The NBA is set to hold a board of governors meeting in New York next week, and it will be a very significant one for the cities of Seattle and Las Vegas. A vote will be held to explore adding expansion teams in the two cities, and if the Seattle SuperSonics do return, they’ll get their history back as well.
Seattle, of course, had lost the SuperSonics when the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and changed its name to the Thunder. Now, if the NBA gives the city its team back, ESPN has confirmed that the Thunder will transfer everything related to the SuperSonics at no cost.
“The deal between Thunder ownership and the city of Seattle resolving a lawsuit over the team’s arena lease and allowing its move to Oklahoma City stipulated that the name SuperSonics and all associated logos, colors and trademark would be transferred to the owner of a new NBA team approved to play at a renovated KeyArena at no cost.”
“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 regained the Hornets name in 2014.”
The Thunder have never really tried to claim the SuperSonics’ history as their own. They didn’t hang a banner for the NBA title that the SuperSonics won in 1979. Their first-ever championship banner was only raised at Paycom Center on October 21, 2025, after they won the title in 2025.
The Thunder’s media guide also lists Russell Westbrook as their all-time leader in assists when it technically should be SuperSonics legend, Gary Payton. You’d imagine they’d be more than happy to give it all back.
The SuperSonics were a very successful franchise. They entered the NBA in 1967, and by the time they relocated, they had amassed an impressive 1,745-1585 record. That is a 52.4% win rate. To go with that NBA championship in 1979, the SuperSonics also won the Western Conference in 1978 and 1996. The franchise’s having such a rich history and a very passionate fanbase is what made that relocation sting so much.
Fans in Seattle have long been clamoring for the NBA to bring the SuperSonics back. Even Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry had voiced his support for Seattle to get an expansion team. Everyone in the basketball world appears to want this to happen, and here’s hoping the governors vote for it.
If Seattle is approved, the target would be for the SuperSonics to start play in the 2028-29 NBA season. An expansion draft will take place before the season, and it will be interesting to see if there are any significant rule changes from the last expansion.
