The 2019-20 NBA season will mark the first year in that none of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or James Harden will wear an Oklahoma City Thunder since the franchise first moved to OKC from Seattle in 2008. As such, there is a certain wave of nostalgia around the league for the days when the “Thunder” were the “SuperSonics.” Seattle is already slated to get an NHL expansion team prior to the start of the 2021-22 season, and there is still some optimism that basketball could return to the state of Washington. A native of Tacoma, WA, Washington Wizards point guard Isaiah Thomas told David MacKay of “CloseUp360: The Players' World Off The Court” that the region was devastated when the Sonics left town.

“It hurt the city in a big way, just because the Sonics were a big part of the community,” he laments. “Basketball was a big part of what was going on in the Tacoma-Seattle area. I think it hit big, and then now it’s just, like, forgotten. Not for the most part, but it’s just the norm that we don’t have a team.”

Thomas became a hometown legend when he decided to attend the University of Washington, where he was a three-year starter and averaged 16.4 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds for his career. Thomas also hit a buzzer-beater against Arizona to win the 2011 Pac-10 (now the Pac-12) tournament championship game.

After playing just 12 games with the Denver Nuggets last season, Thomas is hoping for a fresh start with the Wizards, who desperately need point guard help with John Wall still injured and Tomas Satoransky now in Chicago.