Seattle NBA expansion bid increasingly serious and aggressive, per report

The latest report from ESPN’s Shams Charania about a potential Seattle Sonics NBA expansion team is yet again good news, especially in the light of another recent report.

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Charania, the leading NBA insider for ESPN, spoke on the channel’s Inside the NBA Tip-Off show on Wednesday about the bidding for both potential teams in Las Vegas and Seattle. While a bid for a Seattle team remains on the back burner as the league decides between multiple groups vying for a Vegas franchise, Charania’s report on the One Roof Sports and Entertainment group led by Seattle Kraken chair Samantha Holloway was very promising.

“The NBA is going to select the Vegas winner, and then they’ll have to turn their attention to Seattle, where Samantha Holloway, the owner of the Seattle Kraken, is the leading suitor,” Charania said. “She’s got Melinda Gates (as part of her group). My understanding is she’s increasing her seriousness and aggressiveness to try to get Seattle back to the NBA.”

Joining Inside the NBA tip-off — on Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum; the first trade of the season; and the latest on expansion, with all three Las Vegas finalists at franchise valuation of $10 billion plus: pic.twitter.com/C8GhHnYcLf

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 12, 2026

Charania’s report could dial back any lingering concern from a report last week by Bloomberg that said current NBA owners “worry that adding a Seattle team might not yield the desired financial return.”

The three groups vying for the Vegas franchise are “at $10 billion and potentially more than that,” Charania said. The three competing groups for a Vegas team, according to Charania, include one led by the Walton family of Walmart fame, one led by Las Vegas Knights owner Bill Foley, and one led by Canadian billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos.

The Bloomberg report last week said the bid for a Seattle team is expected to be in the $6 billion range. The only reported competition for Holloway’s group for a Seattle team is one by BlackSun Private Equity, which has proposed building an arena on Tulalip Tribes land in Marysville, over 30 miles north of Seattle. The Holloway group has a distinct advantage over any competing bids for a Seattle franchise because Climate Pledge Arena, which opened in 2021 and was built with bringing the NBA back to Seattle as one of its primary focuses, is controlled by One Roof Sports and Entertainment.

Charania said the league “is getting closer and closer on a decision and a ruling on the winning bid for the Las Vegas group.” It is expected that the NBA will make final decisions on whether to award expansion franchises to Seattle and Las Vegas by the end of this year.

Last month: NBA commish gives positive Seattle Sonics expansion update

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