Samantha Holloway Just Hired the Big Guns. The Sonics Are Coming Back to Seattle.

Seattle Kraken Majority Owner Samantha Holloway is making moves. Real moves. She just retained JPMorgan Chase and Moelis & Co. to advise and structure a bid for a new NBA team in Seattle, according to a spokesperson for Holloway. This isn't some casual exploration anymore. This is the sound of serious money stepping into the arena.

The Expansion Window Is Open

The NBA formally started exploring expansion for the first time in roughly two decades. In March, the league's Board of Governors voted to study adding teams in Seattle and Las Vegas, with Commissioner Adam Silver anticipating "robust interest" from potential ownership groups. The stakes are massive: franchise fees are expected to reach into the billions. If approved, expansion teams could begin play as early as the 2028-29 season, potentially restoring the NBA to Seattle for the first time since the SuperSonics relocated in 2008. That's 20 years without basketball at the highest level in this city. Twenty years.

Why Holloway Has the Edge

Dr. Natalie Welch, a Seattle University professor in sports management, broke down why Holloway is positioned as a frontrunner. Holloway has already purchased a controlling stake in Climate Pledge Arena as part of a broader umbrella organization called One Roof Sports and Entertainment. Her existing ties to Seattle sports and her success in the NHL with the Kraken matter. But there's something deeper: her late father, David Bonderman, had a connection to Sonics return efforts. "This isn't like any other franchise, any other situation in any other sport," Welch said. "This is such a long feeling of redemption that needs to happen, and it would be hard for anyone other than someone with direct ties, like Holloway."

Outside of Holloway, no one else has expressed a public desire to bring an NBA team to Seattle. Multiple groups have expressed interest in Las Vegas, but the conversation in the Emerald City is all about one ownership group. The league is working with its own financial advisers to evaluate the economics of expansion, but a formal decision isn't expected until at least September.

This is real. This is happening. Mark it down.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.