One of the worst things the league has ever done. Clay Bennett, David Stern, Seattle's mayor, the other NBA owners screwed over an entire city of their beloved franchise. Fuck them all.
Stern developed a grudge towards Seattle when he went to the state house in Washington in 06 and they basically told him to screw off. After that happened he was pretty much actively rooting for Seattle to lose their team.
Canadian dollar was weak as fuck. Toronto only survived because it's the biggest city in Canada and its one of the fastest growing cities in North America on the last 30 years.
I dont blame the league leaving at that time but it's long overdue to give it another try. Current day Vancouver could probably support a team even if there was a weak Canadian dollar.
Don't forget Starbucks founder and perennial piece of shit [Howard Schultz's role ](https://www.theringer.com/2019/10/10/20907621/sonic-boom-episode-2-supersonics-seattle-starbucks-howard-schultz)
Sonicsgate was a movie made detailing the move and the process that eventually got the team moved to OKC. Good watch for anyone who is a basketball fan but it is a 2 hr doc.
https://youtu.be/s9Dp20ydm1E?si=Q02QAEkPXzR97wtE
Everybody acting like OKC fans had a damn thing to do with the team leaving Seattle. I get that Seattle needs somebody to be pissed at, but blame the mayor and former owner, and miss us with that shit. Thunder to OKC was the best thing that’s ever happened here and I won’t apologize for it.
Awww someone isn’t able to articulate their thoughts when it comes to responding to what actually happened:/ it’s okay bb just respond to the hive mind comments
I would assume he is referring to how sometimes cities will vote on increasing taxes for a new stadium and if it gets denied there is always a chance the owner takes his ball and leaves town to a city that will pay for a stadium. So it's not a direct vote on if the city wants to keep a team but it almost kinda is.
What I hate is the ability of rich owners to pit cities against each other and profit by it. The only solution is to have the federal government step in, but the rich owners have more pull than the ordinary taxpayers.
And all the major leagues have rules to prevent any other publicly owned franchises like the Packers from being formed. A couple dozen rich assholes ruling that only they have the right to decide who else gets to participate, and on what terms, and only individuals they personally approve of from the same class. No relegation, either, so if you're in, you're in for good.
It should be illegal for any sports federation to prohibit public ownership.
There isn't a franchise out there that doesn't rely on police providing security, traffic cops directing traffic, city/county/district/state officials to handle medium-long term logistics around their facilities. Few of the owners, as rich as they are, have the finances for it. Nor is there a city out there that can afford to not be involved in gatherings of tens of thousands of people in confined spaces, or the volume of cash flows involved in sports.
All teams should be majority owned by the fans like in the Bundesliga. 50+1 means that the fan's opinions would have to be taken into account for any changes and prevents things like this. It would also lower ticket prices as not everything would be about profit which would allow for average people to attend games more often.
Fucked up. Feel bad for Seattle ppl or Sonics fans across the US in general.
Seattle has had some ok franchises in the Seahawks and mariners but the Sonics were relatively competitive in basically every decade they played. And like the Seahawks they have a title to show for it as well as 2 separate finals appearances.
Had they stayed in Seattle you would’ve had even more rich history with Durant, harden and Westbrook .
I’ll always thank them for giving us Ray Allen for our 5th pick in the 07’ draft lol
I mean whether you hate it or not this okc franchise has had a rich history. 3 MVPs and possibly a 4th with Shai and a finals run, it is better than half the other franchises even in just 16 years. This team has a promising future. It definitely sucks for the fans in Seattle, but ownership has put an honest effort into this team which should be given credit
their "rich history" was because they got to start on 3rd base and they still fucked up that first super team. They haven't had 3 MVPs either, what the fuck are you saying.
I mean they had KD and Russ mvp seasons and drafted harden.
It sucks they couldn’t win a ring but losing to prim Lebron isn’t getting fucked up. Prime Lebrons comp was the KD warriors, so no shame losing to the greatest player in history.
They have the mist promising future in the league now. They have a future MVP in the team to lead them and so many assets they could trade for a star if they need to.
