Stephen A. Smith urges NBA to consider Nashville over Seattle for expansion

As the NBA plans on expanding into two new markets in the near future, Stephen A. Smith is urging the league not to sleep on Nashville.

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the NBA is set to hold a formal vote during its upcoming Board of Governors meetings later this month, with an eye on exploring the addition of two new franchises. The two most likely expansion cities are Las Vegas and Seattle, with the NBA reportedly aiming to add those teams by the 2028-29 season. Which means there might be enough time for Smith to convince them to target Nashville instead.

Monday morning on ESPN’s First Take, Smith made his case for Nashville, touting the city as a thriving destination, even if it’s unlikely to house an NBA team.

“It’s a damn shame this team is on the outside looking in,” Smith said of Nashville. “’Cause I gotta tell you something, Nashville is a growing city. A lot of people love Nashville. They are a very successful city right now. They are a thriving city in the United States of America.”

The Tennessee Titans ranked 31st in NFL attendance last season, albeit with a bad team, but it’s fair to question whether Nashville can support a third pro team, already having the Titans and Predators. And if they can support a third team, a Major League Baseball franchise moving to Nashville seems more likely than an NBA team. But the biggest hurdle might be convincing Memphis to let another NBA team into Tennessee. Unless Smith is thinking about moving the Memphis Grizzlies to Nashville.

“I’m not getting on and advocating that Memphis loses a team because I don’t want that to happen to that city,” Smith insisted. “But in the same breath, you wonder about Nashville, comparing that to Seattle, and wondering what kind of possibilities might happen in that regard.”

Seattle has been waiting desperately for a new NBA franchise to move in since the moment they were abandoned by the Sonics in 2008. The NBA isn’t going to abandon them again for Nashville.

If Nashville ever gets an NBA team, it’s going to be by relocation. And Smith can claim he doesn’t want Memphis to lose the Grizzlies right now, but we’re less than a year removed from the First Take host sparking a feud with the city by alleging NBA players don’t feel safe there. One year later, Smith is advocating for a team in Nashville, and Memphis should take that personally.