Supersonics return to seattle

Don't Miss NBA Action. Order Your Tickets Online at Vivid Seats Today! Seattle Storm Schedule & Tickets. Last Minute Instant Download Resale Tickets Available. But the hype for the Sonics would dwarf that of the Kraken's by a factor of supersonics return to seattle or Secondly, the NBA is thriving. The six-game Western. With the completion of Climate Pledge Arena inthe main stumbling block in the original Seattle Supersonics franchise departure is a thing.

When will the Sonics return? The latest update from the NBA

Are any SuperSonics still in the NBA? As of 2023, the only remaining Sonics in the NBA are Jeff Green of the Houston Rockets and Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns, after Nick Collison retired in 2018.

Why did Sonics move to OKC? After failing to persuade local governments to pay for a new $500 million arena complex, Bennett's group notified the NBA that it intended to move the team to Oklahoma City and requested arbitration with the city of Seattle to be released from its lease with KeyArena.

Why did SuperSonics end? After failing to find public funding to construct a new arena in the Seattle area, the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City before the 2008–09 season, following a $45 million settlement with the city of Seattle to pay off the team's existing lease at Key Arena at Seattle Center in advance of its 2010 expiration.

Why did the Seattle SuperSonics leave? Bennett promised fans that he will keep the team in the city as long as a new arena was built. However, Bennett failed to get public funding for a new arena and decided to relocate the team to Oklahoma City. Then-NBA commissioner David Stern supported the move with NBA owners, giving their approval on April 18, 2008.

What is the oldest existing NBA team? The Kings

Will Seattle ever get an NBA team? NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said that expansion is likely to happen in 2024, after the new media rights deal is negotiated. Seattle is considered to be a frontrunner for a new expansion team. Las Vegas is also considered to be a likely candidate.

What was the last year the SuperSonics played in Seattle? 2008

Sonics circling for landing? Why the NBA's expansion may arrive sooner than you think

However, it does bring renewed hope. With the completion of Climate Pledge Arena in , the main stumbling block in the original Seattle Supersonics franchise departure is a thing of the past. Now, Seattle offers a world class venue that's tailor-made for the NBA. In January, we gave you an update on how Seattle is preparing. You hear Seattle, you hear Las Vegas, is that a possibility?

Once that's done, we'll turn to expansion. Silver cannot come out and endorse cities just yet, but make no mistake, the NBA has already done its due diligence. Silver is highly successful, meticulous and aware of the landscape, even if isn't officially on the table yet.

Consider this though, if you're about to go to your TV partners and have them bid on a price to air the NBA games, wouldn't you want them to pay you for the games of 32 teams instead of 30. That's a lot more money. Silver is honest, to be clear, but I'm eager to see how that timeline unfolds in that regard. Silver added further, saying, "We don't have anything specific in mind right now.

I think it makes sense over time, if you're a successful organization and continue to grow, there's no doubt there are a lot of great cities that are interested in having the NBA. The —05 team won the organization's sixth-division title under the leadership of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis , winning 52 games and defeating the Sacramento Kings to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals.

This was also the last time this SuperSonics team would make the playoffs. During the off-season, head coach McMillan left the SuperSonics to accept a high-paying position to coach the Portland Trail Blazers. The season after his departure, the team regressed with a 35—47 record.

On May 22, , the SuperSonics were awarded the second pick in the NBA draft , equaling the highest draft position the team ever held, selecting Kevin Durant from the University of Texas. On July 20, the SuperSonics used the trade exception and a second-round draft pick to acquire Kurt Thomas and two first-round draft picks from Phoenix Suns.

In , morale was low at the beginning of the SuperSonics season as talks with the city of Seattle for a new arena had broken down. With the Ray Allen trade, however, the SuperSonics had little talent with which to surround their rookie forward and lost their first eight games under coach P.

Carlesimo to achieve a 3—14 record in the first month of the season. Supersonics return to seattle Durant led all rookies in scoring at The SuperSonics, however, posted a franchise-worst record of 20— It was their final season in Seattle because Bennett got the right to move the team after settling all legal issues with the city. Throughout the game, the crowd chanted "Save our Sonics" and Durant waved his hands at the crowd.

Durant scored 42 points. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said:. I think it's presumptuous to assume that Clay Bennett and his ownership group won't own that Seattle team for a long, long time in Seattle or somewhere else. It's presumptuous to assume they're going to move that franchise to Oklahoma City. I understand that people are going to say that seems to be a likely scenario, but that's just speculation.