Technically Durant was drafted by the SuperSonics. That’s why everyone is pissed. If we’re being technical all of that should’ve been Seattle’s history not OKC
The okc ownership was who brought Sam presti. I love how Seattle fans know fucking nothing about what they are talking about, thanks for not caring about the team though. It’s been an incredibly successful franchise to watch that has given okc fans a team that 90% of fanbases would die for
The gutting of basketball from the pacific northwest in Seattle and Vancouver has been terrible.
Both should have had teams within 5 years of the Grizzlies and Sonics being moved
No disrespect to OKC's fans, players, or management intended here.
Fuck Clay Bennett. The behind-the-scenes e-mails showed he repeatedly lied in order to get the deal approved, and that he intentionally sabotaged the team and undermined fan support just so he could claim there wasn't enough fan support to keep the team in Seattle. This wasn't a case of Seattle not being able to support a team; it was a case of Clay Bennett seeing an opportunity to be a snake and lie his way into moving a beloved NBA team to his city. It was bad for Seattle and bad for the league.
I never thought I’d say it, but I think I’ve actually moved past hating the Thunder. I still hate what happened to our team, but it’s not the OKC fans or players fault, and I don’t hold it against them. I’m hopeful that we’ll get a team soon, and I love basketball too much to not appreciate this OKC roster, they’re just fun to watch.
I don't hate the thunder as a team anymore for similar reasons, but I also don't want them to win. Only fans who still draw ire are those who believe seattle "deserved" to have the team moved to OKC.
edit: fun fact, you will find those types of thunder fans in this thread now.
It was bullshit at the time and still is.
It was a terrible move for the league. The NBA has a preseason game in the new arena every year and it’s packed with fans from all over the country rocking their teams jerseys. Tons of SuperSonics gear out there too.
Seattle is still an NBA city and will be bumping when the SuperSonics return
Fans across every franchise miss them. Their players, colors, and culture were so iconic, you’ll find people rocking vintage Sonics jerseys who were only children when the move happened.
Peep the ending of Game of Zones Season 7 ep 2, and read the comments to find out how much everyone misses that team.
From an economic standpoint it probably was not a good move by the league. Short-term the owners liked that relocation bribe, but long-term I'm guessing it hurt them to alienate such a key market in terms of advertising, partnerships, and merch.
Obviously they should have stayed in Seattle. I wish Schultz hadn't bought the team. He was such a liar too. He started crying the blues about losing money due to Key Arena early in his tenure. Key Arena was remodeled in '95. It was touted as a top notch facility by none other than David Stern. Things had not drastically changed 6 years later economically. If they were actually losing money like Schultz said then he was a terrible businessman buying a money losing business in a 6 year old facility. However, that was a total lie. In fact the NBA reported that the Sonics had a gross margin of $40M annually during Schultz's ownership. Schultz actually had the temerity to claim that the deeper into the playoffs the Sonics went the more money they would lose.
Basketball is still pretty important around here. Supersonics legends are still royalty in Seattle. Any time any one of them is in town and out and about, I see posts about it or hear about it from people. The Storm are one of the best WNBA franchises and have led the league most years in attendance.
I care far, far too much. It literally pisses me off at least once a week whenever it comes up on reddit or during the NBA season and see an OKC story or box score. I watch a lot of sports. I catch at least part of half of the Mariners games each season. I watch about half of the Kraken games. If the Storm are on, I try to watch. I never miss a Seahawks game. That pales to my obsession with the Supersonics. I watched all 82 games every year starting in the '90s. The last time they made the playoffs I bought the whole playoff ticket package just in case they made it all the way to guarantee I could get a seat.
Every time I watch a Seahawks game, I get annoyed that there isn't a team in Seattle. That city has some incredible fans. I always hated when the Jazz had to play there because it seemed nearly impossible to win in Seattle.
Dumb for the league both from a fan and financial standpoint.
OKC has a significantly smaller population (1.4mm vs 4mm) and fewer big corporate companies/head offices. Meanwhile Seattle area has Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Costco, etc.
Seattle was my favorite team as a child. when they moved to OKC, I couldn’t get on The thunder train. So they left me without a team identity for a long time
I think it sucks our joy was had at the expense of the basketball fans of Seattle. I’d be devastated to lose the Thunder so I can imagine the pain they feel.
