For those of us who would love to have an NBA franchise in St. Louis, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver piqued our interest when he discussed league expansion during a press conference in Las Vegas last week.
Speaking before the 2025 NBA Cup Final championship game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in Las Vegas, Silver said, “In terms of domestic expansion, that is something we’re continuing to look at.”
“It’s not a secret we’re looking at this market in Las Vegas. We are looking at Seattle. We’ve looked at other markets, as well,” he said.
Silver added that “a determination” would be made in 2026.
Where does that leave St. Louis? Obviously, Seattle, which lost its team to Oklahoma City following the 2007 season, and Las Vegas, which has been host to an NBA Summer League for two decades, are frontrunners.
But St. Louis keeps coming up in NBA expansion/relocation conversations.
Writers at NBA Republic, which covers domestic and international NBA topics, examined St. Louis as an NBA site in a September article.
“St. Louis stands out as a major city with an NBA-sized arena and a sports identity that fills seats. Some fans think football will be the city’s front office focus, but an ownership group with patience could still make a play.”
We can forget football, unless the St. Louis Battlehawks somehow enter the Canadian Football League under a local ownership group.
A similar discussion took place last week between Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Jason Fitz.
“My hometown, St. Louis, would love a basketball franchise,” said Fitz.
I still think the best play for St. Louis is to run a fast break backed with a huge amount of cash. Throw a bag at Robert Pera and Gayle Benson, respective owners of the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, a respected NBA insider, wrote in November, “while no league official would come within 100 miles of publicly naming relocation candidates, the Grizzlies and Pelicans—small-market teams with arena deals that expire before the end of the decade—are often whispered as the most likely targets.”
Both the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant and Pelicans’ Zion Williamson are young stars with a history of injuries, attitude problems, and off-court issues.
But I’d welcome one of them to St. Louis with open arms.
The Reid Roundup
Former Notre Dame running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love has announced he will enter the 2026 NFL Draft, where he will likely be the first running back selected. The St. Louis native also won the Doak Walker Award given to the nation’s top back…While he says he is happy in South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman is reportedly the New York Giants’ top candidate for the team’s head coaching job… Ahmad Hardy, Missouri’s consensus All-American running back, will return for another season with the Tigers. Hardy is not eligible for the NFL Draft, so the concern was the possibility of him transferring for a more lucrative NIL deal…Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz is stumping for more NIL money for redshirt sophomore Jamal Roberts to keep him from transferring. He rushed for 697 yards and five touchdowns and teamed with Hardy to give the Tigers one of the SEC’s strongest running games…I could see Roberts transferring to Notre Dame and picking up where Love left off…Former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman William Contreras will join former Redbird pitcher Sonny Gray in Boston following another trade with the Red Sox. In return, the Cardinals received righthanders Hunter Dobbins, Yhoiker Fajardo, and Blake Aita. Dobbins was a decent starter before an early-season knee injury sidelined him in 2025…Max Axisa of CBS Sports writes that the best holiday gift the Cardinals could receive is outfielder Jordan Walker finally living up to expectations in 2026…The “fire Mike Tomlin” talk has quieted in Pittsburgh with the Steelers a win away from clinching the AFC North title. A convincing win over the host Detroit Lions last Sunday certainly silenced most doubters.