May the NBA return to Seattle after a 17-year absence?
On the “Membership 520 Podcast” on Monday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver talked about that league enlargement stays a precedence for house owners and hinted {that a} return of the SuperSonics to Seattle may happen.
“There’s so many nice markets on the market that love the NBA,” Silver said. “[Expansion] is certainly one thing we’re gonna check out.”
When “Membership 520 Podcast” co-host and former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague talked about Seattle and Vegas as potential enlargement locations, Silver mentioned Seattle could be ideally suited.
“We had a group in Seattle earlier than and it is such an unbelievable market,” he mentioned. “A lot of my years on the NBA had been spent in Seattle when there was nonetheless a group and there is no doubt concerning the love of basketball there.”
Seattle, which misplaced the SuperSonics in 2008, is incessantly rumored to be among the many favorites to land an enlargement group. ESPN reported in September that the Thunder may give the Sonics their franchise historical past again from 1967 to 2007 if Seattle obtained one other group.
The league’s Board of Governors is ready to satisfy in July in Las Vegas, and Silver has indicated that enlargement will nearly definitely be on the agenda for dialogue. Las Vegas is broadly thought of to be the opposite robust contender for enlargement, because the NBA has hosted its Summer time League within the metropolis since its inception in 2004. Las Vegas has had a WNBA group since 2018.
Mexico Metropolis — essentially the most populous metropolis in North America — is one other market Silver is enthusiastic about. The town has an NBA G League group.
Of the robust group of enlargement contenders, Seattle looks like a slam dunk. In 1979, the SuperSonics gained the NBA title and in 1996, they misplaced to the Michael Jordan-fueled Bulls within the Finals.
In 41 seasons, the SuperSonics made the playoffs 22 instances and appeared within the Finals thrice.
Though it is not assured that the NBA will return to Seattle, the mere point out of a return of the Sonics is thrilling.