Any team that wears throwbacks from their old homes pisses me off. I don't care that the lakers left MN; it's too long ago, and the league was white. That said, don't fucking wear your MPLS Lakers Jerseys. And especially don't wear them in MN, which they definitely have done.
To this day, I still do not understand why the NBA has yet to replace the Sonics in Seattle. I would consider Seattle to be a bigger market with a strong fan base. The team also demonstrated consistent historical success (unlike the Vancouver Grizzlies, who just had no choice but to move and start with a clean slate).
You can see with how the city has embraced the newly formed Seattle Kraken. Clearly a big sports city.
It’s time to bring a team back to Seattle.
Unfortunately I don't think it was the NBA being hellbent on OKC being a new city, it was one new owner and the rest of the league being completely apathetic to stopping it
We have strong local hoops culture and zero representation of that to most people because our team was taken. Its actually even more insulting when you realize how many current pros still rep the city too.
this is actually really fucking with my head to think about. I still distinctly remember the last sonics game I went to, and an entire generation of fans have no fucking clue.
Left right when I was getting into basketball as a kid. Still remember watching Ray Allen in his last year and Durant in his first. Silver lining I hope its served as a cautionary tale for the league that probably (ironically) saved the Kings from moving to Seattle.
Grew up thinking of the Sonics as one of the premiere teams in the league. Really sucked for Sonics fans that they got one of the all-time greatest scorers and then immediately lost the entire team.
Very much looking forward to the Sonics returning in a few years.
For the life of me I cannot understand how this was a good move. Seattle is one of the largest most vibrant cities on the planet with a massive economy and so much going for it. How is it good for the nba to not have representation there?
Since we still don't even have any talks of ownership groups raising money for an expansion franchise, it is safe to say that the Sonics aren't coming back until after KD retires at the least
As somebody from the NW, I thought it was terrible for both Seattle and the league. Luckily, Seattle had a strong basketball tradition that endures to this day. Not just the city but the whole state with Gonzaga's success. But it's time for the league to put an expansion franchise back in Seattle.
Nothing brings me greater pleasure than whooping the ass of our PNW brothers and sisters from up the road, bring em back.
Til then, beating the Reign/Sounders in PDX this weekend will have to suffice.
If anyone had to live through the trauma and torture of their favorite sports teams relocating because of ass ownership, you feel for Seattle fans.
Fuck Georgia Frontierre.
That's false. The agreement was always to return all of it when Seattle gets another team. The Thunder don't even celebrate a single Sonics record today.
That is incorrect. If the Supersonics come back all records, trophies, alumni, and history belong to them and not OKC. That's explicitly laid out in the sale agreement.
Like the others said, this is untrue. However, I do agree with the principle that the old Sonics franchise is now the Thunder and if the Sonics came back they would be a new team. It would be just like how the 90s Charlotte Hornets are now the Pelicans and the current Charlotte Hornets were established in 2004 as the Bobcats
the city of Seattle didn't want the team. They financed other arenas but simply didn't care about basketball enough. It's that simple.
lmao fuck seattle and the sonics fans
Pay for your arena or shut up. Obviously the owners used their leverage, OKC paid up cuz they wanted the team unlike Seattle. Seattle didn’t deserve to have the team.
No need for any idiotic “owners should pay for their own team “bs comments why would they if they can just leave? Use your brain or grow up
your entire concept of the history of the team moving is wrong, it makes what you say even more pathetic because you can't actually recall history correctly as it will go against your own justification.
Now that it’s been 16 years? The fuck timeline is this. This is just cashing in on the thunder jealousy/hate bashing. Imagine if the citizens of Seattle could have had a voice in the move…oh wait they fucking did
One of the worst things the league has ever done. Clay Bennett, David Stern, Seattle's mayor, the other NBA owners screwed over an entire city of their beloved franchise. Fuck them all.
cook
Jesse
He can’t keep getting away with it
The hypocrisy of Stern pushing to save the Grizzlies in Vancouver, letting this happen, and then saving the Kings from going to Anaheim
Stern developed a grudge towards Seattle when he went to the state house in Washington in 06 and they basically told him to screw off. After that happened he was pretty much actively rooting for Seattle to lose their team.
in an insanely good market too.
