The Seattle basketball community have been waiting 17 years to get back their NBA team, the Seattle Sonics, or Seattle Supersonics. Based on recent reports from ESPN, the NBA is planning to have expansion teams ready to play in the 2027-28 season.
If Seattle is truly one of the expansion cities, they would be playing exactly 20 years after playing their final season in 2007-08.
Seattle has made a pretty good statement to the NBA that they are a basketball city. The Climate Pledge Arena (formerly Key Arena) is currently up to NBA standards and host the NFL team the Seattle Kraken.
This week, the Rain City Showcase was played, a new annual preseason game in the NBA, with the Los Angeles Clippers.
For a third straight year, Steve Ballmer brought his L.A. Clippers to Seattle for a preseason game. He wants to showcase what this city is about and as the NBA gets closer to expansion, intends to show his fellow franchise owners that expanding to Seattle is about the most surefire move for success you could imagine.
He made it clear that this city is ready for the NBA, and is meant to have an NBA team.
Steve Ballmer with a message for #Seattle pic.twitter.com/J2jEeBfksL
— Niko Tamurian (@NikoTamurian) October 12, 2024
Per Komo News: "As the NBA Commissioner previously told KOMO Senior Reporter Chris Daniels, the league will look at expansion in earnest "this season" meaning the potential return of our Sonics is possibly as close as it's been since the team was lost in 2008. That momentum will only build towards expansion with Seattle at the forefront by consistently showing the basketball world it belongs in the NBA."
The reason for excitement today, is based off the fact that most fans are in the understanding that mostly likely the two cities to get an NBA team will be Seattle and Las Vegas. Of course, this is not guaranteed and could be subject to change based on SO many factors.
Still, based on reports from ESPN, the league is planning on having the expansion teams ready by 2027-28, and that would be when the Sonics come back if they are one of the expansions.
REPORT: The NBA is targeting the 2027-28 season for when the expansion teams will begin playing games, per @LegionHoops 👀
— Seattle Sonics ON Tap (@SonicsONTap) October 13, 2024
Seattle Sonics fans… prepare. It’s coming soon 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wAnLy5X3PY
The assumption is that the New Orleans Pelicans would move to the Eastern Conference and the two new teams will be in the Western Conference to make it an even 16-16.