When NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the NBA would add a five-team European division by the end of the decade, I found the idea intriguing. Basketball is the second most popular sport overseas (behind soccer) and already has the fans to support a NBA expansion team. The NBA has become an international league, with many of our biggest stars coming from other countries. Sites such as London, Paris, Madrid, and Rome have come up as possible homes for the new franchises. The possible expansion would also improve competition because the league would bring in many of the world's best players.
If the NBA expands, it should look into adding a sixth team so there would be six divisions of six teams. Vancouver, who lost the Grizzlies in 2001 to Memphis, would be a great home for an expansion team. Vancouver currently has a team in the Canadian Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, and four other professional sporting leagues, so it has the fans to support a NBA team. Vancouver was also a great host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Although an expansion probably won't happen for a few years, the NBA's first priority is to resolve the labor agreement, so a lockout doesn't have to occur. The NBA Playoffs this year had some of the best games in years and it would be disappointing not to have games next year. To conclude, an expansion of the NBA to other countries would improve the world's best basketball league.
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