Preparing For NBA’s Return to Seattle, OKC Thunder Won’t Claim Sonics History

It’s old news to most, but Oklahoma City will continue creating its own history in the wake of expansion.

May 18, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) warms up before game six against the Dallas Mavericks in the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Since the Thunder made the move to Oklahoma City, creating its own history was always a priority. Of course, the team inherited Kevin Durant, which was quite the starting point, but had to create everything from the ground up after that.

From a brand new professional sports city, generating a fanbase, and a completely new team rebrand, the Thunder had to start all the way over. Unlike an expansion draft, though, the Thunder inherited a full team which gave them a leg up on what seems to be coming in the near future in the NBA.

It feels like a league expansion has been in the works forever with teams like Seattle and Las Vegas at the forefront of the talks. There’s more talent and interest in the NBA than ever, so an expansion makes sense. Unlike the Thunder, though, those teams would have to start all over — even with the players. They’d have to draft their teams through an expansion draft after the current NBA teams protected a certain amount of players.

Since Oklahoma City inherited the Thunder, Seattle has been itching at a chance to bring basketball back to the city. With their dreams closer to becoming a reality, Oklahoma City is closing the door on claiming any Sonics history. As Thunder fans know, though, Oklahoma City has never claimed Sonics history. The NBA has for historical purposes, though. 

ESPN released a deep dive into a potential expansion, and hit a few key points on the Thunder-Sonic history.

“That (original) agreement laid out the terms of shared ownership of Sonics history, including the team's 1979 championship trophy and retired jerseys,” ESPN noted. “Officially, the NBA combines the history of the two teams. For example, the league recognizes Payton as Oklahoma City's career leader in games played.

“The Thunder, however, do not hang any banners for the SuperSonics in Oklahoma City, and they don't highlight any Seattle stats in their media guide -- listing, for example, Russell Westbrook as the team's career assists leader rather than Payton.

Sources said that if a team were to return to Seattle, the Thunder would cede the Seattle history back to the SuperSonics -- just as the NBA's Charlotte Hornets reclaimed the Charlotte-era history of the New Orleans Pelicans when Charlotte switched from being the Bobcats to the Hornets in 2014.”

All the agreements listed were already set in stone from the day the Thunder moved to Oklahoma City. Now that expansion might be on the horizon, though, all the talking points are surfacing once again.

In its young life span, the Thunder have been one of the NBA’s most successful teams. Oklahoma City looks to be well positioned for upcoming success too. The franchise is still chasing that elusive championship, though, and soon they might have to compete against Seattle for it on the court.

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