The NBA last expanded in 2004 when the Charlotte Bobcats joined the league. They’d end up becoming the worst team in NBA history which is horrific when you see the list of the worst NBA teams of all-time. It’s time for the NBA to expand and it’ll likely to take place in 2025 when the current TV rights deal is up for renewal.
Seattle Supersonics haven’t existed since their final game on April 13, 2008 and it’s outrageous that they aren’t back in the league yet. There are a host of cities that are challenging Seattle to become the next NBA expansion teams.
Vancouver have a real shot of becoming the next NBA city as well as Louisville, but Seattle are the clear favourites.
There are many reasons why the Seattle Supersonics will return to the NBA. Seattle-Tacoma is the 12th largest media market in the U.S and the city goes ballistic for the Seahawks, Mariners and Sounders. The Seattle Storm are also one of the best teams in WNBA history.
A return to the NBA is imminent for the Seattler Supersonics all because of Climate Pledge Arena (formally KeyArena). There were plans in the 90’s to replace the aging KeyArena south of Downtown Seattle as it was ageing and no longer up to NBA standards.
Plans failed for a new stadium to be built and the $300 million upgrade required for KeyArena never materialised. The rest is history, as the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and became known as the Thunder.
Since then the arena issue has been solved! KeyArena was renamed Climate Pledge Arena after Amazon bought the naming rights in 2020. Renovations were finally completed in 2021 totalling $850 million and its now home to the NHL team the Seattle Kraken who debuted in the same year.
It’s astonishing that a franchise like the Seattle Supersonics were allowed to relocate in the first place. We’re talking about a city that was the 1979 NBA champions. Superstars like Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Ray Allen and even Kevin Durant in his rookie year proudly wore the Supersonics jersey.
And why does California deserve to have four teams and Texas with three teams when Seattle can’t even have one? The Supersonics is a powerful brand but even then, you could relocate one of the Cali teams.
The Seattle Clippers for example is a name that reflects the city’s maritime history and the Seattle Kings has a good ring to it too. Seattle sits within King County for goodness sake!
Will Seattle get an NBA team again? It’s really a question of when and not if. When the NBA and team owners agreed to relocate the Supersonics, they didn’t have a choice as there was no suitable arena to continue playing at. The upgraded Climate Pledge Arena solves the issue and is why a return to the NBA is imminent.
