NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke with members of the media in Oklahoma City yesterday ahead of the start of the 2025 NBA Finals, where he addressed the future of the association, including the possibility of the league expanding as well as the format of the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.
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Expansion on the horizon?
Expansion was the first topic that members of the media asked Silver about. He explained that the current sense amongst the NBA’s Board of Governors is that the league “should be exploring it.”
“I don’t think it’s automatic because it depends on your perspective on the future of the league,” Silver said. “As I’ve said before, expansion in a way is selling equity in the league, and if you believe in the league, you don’t necessarily want to add partners. On the other hand, we recognize there are underserved markets in the United States and elsewhere, markets that deserve to have NBA teams – probably even if we were to expand, more than we can serve.”
An owners’ meeting is scheduled for July, where the topic of expansion “will be on the agenda.”
Commissioner Adam Silver says NBA expansion is still very much being discussed but notes it is not “automatic.”
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 5, 2025
“My sense is, at that meeting, they’re going to give direction to me and my colleagues at the league office that we should continue to explore it,” Silver said. “What also comes to mind, in terms of expansion, is the opportunity, potentially, to create other competition around the world… We have been discussing potentially creating a league in Europe, and I view that as a form of expansion as well.”
Stateside, it does sound like there is a desire to continue pursuing the addition of another team. However, Commissioner Silver and other members of the league will have to take the temperature of the Board of Governors and owners in regards to that idea.
“There’s been no lack of interest,” he said. “I essentially have said to people from several different cities, ‘We’re just not engaging in that process right now.’ I want to be fair to everyone. So I don’t want to have meetings with some and not others. But I think if we were to say yes, we’re now going to move into a more formal exploratory phase. We would take those meetings, and in addition, likely we would engage with outside advisers who would look at markets, look at economic opportunities and media opportunities, etc.”
Changes coming to the NBA All-Star Game?
Commissioner Silver also addressed the recent statements he made when he appeared on Fox Sports 1’s Breakfast Basketball. During the June 4th appearance, he said that the NBA will debut “some form of USA against the world” for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.
“It’s my job not to give up, but also to innovate and to look for new approaches,” Silver told members of the media. “I follow all the other sports. I think what the NHL did with the 4 Nations Face-Off was very effective. There’s a long history of international competition in the NBA and in global basketball. We had a spectacular Olympics last summer with huge ratings, an enormous amount of interest, but I also recognize that there are some forces working against us. That largely is often players needing a rest during the season. Maybe [it’s] teams not encouraging their players to play the hardest for what’s viewed as an exhibition game.”
Though it may not follow the exact formatting of American-born players vs. internationally-born players, that could certainly be a jumping-off point for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirms there will be USA vs. the World in the 2026 All-Star Game 👀
“I’m not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did, which was a huge success.”@craigcartonlive | @DannyParkins | @markschlereth pic.twitter.com/WsEzhe4Jkk
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) June 4, 2025
“We are looking at something that brings an international flavor into all-star competition,” Silver clarified. “I think, as I said the other day, we’re still experimenting internally with different formats and talking to the Players’ Association about that.”
As good as the idea of USA vs. the world sounds, Silver said that he doesn’t think that “makes sense.”
“There’ll probably be some different teams we form, whether it’s some regional basis for how we combine certain groups of players because USA players are still 70% of the league,” he said. “I think we can we can play off that nationalism… I think we’re on to something, and I think there’s a real opportunity to create enhanced interest and enhanced competition from the players.”
The league clearly needs to make changes to the NBA All-Star Game after this year’s debacle, which was the second-least-viewed All-Star Game in NBA history.
