I Hope I'm Wrong, But I Don't Think Vancouver Will Ever Get an NBA Team Again

As someone who loves the NBA and has lived in Vancouver my entire life, I want to believe it’s possible; I really do. This city is one of the most beautiful in North America, if not the world, and it’s full of people who are passionate about sports and have grown to genuinely love basketball. Because of that, I truly believe that if Vancouver were given a second chance, an NBA team wouldn’t just succeed here; it would thrive. But despite all that, I just don’t see a plausible scenario where Vancouver ever gets an NBA team again.

Why? Well, to put it frankly, outside of Toronto, I don't think the NBA and its board of governors value Canada as much as they should. When the topic of expansion or relocation comes up, you always hear about the obvious markets like Seattle or Las Vegas, as well as southern or midwestern cities in the United States such as Nashville or Kansas City.

In those discussions, Vancouver rarely gets brought up as a realistic possibility (if at all mentioned), which makes it feel like Adam Silver and company have already made up their minds about the idea of a team in Vancouver. In my personal opinion, I think the NBA and its owner feel like they already gave the city of Vancouver its chance to foster a franchise, and to them, it was a failure.

Personally, I don't think we were ever given a fair shot. In 1995, when the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies joined the association as expansion franchises, the NBA had never had a franchise in Canada, which, obviously, in a league made up with a majority of its players being from the United States, a lot of them were hesitant to move across the border.

Not to mention, there were also political or financial issues such as the Canadian dollar being fairly weak at the time (not that it is much better right now), as well as the lack of a stable situation within the organization.

Additionally, expansion fatigue is something that nobody ever brings up. At a certain point, I think you just run out of space to allow your league to remain credible. At this point in time, I think the big four major sports leagues in North America should cap themselves at 32 teams, as it keeps each of them balanced and competitive by making sure most teams are made of players who actually belong playing at the professional level. It's the same reason I cringe whenever I hear about the NHL adding teams in Atlanta or going back to Arizona. In a professional league where only one champion gets crowned every year, 34-36 teams just seems ridiculous to me.

Therefore, I'm totally expecting Seattle and Las Vegas to be given teams when the NBA eventually expands in the coming years, which is likely all she wrote for Vancouver's chances at an NBA team.

Even though I know Vancouver could make it work this time around, as the city has grown and the appetite for basketball is stronger than ever, unfortunately, I don't see any scenario where we get our team back.

I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t see it happening. Not now, and not anytime soon.