From 1967 to 2008, the Seattle SuperSonics reigned supreme in Washington. Then, suddenly in 2008, Seattle lost their NBA team for what felt like forever. The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t just take the Sonics out of Seattle, they also brought all the franchise’s history with them.
This left a basketball-starved fanbase without any professional team to root for. But now, as NBA expansion talks heat up, rumors suggest the Seattle Sonics could be returning to their roots.
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NBA would return Seattle SuperSonics history if team returns
In the NBA, when an existing franchise moves to a new city, all their history goes with it. That’s what happened when the Sonics became the Thunder. But just like the Charlotte Bobcats reclaimed their Hornets history, the Sonics could do the same if/when an NBA team returns to Seattle.
“Sources said if a team was 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.”
ESPN on Seattle SuperSonics
The Thunder have since created their own history. But in reality, Oklahoma City has nothing to do with the successes and failures of the Sonics. Rightfully so, if Seattle does get an NBA team again, it’s only fair for them to be reconnected with their Sonics history too, including their 1979 NBA Championship.
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