope Arena 	10,253
Southeast 	Alabama Airmen 	Birmingham, Alabama 	Legacy Arena 	17,654
Southeast 	Atlanta Hawks 	Atlanta, Georgia 	State Farm Arena 	16,600
Southeast 	Charlotte Hornets 	Charlotte, North Carolina 	Spectrum Center 	19,077
Southeast 	Miami Heat 	Miami, Florida 	Kaseya Center 	19,600
Southeast 	Orlando Magic 	Orlando, Florida 	Amway Center 	18,846
Southeast 	Tampa Bay Voltage 	Tampa, Florida 	Amalie Arena 	21,500
Southeast 	Washington Wizards 	Washington, D.C. 	Capital One Arena 	20,356
Western Conference	Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Western Conference
Midwest 	Austin Texans 	Austin, Texas 	Moody Center 	15,000
Midwest 	Calgary Ramblers 	Calgary, Alberta 	Scotiabank Saddledome 	19,289
Midwest 	Fort Worth Roadrunners 	Fort Worth, Texas 	Dickies Arena 	13,550
Midwest 	Kansas City Arrows 	Kansas City, Missouri 	T-Mobile Center 	18,000
Midwest 	Kentucky Rowdies 	Louisville, Kentucky 	KFC Yum! Center 	22,090
Midwest 	New Mexico Stars 	Albuquerque, New Mexico 	The Pit 	14,831
Midwest 	Winnipeg Knights 	Winnipeg, Manitoba 	Canada Life Centre 	16,345
Northwest 	Denver Nuggets 	Denver, Colorado 	Ball Arena 	19,520
Northwest 	Edmonton Eagles 	Edmonton, Alberta 	Rogers Place 	19,500
Northwest 	Minnesota Timberwolves 	Minneapolis, Minnesota 	Target Center 	18,798
Northwest 	Oklahoma City Thunder 	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 	Paycom Center 	18,203
Northwest 	Portland Trail Blazers 	Portland, Oregon 	Moda Center 	19,393
Northwest 	Seattle Supersonics 	Seattle, Washington 	Climate Pledge Arena 	18,300
Northwest 	Utah Jazz 	Salt Lake City, Utah 	Vivint Arena 	18,306
Pacific 	Golden State Warriors 	San Francisco, California 	Chase Center 	18,064
Pacific 	Los Angeles Clippers 	Inglewood, California 	Intuit Dome 	18,000
Pacific 	Los Angeles Lakers 	Los Angeles, California 	Crypto.com Arena 	19,079
Pacific 	Phoenix Suns 	Phoenix, Arizona 	Footprint Center 	16,645
Pacific 	Sacramento Kings 	Sacramento, California 	Golden 1 Center 	17,608
Pacific 	San Jose Oceanics 	San Jose, California 	SAP Center 	17,562
Pacific 	Vancouver Kodiaks 	Vancouver, British Columbia	Rogers Arena 	19,700
Southwest 	Dallas Mavericks 	Dallas, Texas 	American Airlines Center 	19,200
Southwest 	Houston Rockets 	Houston, Texas 	Toyota Center 	18,055
Southwest 	Las Vegas Blackjacks 	Paradise, Nevada 	T-Mobile Arena 	18,000
Southwest 	Memphis Grizzlies 	Memphis, Tennessee 	FedEx Forum 	18,119
Southwest 	New Orleans Pelicans 	New Orleans, Louisiana 	Smoothie King Center 	16,867
Southwest 	San Antonio Spurs 	San Antonio, Texas 	Frost Bank Center 	18,418
Southwest 	Rio Grande Valley Gauchos	Edinburg, Texas 	Bert Ogden Arena 	7,688
=== Expansion Draft ===
The expansion draft will be held on June 19, one week before the NBA Draft. Current teams can protect up to eight players. Each team must make at least one player available. If selected, restricted free agents become unrestricted free agents. Pending options can be decided before or after the expansion draft at the discretion of the option holder. Anyone selected in the expansion draft can't return to his prior team for one year. Players entering unrestricted free agency and players on two-way contracts are not included. 
