NBA Must Now Prioritize Return Of Seattle’s SuperSonics

Not long ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggested the league would consider expansion after a new media rights deal is complete. Well, guess what’s been announced this offseason?

You guessed it — a new media rights deal. (Forget for a moment that it’s in the middle of a lawsuit involving TNT.)

Anyway, this isn’t to suggest the NBA now needs to rush into adding some new cities and teams, but it does need to get the ball moving at some point here soon. And mostly, it needs Seattle and to bring back the SuperSonics.

Honestly, I can’t think of anything that would bring the entire NBA community together like the Sonics. Ask anyone who cares about the league and that’s one thing they can agree on — Seattle deserves pro basketball and the Sonics and their green-and-yellow color scheme need to return.

So much history, so much passion, so much that was always right with Sonics basketball. And who can forget the names and legends, from Gary Payton to Shawn Kemp to Kevin Durant (yes, he spent his rookie year there) to Xavier McDaniel, Dennis Johnson to Lenny Wilkens, Spencer Haywood, Jack Sikma and beyond. No less than Kemp even wrote a column for The Players Tribune, entitled I Miss The Sonics.

It’s going to happen. We can truly believe that. The NBA just needs to make it official.

Now, we’ve heard other cities mentioned, such as Las Vegas, Kansas City, St. Louis. Fine. Give one of them a team too. But Seattle needs to be the priority. Every game will sell out, and again, it won’t be only Seattle that celebrates. Everyone will, and it doesn’t take a marketing guru to understand that.

As for ownership, not a problem. There are a lot of really rich people who not only want to own a team but want to own one in Seattle. 

And it appears the future Sonics already have a super place to play in Climate Pledge Arena, which will host a Clippers-Trail Blazers preseason game this preseason.

The NBA media rights deal is in place. The league recently came up with the play-in tournament, followed by the In-Season Tournament (now called the NBA Cup), and overall has been fairly innovative under Silver. 

But nothing would brighten everyone’s basketball day like bringing back the Sonics. Dear Mr. Commissioner, please make it happen. And soon.