Seattle is poised to welcome back its NBA team, the SuperSonics, in the 2028-29 season, nearly 20 years after their relocation. This potential return highlights Seattle's thriving sports market and the significant changes within the NBA since 2008, including increased three-point shooting, high salaries, player injuries, and the influence of big markets.
It’s been almost 20 years since Seattle lost its basketball team. The SuperSonics were relocated, renamed, and now the Oklahoma City Thunder have morphed into an NBA powerhouse. Champions for the first time last season, favored to win it all again this season.
During that time, the Seattle Seahawks have thankfully enjoyed the greatest run of success in franchise history, winning two Super Bowls along the way. Their first Super Bowl was Seattle’s first title in a Big 4 men’s sports league since the Sonics in 1979. If you’ve not kept up with the news, after years worth of teases and disappointments, the Sonics might be coming back for real in the 2028-29 season. If the Sonics’ return is a formality, they’d get all their franchise history back from the Thunder prior to the move, but unfortunately the Thunder roster doesn’t also get to go to Seattle. The city would complete the set of having pro teams in the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB, in addition to MLS, WNBA, and PWHL . Don’t let any outsider tell you Seattle is not a thriving, vibrant sports market. With all of that said, the NBA is much different than it was in 2008. There’s so much three-point shooting, some argue too much three-point shooting. The money is preposterously high yet there are so many injured stars and players sitting out due to “load management.” It feels like there’s more emphasis on trades and hypothetical roster moves than in other leagues, and player movement is extraordinarily high at the upper level. Big markets have an outsized advantage in terms of free agency and trades in ways the NFL does not. Don’t get me started on the comically complicated NBA salary cap rules. And yes, there’s flopping. Ref whining is not new so I don’t really care about that. I love the NBA but I also acknowledge that the perception of the league is not particularly high, and there might be some of us in the comments section who’ve fallen out of love with the NBA because of a combination of the Sonics leaving and the subsequent changes to the league. On the other hand, it’s still another sports team—a beloved one at that—and having the Sonics paired with the Storm again would kick ass. For a little off-topic chatter during one of the NFL’s increasingly scant offseason lulls, we want to know from Seahawks fans who are/were also NBA fans: How do you feel about the Sonics coming back? Would you be excited? Still bitter? Bittersweet? Not caring? There are no wrong answers here! On the subject of basketball, if you watch the college variety, SB Nation has as special March Madness Feed, where you’ll find all sorts of content and conversation throughout the tournament. You’ll even find my bracket, which has the national championship heading out West to Arizona for the first time since the Wildcats won it all in 1997. Chat away in the comments! --- Join the conversation! Sign up for a user account and get: * Fewer ads * Create community posts * Comment on articles, community posts * Rec comments, community posts * New, improved notifications system! ---
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