George Karl, Rashard Lewis, and Others Advocate For Seattle SuperSonics NBA Return

Jeremy Hanna | Nov 16, 2024

Oct 10, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Fans hold a flag for the Seattle Supersonics during the fourth quarter of a game between the Utah Jazz and LA Clippers at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images / Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Basketball fans in Seattle, WA were dismayed when the Seattle SuperSonics left their city in 2008. Now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team has found a surprising amount of success since they left their home.

Still, this means Seattle has been without a team for 16 years after having one for 41 years. Now, if what NBA commissioner Adam Silver has hinted at is true, fans could see an NBA team return to the Emerald City in the near future.

According to Jason Quick of The Athletic, Silver said in September that the possibility of expansion would be addressed at some point this season. Naturally, this has fans and experts predicting that the SuperSonics will return to Seattle.

One person who is advocating for the team to return is former head coach George Karl, who led the Sonics to an NBA Finals appearance in 1996.

“There’s just too much karma that says put a team back in Seattle,” Karl said. “I don’t know more than anybody else, but my feeling is … that it can happen. It should happen.”

Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell is also excited for the possibility, going so far as to postpone his 66th birthday plans to spread "the buzz" of the city's expansion viability.

“We need to make sure the decision-makers — the NBA commissioner, the administration and co-owners — realize this is a very attractive market, and we have the fan base,” Harrell said. “They sort of know it, but this was 2008 when we lost the team, and we have a whole new generation of people in town, so we need to assure them we have that kind of spirit.”

Former NBA Champion Rashard Lewis, who played with the Sonics from 1998-2007, thinks that the NBA absolutely has to put a team back in Seattle.

“Seattle has a part of me; I became a man here,” Lewis said. “And the fans … I still remember Big Lo (super fan Lorin Sandretzky), and fans pulling up to the airport when we arrived. There’s history, so much history here, and that’s why they have to have a team here.”

Former player Brent Barry, who is now an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns, still talks about the strong community and fanbase.

“Spilling out from KeyArena after a game meant that you were in the bloodstream of the city,” Barry said. “You got out of the arena and you could walk across the street to Lazy J’s (Jalisco’s) and do karaoke with a bunch of fans who were just at the game. You could go to First Street and hop into a steakhouse and have a meal with fans who just left the game."

“To lose all that … it was a gut punch to a city that loved basketball, loved its team and had a relationship with the team that was unique.”

At this point, there's no telling whether the NBA is actually going to expand. But if it does, it only makes sense to bring the SuperSonics back to Seattle.

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