6 cities that would be perfect NBA expansion alternatives to Las Vegas and Seattle

NBA Expansion 1) San Diego, California

Unlike many of the cities on this list, San Diego had not one but two NBA teams previously play there. From 1967 to 1971, the Rockets began there before moving to Houston. Later, the Clippers moved from Buffalo, New York, dropped their nickname, the Braves, and moved to San Diego from 1978 to 1984. They have been in Los Angeles ever since.

California already has four teams, two in Los Angeles, one in Sacramento, and another in Oakland, but Major League Baseball has five in California, giving the NBA some precedent for adding another franchise there. Moreover, none of the existing teams are within 100 miles of San Diego.

That might not seem like a far distance between two NBA teams but San Diego is home to more than 1.4 million people and is the largest city in terms of population in the United States to not have an NBA team. Better still, they are less than 20 miles away from the Mexican border, potentially allowing the NBA to make inroads in Mexico without actually putting a team there.

The potential fan base alone should be something that intrigues the league, which should make them a dark horse if Las Vegas in particular fails to pan out as an expansion city.