NBA Expansion Tournament Part I

In the NBA Expansion Tournament, I will explore the idea of adding two new teams to the NBA, one in the West and one in the East. Seeding was done based on the population of the cities included. Part I will focus on the Western Conference.

Game 1- 1. San Diego vs 8. Honolulu

While it’s fun to think about adding a team to a vacation destination like Hawaii, there are too many impracticalities to maintaining a team in such a secluded area. Traveling would be quite difficult, as would maintaining a solid fanbase. Although Honolulu would perhaps be a large enough city if located elsewhere, I do not believe there are enough basketball fans on the Hawaiian Islands, even including vacationers, to maintain a team, especially considering that the NBA season is during the coldest months of the year. San Diego wins in a landslide.

Game 2- 4. Las Vegas vs. 5. Albuquerque

These cities are similar in that they are fairly large and surrounded by desert. Vegas has a larger population plus the additional tourists and vacationers, while Albuquerque would would pull fans from West Texas who don’t identify with the Rockets, Mavericks, or Spurs. Since Vegas would also have to compete with the Utah Jazz for fans, and because I would also like to keep the integrity of the game, I give the win to Albuquerque.

Game 3- 3. Seattle vs 6. Kansas City

Seattle has already had an NBA team and really only lost it because it was bought by a guy who had plans to move it from the moment he acquired it. Seattle fans still feel cheated and therefore have feelings that range from bittersweet to pure hatred toward the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kansas City does not match the population of Seattle, but would garner fans in Wichita and St. Louis. Kansas City nearly pulls the upset here, but Seattle takes the win, as it has already proven it can maintain an NBA franchise.

Game 4. – 2. El Paso vs. 7. Omaha

The real question here is does Texas have the population to maintain four NBA teams, and the short answer is yes. All three of Texas’s current NBA teams are located in the Eastern part of the state, so El Paso would not have to compete with them. However, the Western part of Texas is much less densely populated. Omaha, on the other hand, is much smaller but would attempt to gain fans in states like the Dakotas or Wyoming, who don’t have NBA teams. In doing so however, they would compete with an already established franchise, the Minnesota Timberwolves. OMAHA OMAHA, just kidding, El Paso wins a narrow victory.

Game 5 1. San Diego vs. 5. Albuquerque

If San Diego does lose the Chargers to LA, then a new NBA team could fill the power vacuum. Basketball is huge in Southern California, and I believe San Diego is far enough away from Los Angeles to maintain its own franchise. While Albuquerque is a fairly large city, San Diego is much larger city and has a greater population in its suburbs. San Diego wins fairly easily.

Game 6. 2. El Paso vs 3. Seattle

Although El Paso has the edge in population within the city, Seattle has a much larger population in the suburbs and surrounding area. As mentioned previously, Seattle has proven itself able to maintain an NBA team, as well as NFL and MLB teams. El Paso is sort of on an island in terms of population and would not have the fanbase Seattle would have. Seattle wins.

Finals- 1. San Diego vs 3. Seattle

These cities are similar in that they are about the same size, both have teams in the other big four sports, and are both fairly close to another large city with a NBA team or teams (Portland and Los Angeles). Both could probably support an NBA franchise now or in the near future, but there must be one winner. I give the edge to Seattle because Seattle has shown its ability to rally around a sports team with the Twelfth Man and the Seahawks. If Seattle could bring the recent support the Seahawks have to a basketball team, the NBA would greatly benefit.