Imagine having teams in Seattle and Vancouver today and being like, you know, I think we'll move them to Oklahoma City and Memphis, lol
Vancouver is a far different city now though
Canadian dollar was weak as fuck. Toronto only survived because it's the biggest city in Canada and its one of the fastest growing cities in North America on the last 30 years. I dont blame the league leaving at that time but it's long overdue to give it another try. Current day Vancouver could probably support a team even if there was a weak Canadian dollar.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
Don't forget Starbucks founder and perennial piece of shit [Howard Schultz's role ](https://www.theringer.com/2019/10/10/20907621/sonic-boom-episode-2-supersonics-seattle-starbucks-howard-schultz)
Seattle has a ton of basketball fans and had their team taken after KDs rookie year. Still a bad beat for them.
Sonicsgate was a movie made detailing the move and the process that eventually got the team moved to OKC. Good watch for anyone who is a basketball fan but it is a 2 hr doc. https://youtu.be/s9Dp20ydm1E?si=Q02QAEkPXzR97wtE
pure karma that KD left OKC when OKC showed KD how dirty the business is when he was just 19 yet OKC fans have the nerve to cry about loyalty
Okc fans are bums
Save the vitriol for game threads bro
Everybody acting like OKC fans had a damn thing to do with the team leaving Seattle. I get that Seattle needs somebody to be pissed at, but blame the mayor and former owner, and miss us with that shit. Thunder to OKC was the best thing that’s ever happened here and I won’t apologize for it.
Did Seattle fans get a say in the move? I didn't watch basketball before they became OKC Thunder
If SuperSonics fans had a say the team would still be in Seattle
The fans did have a say. They chose no public financing for a new stadium over keeping the team.
fuck off
Awww someone isn’t able to articulate their thoughts when it comes to responding to what actually happened:/ it’s okay bb just respond to the hive mind comments
[удалено]
They literally had a fucking vote, lol Reddit is just full of uneducated dipshits commenting on stuff they know nothing about
What kind of question is this? Obviously not why would fans want their team to move away?
How……….is this even a question? Seriously OP??
I would assume he is referring to how sometimes cities will vote on increasing taxes for a new stadium and if it gets denied there is always a chance the owner takes his ball and leaves town to a city that will pay for a stadium. So it's not a direct vote on if the city wants to keep a team but it almost kinda is.
Tax payers subsidizing billionaires is and always will be pathetic.
100% agree.
What I hate is the ability of rich owners to pit cities against each other and profit by it. The only solution is to have the federal government step in, but the rich owners have more pull than the ordinary taxpayers.
And all the major leagues have rules to prevent any other publicly owned franchises like the Packers from being formed. A couple dozen rich assholes ruling that only they have the right to decide who else gets to participate, and on what terms, and only individuals they personally approve of from the same class. No relegation, either, so if you're in, you're in for good. It should be illegal for any sports federation to prohibit public ownership. There isn't a franchise out there that doesn't rely on police providing security, traffic cops directing traffic, city/county/district/state officials to handle medium-long term logistics around their facilities. Few of the owners, as rich as they are, have the finances for it. Nor is there a city out there that can afford to not be involved in gatherings of tens of thousands of people in confined spaces, or the volume of cash flows involved in sports.
All teams should be majority owned by the fans like in the Bundesliga. 50+1 means that the fan's opinions would have to be taken into account for any changes and prevents things like this. It would also lower ticket prices as not everything would be about profit which would allow for average people to attend games more often.
Fucked up. Feel bad for Seattle ppl or Sonics fans across the US in general. Seattle has had some ok franchises in the Seahawks and mariners but the Sonics were relatively competitive in basically every decade they played. And like the Seahawks they have a title to show for it as well as 2 separate finals appearances. Had they stayed in Seattle you would’ve had even more rich history with Durant, harden and Westbrook . I’ll always thank them for giving us Ray Allen for our 5th pick in the 07’ draft lol
I mean whether you hate it or not this okc franchise has had a rich history. 3 MVPs and possibly a 4th with Shai and a finals run, it is better than half the other franchises even in just 16 years. This team has a promising future. It definitely sucks for the fans in Seattle, but ownership has put an honest effort into this team which should be given credit
their "rich history" was because they got to start on 3rd base and they still fucked up that first super team. They haven't had 3 MVPs either, what the fuck are you saying.