Rules for the expansion draft: 
* A coin flip decides who picks first. The winner's choice is Nos. 5 and 36 picks in the 2024 NBA Draft/second choice in expansion draft or Nos. 6 and 35 picks in 2024 NBA Draft/first choice in expansion draft.
* Expansion teams alternate picks.
* Expansion teams must select one player from each incumbent team. Exception: if the only players available from an incumbent team earn at least $10 million, the expansion teams can bypass selection from that team. Expansion teams can't select more than one player from each incumbent team.
* Expansion teams operate at 80% of the league-wide salary their first season and 90% of the league-wide salary cap their second season. The usual floor still applies.
* Expansion teams draft without regard to the salary cap.
* Expansion teams can waive any selected player before the start of the season, and his salary doesn't apply toward the salary cap and luxury tax. Essentially, expansion teams get unlimited amnesty provisions with selected players before the start of the season.
* Incumbent teams can offer draft compensation to entice expansion teams to select certain players.
== G-League Expansion ==
Team 	City 	Pod 	Arena 	Capacity 	NBA Affiliate
Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference	Eastern Conference
Birmingham Squadron 	Birmingham, Alabama 	South 	Legacy Arena 	17,654 	Alabama Airmen
Burlington Cowboys 	Burlington, North Carolina	South 	Burlington NC Sports Complex 	4,006 	Nashville Musicians
Capital City Go-Go 	Washington, D.C. 	East 	Entertainment and Sports Arena	4,200 	Washington Wizards
Cleveland Charge 	Cleveland, Ohio 	Central 	Wolstein Center 	8,500 	Cleveland Cavaliers
College Park Skyhawks 	College Park, Georgia 	East 	Gateway Center Arena 	3,500 	Atlanta Hawks
Delaware Blue Coats 	Wilmington, Delaware 	East 	Chase Fieldhouse 	2,500 	Philadelphia 76ers
Fort Wayne Mad Ants 	Indianapolis, Indiana 	Central 	Gainbridge Fieldhouse 	17,274 	Indiana Pacers
Florida Crayfish 	Sunrise, Florida 	East 	Amerant Bank Arena 	20,100 	Miami Heat
Grand Rapids Gold 	Grand Rapids, Michigan 	Central 	Van Andel Arena 	11,500 	None
Greensboro Swarm 	Greensboro, North Carolina	South 	Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse	2,500 	Charlotte Hornets
Long Island Nets 	Uniondale, New York 	East 	Nassau Coliseum 	13,500 	Brooklyn Nets
Maine Celtics 	Portland, Maine 	East 	Portland Exposition Building 	3,100 	Boston Celtics
Memphis Hustle 	Southaven, Mississippi 	South 	Landers Center 	8,362 	Memphis Grizzlies
Motor City Cruise 	Detroit, Michigan 	Central 	Wayne State Fieldhouse 	3,000 	Detroit Pistons
Osceola Magic 	Kissimmee, Florida 	South 	Silver Spurs Arena 	8,000 	Orlando Magic
Raptors 905 	Mississauga, Ontario 	East 	Paramount Fine Foods Centre 	5,000 	Toronto Raptors
Westchester Knicks 	White Plains, New York 	East 	Westchester County Center 	5,000 	New York Knicks
Windy City Bulls 	Hoffman Estates, Illinois 	Central 	Now Arena 	10,000 	Chicago Bulls
Wisconsin Herd 	Oshkosh, Wisconsin 	Central 	Oshkosh Arena 	3,500 	Milwaukee Bucks
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Western Conference	Western Conference 	Western Conference	Western Conference
Austin Spurs 	Cedar Park, Texas 	South 	H-E-B Center at Cedar Park 	7,200 	San Antonio Spurs
Capitanes de Ciudad de México	Mexico City, Mexico 	South 	Mexico City Arena 	22,300 	None
Huntsville Hunters 	Huntsville, Texas 	South 	Johnson Coliseum 	6,110 	Houston Rockets
Idaho Stampede 	Boise, Idaho 	West 	Idaho Central Arena 	5,732 	Seattle Supersonics
