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Record-breaking NBA team sales are accelerating expansion discussions, with the Boston Celtics selling for $6.1 billion in March followed by the Los Angeles Lakers selling at a $10 billion valuation deal this week. Multiple sources indicate these prices could drive expansion fees to approximately $6 billion per team.

The Celtics sale shattered previous records by 50 percent, surpassing Mat Ishbia's $4 billion purchase of the Phoenix Suns in 2023. The $6.1 billion figure surprised league insiders, particularly given Boston's lack of arena ownership at TD Garden.

The Lakers deal represents an even more dramatic jump, with the franchise valued 65 percent higher than the previous record. The sale could finalize as early as next month's board of governors meeting in Las Vegas.

Commissioner Adam Silver recently confirmed expansion will be discussed at the upcoming board of governors meeting in July. He indicated the league will likely recommend creating a formal committee to study expansion possibilities.

"There's been no lack of interest," Silver 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. So if we were to say yes, we're now going to move into a more formal exploratory phase."

The record sale prices suggest expansion fees could reach $6 billion per team, sources said. If two expansion franchises join the league, current owners would each receive approximately $400 million from the fees. Unlike all basketball related income, expansion fees are not split with players.

Multiple cities have expressed interest in NBA expansion, though Silver has avoided formal meetings to maintain fairness in the process. Seattle and Las Vegas have widely been cited as the probable expansion locations.

Via Tim Bontemps, Dave McMenamin/ESPN

Anyone care to explain this to me? Not knowledgeable.
It says this will drive fees to 6 billion per team then in a subsequent sentence, mentions each team can receive 400 million from these fees. Not understanding this or perhaps this isn't well written.

Beethoven wrote:Anyone care to explain this to me? Not knowledgeable.
It says this will drive fees to 6 billion per team then in a subsequent sentence, mentions each team can receive 400 million from these fees. Not understanding this or perhaps this isn't well written.

In the article, it says 2 expansion teams. Meaning 12 billion divided by 30 teams equals 400 million.

It was poorly written.

And this is why franchises like the Hornets stick around....

I wonder if the Lakers should wait for the expansion to pocket the $400M and then immediately flip the team for the $10B.

The article seems to suggest that the Lakers 10 billion sale represents a build up from the Suns sale from 2023 for 2.1 billion, meaning teams values have gone up drastically in just two years.. it fails to mention that this was the lakers selling, probably the biggest market in basketball going for 10bn.. the Suns or other Timbuktu cities in the nba aren’t worth anywhere close to 6bn right now aside from Knicks, Celtics, and a few other cities.

But if they can get 6bn for an expansion team, all the power to them.