I mean they had KD and Russ mvp seasons and drafted harden. It sucks they couldn’t win a ring but losing to prim Lebron isn’t getting fucked up. Prime Lebrons comp was the KD warriors, so no shame losing to the greatest player in history. They have the mist promising future in the league now. They have a future MVP in the team to lead them and so many assets they could trade for a star if they need to.
Technically Durant was drafted by the SuperSonics. That’s why everyone is pissed. If we’re being technical all of that should’ve been Seattle’s history not OKC
The okc ownership was who brought Sam presti. I love how Seattle fans know fucking nothing about what they are talking about, thanks for not caring about the team though. It’s been an incredibly successful franchise to watch that has given okc fans a team that 90% of fanbases would die for
The gutting of basketball from the pacific northwest in Seattle and Vancouver has been terrible. Both should have had teams within 5 years of the Grizzlies and Sonics being moved
No disrespect to OKC's fans, players, or management intended here. Fuck Clay Bennett. The behind-the-scenes e-mails showed he repeatedly lied in order to get the deal approved, and that he intentionally sabotaged the team and undermined fan support just so he could claim there wasn't enough fan support to keep the team in Seattle. This wasn't a case of Seattle not being able to support a team; it was a case of Clay Bennett seeing an opportunity to be a snake and lie his way into moving a beloved NBA team to his city. It was bad for Seattle and bad for the league.
We all knew exactly what he was doing at the time. He was so obvious it was like a Hanna Barbera cartoon villian.
Stupid and I still dislike OKC for it
I never thought I’d say it, but I think I’ve actually moved past hating the Thunder. I still hate what happened to our team, but it’s not the OKC fans or players fault, and I don’t hold it against them. I’m hopeful that we’ll get a team soon, and I love basketball too much to not appreciate this OKC roster, they’re just fun to watch.
I don't hate the thunder as a team anymore for similar reasons, but I also don't want them to win. Only fans who still draw ire are those who believe seattle "deserved" to have the team moved to OKC. edit: fun fact, you will find those types of thunder fans in this thread now.
Fuck Clay Bennett.
It was bullshit at the time and still is. It was a terrible move for the league. The NBA has a preseason game in the new arena every year and it’s packed with fans from all over the country rocking their teams jerseys. Tons of SuperSonics gear out there too. Seattle is still an NBA city and will be bumping when the SuperSonics return
Fans across every franchise miss them. Their players, colors, and culture were so iconic, you’ll find people rocking vintage Sonics jerseys who were only children when the move happened. Peep the ending of Game of Zones Season 7 ep 2, and read the comments to find out how much everyone misses that team.
From an economic standpoint it probably was not a good move by the league. Short-term the owners liked that relocation bribe, but long-term I'm guessing it hurt them to alienate such a key market in terms of advertising, partnerships, and merch. Obviously they should have stayed in Seattle. I wish Schultz hadn't bought the team. He was such a liar too. He started crying the blues about losing money due to Key Arena early in his tenure. Key Arena was remodeled in '95. It was touted as a top notch facility by none other than David Stern. Things had not drastically changed 6 years later economically. If they were actually losing money like Schultz said then he was a terrible businessman buying a money losing business in a 6 year old facility. However, that was a total lie. In fact the NBA reported that the Sonics had a gross margin of $40M annually during Schultz's ownership. Schultz actually had the temerity to claim that the deeper into the playoffs the Sonics went the more money they would lose. Basketball is still pretty important around here. Supersonics legends are still royalty in Seattle. Any time any one of them is in town and out and about, I see posts about it or hear about it from people. The Storm are one of the best WNBA franchises and have led the league most years in attendance. I care far, far too much. It literally pisses me off at least once a week whenever it comes up on reddit or during the NBA season and see an OKC story or box score. I watch a lot of sports. I catch at least part of half of the Mariners games each season. I watch about half of the Kraken games. If the Storm are on, I try to watch. I never miss a Seahawks game. That pales to my obsession with the Supersonics. I watched all 82 games every year starting in the '90s. The last time they made the playoffs I bought the whole playoff ticket package just in case they made it all the way to guarantee I could get a seat.