Iowa Wolves 	Des Moines, Iowa 	Central 	Wells Fargo Arena 	16,110 	Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA G League Ignite 	Henderson, Nevada 	West 	Dollar Loan Center 	5,567 	None
Northern Arizona Suns 	Prescott Valley, Arizona 	West 	Findlay Toyota Center 	5,100 	Phoenix Suns
Oklahoma City Blue 	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 	Central 	Paycom Center 	18,203 	Oklahoma City Thunder
Ontario Clippers 	Ontario, California 	West 	Toyota Arena 	10,832 	Los Angeles Clippers
Rio Grande Valley Vipers 	Edinburg, Texas 	South 	Bert Ogden Arena 	9,000 	Rio Grande Valley Gauchos
Rip City Remix 	North Portland, Oregon 	West 	Chiles Center 	4,852 	Portland Trail Blazers
Salt Lake City Stars 	West Valley City, Utah 	West 	Maverik Center 	12,500 	Utah Jazz
Santa Cruz Warriors 	Santz Cruz, California 	West 	Kaiser Permanente Arena 	2,505 	Golden State Warriors
Sin City Venom 	Paradise, Nevada 	West 	T-Mobile Arena 	18,000 	Las Vegas Blackjacks
Sioux City Chiefs 	Sioux City, Iowa 	Central 	Tyson Events Center 	6,813 	Kansas City Arrows
Sioux Falls Skyforce 	Sioux Falls, South Dakota 	Central 	Sanford Pentagon 	3,250 	None
South Bay Lakers 	El Segundo, California 	West 	UCLA Health Training Center 	750 	Los Angeles Lakers
Stockton Kings 	Stockton, California 	West 	Stockton Arena 	11,193 	Sacramento Kings
Texas Legends 	Frisco, Texas 	South 	Comerica Center 	4,500 	Dallas Mavericks
Victoria Victories 	Victoria, British Columbia	West 	Save On Foods Memorial Centre 	8,602 	Vancouver Kodiaks
== WNBA Expansion ==
=== 2024 ===
In the summer of 2023, the WNBA announced plans to add four expansion teams that would begin play during the 2024 WNBA season. The first two teams who landed expansion bids were the Philadelphia Creation and the Houston Comets, the latter of which had previously been a WNBA franchise that played from 1997-2008 and won 4 championships. The other two teams were the Nashville Notes and the Golden State Bears.
=== 2026 ===
The WNBA announced in the mid-2025 that four more expansion teams would be added for the 2026 WNBA season. The four teams that landed expansion bids during this round of expansion were the Cleveland Spartans, the Portland Roses, the Detroit Fire, and the Sacramento Queens(later to become’s Sacramento Kings’ WNBA partner franchise).
=== Atlanta Dream Move ===
The Atlanta Dream has officially announced a 25-year deal to play their games in the State Farm Arena, shared with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
=== Dallas Wings Move ===
The Dallas Wings has officially announced that they would get a 20-year deal to play their games in the American Airlines Center, shared with the Dallas Mavericks.
=== Washington Mystics Move ===
The Washington Mystics have agreed on a 21-year deal to play their games in the Capital One Arena, shared with the NBA’s Washington Wizards.
=== WNBA Teams ===
* The Philadelphia Creation were added to the Eastern Conference in 2024.
* The Houston Comets were added to the Western Conference in 2024.
* The Nashville Notes were added to the Eastern Conference in 2024.
* The Golden State Bears were added to the Western Conference in 2024.
* The Toronto Tundra were added to the Eastern Conference in 2025.
* The San Antonio Riders were added to the Western Conference in 2025.
* The Cleveland Spartans were added to the Eastern Conference in 2026.
* The Portland Lava were added to the Western Conference in 2026.
* The Detroit Fire were added to the Eastern Conference in 2026.
* The Sacramento Queens were added to the Western Conference in 2026.
