For more than a decade, many NBA fans have been clamoring for one thing: The return of the Seattle SuperSonics. An issue surrounding Seattle's home stadium in 2008 led to the franchise being sold to Oklahoma City, forming the Thunder today. Since then, many fans have been patiently awaiting the Sonics' comeback.
With the league being rumored to be looking to expand teams, there was renewed hope that Seattle would get an NBA squad once again. Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell added fuel to this, saying they are doing what they can to facilitate the return of the Sonics to the league (via Sports Illustrated).
“The odds are high,” Mayor Harrell said on Wednesday. “We're very intentional about it. I chase down rumors and I chase down actual people in a position to make that happen. I feel good about our opportunity.”
Seattle's place in the NBA history books cannot be understated. The Sonics became part of the NBA in 1967 and were involved in some of the pivotal eras. In particular, the Sonics team, led by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, was one of the major rivals of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, even facing off in the NBA Finals once.
The Sonics were set to usher in their next era of basketball in 2008, as they had a developing star in Kevin Durant (who already had the insane work ethic he has today). However, that was taken from them all of a sudden, leaving a basketball-hungry city deprived of NBA basketball. Perhaps in a few years, we'll be able to see the iconic green and yellow jersey of the Sonics once again.
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