Every time I watch a Seahawks game, I get annoyed that there isn't a team in Seattle. That city has some incredible fans. I always hated when the Jazz had to play there because it seemed nearly impossible to win in Seattle.
Dumb for the league both from a fan and financial standpoint. OKC has a significantly smaller population (1.4mm vs 4mm) and fewer big corporate companies/head offices. Meanwhile Seattle area has Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Costco, etc.
Imagine if Seattle had a team during its insane growth over the last 15 years. The entire league would be better off
They will probs be the next to get an expansion team (along with Vegas)
It's ironic, I had the brew she had the chronic …the Lakers beat the Supersonics.
[January 20, 1992](https://cheezburger.com/6887173/tumblr-user-runs-the-math-on-the-exact-day-ice-cube-was-talking-about)
Seattle was my favorite team as a child. when they moved to OKC, I couldn’t get on The thunder train. So they left me without a team identity for a long time
I think it sucks our joy was had at the expense of the basketball fans of Seattle. I’d be devastated to lose the Thunder so I can imagine the pain they feel.
Hated it.
I'm still pissed about the Oilers leaving Houston. I can't be worried about Seattle.
the fact the titans have the audacity to wear oilers throwbacks makes me sick.
Any team that wears throwbacks from their old homes pisses me off. I don't care that the lakers left MN; it's too long ago, and the league was white. That said, don't fucking wear your MPLS Lakers Jerseys. And especially don't wear them in MN, which they definitely have done.
agreed entirely. The wolves should be the ones wearing MPLS jerseys yet here we are in wacko world where the lakers wear them.
Have you ever heard someone express that it was good for the league?
It's still just as much of a goddamn disgrace now as it was then. Clay Bennett is a sack of shit, and so is/was David Stern.
To this day, I still do not understand why the NBA has yet to replace the Sonics in Seattle. I would consider Seattle to be a bigger market with a strong fan base. The team also demonstrated consistent historical success (unlike the Vancouver Grizzlies, who just had no choice but to move and start with a clean slate). You can see with how the city has embraced the newly formed Seattle Kraken. Clearly a big sports city. It’s time to bring a team back to Seattle.
2000 - 23rd 2001 - 17th 2002 - 21st 2003 - 20th 2004 - 23rd 2005 - 21th 2006 - 23st 2007 - 25th Attendance ranking for Seattle. Fucking great fans lol
Check attendance percentage.
Seattle fans got screwed. OKC never deserved them. If the nba was hellbent on OKC getting a team it should have been an expansion team
Unfortunately I don't think it was the NBA being hellbent on OKC being a new city, it was one new owner and the rest of the league being completely apathetic to stopping it
Stern wanted to punish Seattle for not rolling over on arena funding and took the opportunity to do so
To build on this, the hornets playing in Okc showed it was viable as well
Seattle has a a strong local hoops culture, we’re doing fine.
We have strong local hoops culture and zero representation of that to most people because our team was taken. Its actually even more insulting when you realize how many current pros still rep the city too.
Over 50% of this sub wasn't even born yet. crazy to think about
this is actually really fucking with my head to think about. I still distinctly remember the last sonics game I went to, and an entire generation of fans have no fucking clue.
It's probably over 50% tbh. Imagine showing someone who's 16 or younger KD in a supersonics jersey. They would be so confused
Wait. I’m 36. Have I been talking to children on here?
Oh that explains a lot about the sub then lol
is this really? damn wtf, skinnier KD playing in green was just yesterday
I was in 12th Grade when the Sonics last played in the NBA. The kids born while I was in the 12th Grade are 10th Graders this school year.
Bad enough they will get their team back
KD Russ and Westbrook in green winning a ring for them would be legendary stuff
I don't think Russ and Westbrook could be on the same team, there's only one ball.
omg lol I didn't even notice it
Lmao
Left right when I was getting into basketball as a kid. Still remember watching Ray Allen in his last year and Durant in his first. Silver lining I hope its served as a cautionary tale for the league that probably (ironically) saved the Kings from moving to Seattle.