Conference	Team 	City 	Arena 	Capacity
Eastern 	Atlanta Dream 	Atlanta, Georgia 	State Farm Arena 	16,600
Eastern 	Chicago Sky 	Chicago, Illinois 	Wintrust Arena 	10,387
Eastern 	Connecticut Sun 	Uncasville, Connecticut 	Mohegan Sun Arena 	9,323
Eastern 	Cleveland Spartans 	Cleveland, Ohio 	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse	19,432
Eastern 	Detroit Fire 	Detroit, Michigan 	Little Caesars Arena 	20,332
Eastern 	Indiana Fever 	Indianapolis, Indiana 	Gainbridge Fieldhouse 	17,923
Eastern 	Nashville Notes 	Nashville, Tennessee 	Bridgestone Arena 	19,395
Eastern 	New York Liberty 	Brooklyn, New York 	Barclays Center 	17,732
Eastern 	Philadelphia Creation	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Wells Fargo Center 	20,478
Eastern 	Toronto Tundra 	Toronto, Ontario 	Scotiabank Arena 	19,800
Eastern 	Washington Mystics 	Washington, D.C. 	Capital One Arena 	20,356
Western 	Dallas Wings 	Dallas, Texas 	American Airlines Center 	19,200
Western 	Golden State Bears 	San Francisco, California 	Chase Center 	19,596
Western 	Houston Comets 	Houston, Texas 	Toyota Center 	18,055
Western 	Las Vegas Aces 	Paradise, Nevada 	Michelob Ultra Arena 	12,000
Western 	Los Angeles Sparks 	Los Angeles, California 	Crypto.com Arena 	18,997
Western 	Minnesota Lynx 	Minneapolis, Minnesota 	Target Center 	19,356
Western 	Phoenix Mercury 	Phoenix, Arizona 	Footprint Center 	18,422
Western 	Portland Lava 	Portland, Oregon 	Moda Center 	19,393
Western 	Sacramento Queens 	Sacramento, California 	Golden 1 Center 	17,608
Western 	San Antonio Riders 	San Antonio, Texas 	Frost Bank Center 	18,500
Western 	Seattle Storm 	Seattle, Washington 	Climate Pledge Arena 	18,100
== Rule Changes ==
=== In-Season Tournament ===
Beginning with the 2023-24 season, the NBA began playing a tournament in the middle of the season. This in-season tournament features all 30 teams playing several pool-play games that determine the eight teams that advance to a single-elimination tournament. The final four of this tournament was originally played in Las Vegas but was moved to Kansas City in the 2025-26 season once Las Vegas landed an NBA team. Each player on the winning team of this tournament is rewarded with $500,000 and the coaches for the winning team are awarded prize money as well.
=== Game Changes ===
* Instead of 5 players playing, there will be one extra. From now on, 6 players will be in the starting lineup.
* The game clock will be extended to 14 minutes instead of 12 minutes.
* The shot clock will be extended to 30 seconds instead of 24. When it reaches zero if the ball wasn’t shot at all, it’s an automatic turnover + 2 bonus free throws for either one team.
==== Foul types and new amounts ====
* Personal foul(6 maximum)
* Flagrant foul(3 maximum)
* Technical foul(2 maximum)
==== Violation Changes ====
===== Extremely Minor Violations =====
* Hogging the ball for too long = turnover + bonus free throw(if necessary)
* Shot clock at zero if ball wasn’t shot at all = automatic turnover + 2 bonus free throws for either one team.
===== Minor Violations =====
* Reckless/Nonsense pick from the ball = personal foul
* Illegal positions = personal foul
* Pulling a player’s jersey = flagrant foul
===== Major Violations =====
* Unnecessary contact = flagrant foul
* Illegal use of block = flagrant foul
* Breaking/shattering backboards = technical foul
*Arguing with the referees = technical foul/possible ejection
* Shoving a player with ball possession = technical foul for both players/possible ejection for one of them.
* Throwing something on court-side = technical foul
*Trash-talking the other players = technical foul
===== Extremely Major Violations =====
* Looking like being fouled out = technical foul/possible ejection
* Extremely bad block/pick = technical foul
* Dangerously offensive = technical foul/possible ejection
* Punching the ball = automatic ejection
*One-on-one brawl = ejection for the player that started it/both can be ejected
*Two-on-two brawl = ejection for two of the four players that started it/all four can be ejected
*Three-on-three brawl or more = ejection for the team’s bench excluding players on-court
=== Scheduling Changes ===
Each team will still play 82 games and the schedule will be broken down as follows: 
* Each out-of-conference team is played twice (32 games)
* Each divisional opponent is played four times each (12 games)
* Each of the 12 non-divisional conference opponents are played three times each (38 games)
Category:NBA
Category:SportsFan958