Hoops Habit
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These 4 cities are perfectly suited for an NBA expansion team

By Leocciano Callao

The scoreboard at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The scoreboard at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /
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NBA Expansion
San Diego skyline from the deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier /

2. San Diego, CA has the fans and infrastructure for an NBA Expansion team.

If you think Los Angeles is pretty, then you probably have not been to San Diego. The air is fresher, the sunsets are prettier, and the streets are cleaner. The downside to being a San Diegan is losing two franchises that moved two hours up the coast to Hollywood.

Before the Chargers (NFL) moved to LA in 2017, San Diego was also the home of the Clippers franchise (formerly the Buffalo Braves) from the late ’70s through the early ’80s. And while their MLB team, the Padres are doing decently as the lone major league team in the city, adding an NBA team in the 619 would easily draw a massive fanbase.

San Diego is ranked 8th in population amongst cities in the United States and is continuously growing. The city has an abundance of culture, tourist destinations, history, and surf spots, attracting people to add to the city’s headcount. An NBA team will be helpful in San Diego’s growth as a community and a city.

The Clippers are definitely staying in Los Angeles for the foreseen future with a $2 Billion facility in Inglewood set to be their home in 2024. However, Sacramento has less than half of San Diego’s population and the Kings have not been doing well in the past two decades, giving what’s left of their fans little to support. If the franchise were to relocate to San Diego, a mob of sun-tanned citizens would be excited to have a home team. And everything that the city has to offer as a setting and a fanbase would draw good players to play there.