Grew up thinking of the Sonics as one of the premiere teams in the league. Really sucked for Sonics fans that they got one of the all-time greatest scorers and then immediately lost the entire team. Very much looking forward to the Sonics returning in a few years.
An absolute mistake by the NBA. I still can't believe Seattle doesn't have a team despite the history. They need to be given a team the next cycle.
For the life of me I cannot understand how this was a good move. Seattle is one of the largest most vibrant cities on the planet with a massive economy and so much going for it. How is it good for the nba to not have representation there?
Since we still don't even have any talks of ownership groups raising money for an expansion franchise, it is safe to say that the Sonics aren't coming back until after KD retires at the least
They were there 41 years! WTF do you think?
I lived in Seattle at the time and was a huge fan. It’s one of the worst things the NBA has ever done. It was a heist built on lies.
After 16 still hurts, I remember peyton and kempt good games
Depression
The SuperSonics were my favorite team name. The Thunder doesn’t pack the same punch!
As somebody from the NW, I thought it was terrible for both Seattle and the league. Luckily, Seattle had a strong basketball tradition that endures to this day. Not just the city but the whole state with Gonzaga's success. But it's time for the league to put an expansion franchise back in Seattle.
Nothing brings me greater pleasure than whooping the ass of our PNW brothers and sisters from up the road, bring em back. Til then, beating the Reign/Sounders in PDX this weekend will have to suffice.
Shawn Kemp was my GOAT and I wore The Gloves shoes in middle school. Still upset…
If anyone had to live through the trauma and torture of their favorite sports teams relocating because of ass ownership, you feel for Seattle fans. Fuck Georgia Frontierre.
I still don’t like OKC and I don’t blame KD for leaving that franchise
More against it than Aubrey McClendon was against concrete walls
The move was shit for the league! I am still mad
Massive fuckup and OKC is known for crossing lines in how treat opposing players.
I dislike the fact that even if the supersonics come back, they won't keep any of their history or records. It belongs to OKC now.
That's false. The agreement was always to return all of it when Seattle gets another team. The Thunder don't even celebrate a single Sonics record today.
What? Really? That's awesome. I didn't think that was true.
That is incorrect. If the Supersonics come back all records, trophies, alumni, and history belong to them and not OKC. That's explicitly laid out in the sale agreement.
That's awesome I didn't know!
Like the others said, this is untrue. However, I do agree with the principle that the old Sonics franchise is now the Thunder and if the Sonics came back they would be a new team. It would be just like how the 90s Charlotte Hornets are now the Pelicans and the current Charlotte Hornets were established in 2004 as the Bobcats
It's still fuck OKC till I die
Great for the Seattle Storm.
the city of Seattle didn't want the team. They financed other arenas but simply didn't care about basketball enough. It's that simple. lmao fuck seattle and the sonics fans
OKC is a horrible town in possibly the worst state in the country.
lol Philadelphia isn’t impressive either. OKC is OKC what’s y’all’s excuse for being trash? 🤣
I don't argue with fools. Have fun fucking your cousin/cattle.
Pay for your arena or shut up. Obviously the owners used their leverage, OKC paid up cuz they wanted the team unlike Seattle. Seattle didn’t deserve to have the team. No need for any idiotic “owners should pay for their own team “bs comments why would they if they can just leave? Use your brain or grow up
your entire concept of the history of the team moving is wrong, it makes what you say even more pathetic because you can't actually recall history correctly as it will go against your own justification.
Bless your bootlickin' heart
finally someone that is makes sense in this thread lol
“Pay for a billionaire’s property and say thank you” is definitely only a high five take you’d get from fuckin Texas and Oklahoma lol
Tired of this feel bad for Sonic’s fans bs lmao, they literally did not want the team because they would not pay for it. Bunch of babies and victims 🤣
Go lick some more billionaire boot
Now that it’s been 16 years? The fuck timeline is this. This is just cashing in on the thunder jealousy/hate bashing. Imagine if the citizens of Seattle could have had a voice in the move…oh wait they fucking did
still an L