By Jordan Long
On this date in sports history, the Seattle SuperSonics officially left the city of Seattle. The team relocated to Oklahoma City and is renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Seattle SuperSonics were in Seattle from 1967 to 2008. During their time in Seattle, the franchise had a lot of success. They went to the NBA Finals 3 times, 1996, 1978, and 1979. They had 1 NBA Championship in 1979 when they knocked off the Washington Bullets in 5 games.
Seattle entered the 2007-2008 season not knowing what the future held for the franchise. Owner Clay Bennett wanted a new arena. According to kiro7.com, Bennett suggested applying tax dollars for a new arena in Renton, Washington. This occurred on February 2007. In April he gave up. His next idea was to move the team to Oklahoma City.
On April 18, 2008, the NBA owners authorized the possible relocation of the Sonics to Oklahoma City. The vote was 28-2 for the move. With that looming distraction of where the Sonics would be for the 2008-2009 season, the Sonics went 20-62. Their last game of the year was on April 16, 2008. Seattle beat the Golden State Warriors 126-121.
On July 2, 2008, Seattle was able to move to Oklahoma City. The seattletimes.com stated, “The Sonics’ 41-year run in Seattle ended Wednesday with a legal settlement that will let owner Clay Bennett take the team immediately to Oklahoma City in exchange for a $45 million payment — and Seattle gets no promise of a replacement team.”
It is always difficult to see a team leave a city. This move seemed like it was best for the franchise. They even changed the name to the Oklahoma City Thunder and altered the colors.
The Thunder have been one of the top run teams in the NBA. They advanced to the playoffs every year but 2 since they move to Oklahoma City. The seasons they didn’t make it were 2015 and 2009. The Thunder made one appearance in the NBA finals, 2012, but lost to the Miami Heat. Before play was halted due to the COVID19 Pandemic, the Thunder stood at 40-24, 5th in the Western Conference. They were well on their way to another postseason appearance.
The city of Seattle is still waiting for another NBA team. Hopefully, the NBA will realize their mistake and Seattle will have a team again. It could be through expansion. The city and fans won’t ever forget this date in 2008. This was the date they lost their team forever while Oklahoma City gained an NBA team.
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