The approval meant SuperSonics would be allowed to move to Oklahoma City's Ford Center for the —09 season after reaching a settlement with the city of Seattle. In months prior to the settlement, Seattle publicly released email conversations that took place within Bennett's ownership group and alleged they indicated at least some members of the group wanted to move the team to Oklahoma City prior to the purchase in Before that, SuperSonics co-owner Aubrey McClendon told The Journal Record ; "we didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here", although Bennett denied knowledge of this.

Schultz dropped the case before the start of the —09 season. The film focuses on the controversial aspects of the team's departure from Seattle; it won the Webby Award for Best Sports Film. Rumors Hansen would begin pursuing a vulnerable franchise to move to Seattle began circulating.

Most of the discussion centered on Sacramento Kings , a struggling franchise that had been unsuccessfully trying to replace the aging Power Balance Pavilion. The rumors were such that Think Big Sacramento, a community action group created by Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson to develop solutions for Kings, wrote to Hansen asking him not to pursue the city's team.

Hansen and Seattle City Council announced on September 11, , a tentative agreement on a revised MOU that included the county council's amendments and new provisions; a personal guarantee from Hansen to cover cost overruns of construction of the new arena and make up any backfall for annual repayment of the city bonds issued.

All parties agreed transaction documents would not be signed and construction would not begin before the state-required environmental impact analysis was completed. Wally Walker , former SuperSonics executive, was also later revealed to be part of Hansen's group. David Stern , then NBA Commissioner , confirmed on February 6, , that the Maloofs had filed paperwork with the league office to officially request relocation of the Kings from Sacramento to Seattle on behalf of the potential new ownership group.

On February 26, , the Sacramento City Council voted to enter into negotiations with an unnamed group of investors revealed two days later to be headed by grocery magnate and developer Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov , founder of 24 Hour Fitness. An initial counteroffer presented to the NBA by this new group was deemed "not comparable" as to merit consideration.

Ahead of the annual Board of Governors meeting where they were expected to vote on approval of the sale of the Kings to Hansen and Ballmer's group, as well as the relocation request, members of the NBA owners' finance and relocation committees held a meeting in New York City on April 3, , for the Seattle group and the Sacramento group to each present their proposals.

With the meeting of the Board of Governors to vote moved again to mid-May, the groups were asked to make another brief presentation to the full relocation committee on April 29, The committee voted to recommend rejection of the relocation request to the full board. Initially, only majority owner Bruce Levenson would sell his stake but the remaining minority owners announced they would also sell their stakes.

On May 2, , Seattle City Council voted 5—4 against vacating a section of Occidental Avenue South that connected property purchased by Hansen and was deemed critical to the siting of a future arena. While talks about building a new arena were underway, so were talks with another group of investors—including Tim Leiweke , co-founder of the Oak View Group —who wanted to renovate KeyArena, SuperSonics' former home venue.

Hansen and his fellow investors felt having a future arena should be considered as a back-up plan for the future of SuperSonics, they would support the renovation by Oak View Group if the plan to acquire an NBA team was successful. They left for the larger Kingdome and played there for seven years with crowds of over 30, at 20 games. The road jerseys were green and had yellow lettering; the home uniforms were white with green lettering.

In , SuperSonics changed their uniforms, adding red and orange, and removing yellow, to their new jerseys that would last six seasons. It displayed the team's new logo on the front and their alternative logo on the shorts. The home uniforms had green stripes on the right side of the jersey and shorts, and the green road jersey had red stripes.

The final SuperSonics uniforms were worn from the —02 season through to the —08 season. These uniforms were an homage to a similar style worn from the —76 season through to the —95 season. The Seattle SuperSonics were traditional rivals of Portland Trail Blazers because of the teams' proximity; the rivalry had been dubbed the I-5 Rivalry in reference to Interstate 5 that connects the two cities, which are miles km apart.

The rivalry was fairly equal in accomplishments; both teams won one championship. The all-time record of this rivalry is 98—94 in favor of the SuperSonics. The Lakers' sustained success meant regular season games often affected NBA Playoffs seedings, with the teams matching head-to-head for numerous playoff battles. NBA Executive of the Year.

Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award. NBA Sportsmanship Award. Points scored regular season as of the end of the —08 season [87]. Other Statistics regular season as of the end of the —08 season [87]. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.

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This section does not cite any sources. Odds or longer Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Further information: Oklahoma City Thunder. Main article: Sonics Arena. Main article: Seattle SuperSonics all-time roster. Carlesimo — NBA Properties, Inc. October 17, Retrieved June 28, Retrieved December 2, August 25, Archived from the original on December 18, Retrieved June 18, Urbonus podcast BasketNews Talks.

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