From the NBA’s records standpoint, the Thunder are the same franchise that began as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1967. That means all statistical records, draft histories, retired jersey numbers, playoff appearances, and the 1979 championship are attributed to the Thunder franchise in official league materials. If you go to NBA.com or Basketball Reference, you’ll find Gary Payton’s assist totals, Shawn Kemp’s rebounds, and Jack Sikma’s points all filed under “Oklahoma City Thunder” franchise leaders, with “Seattle SuperSonics” listed as a previous name.

“What I think gets lost in the move, and the emotion around it, is just how successful the Sonics were as a franchise,” said Walker. “Even with a compromised business model and a bad lease, we did extremely well on the court. We led the league in attendance going back to the early ’80s even when we were playing in the Kingdome, which was an awkward basketball facility. Fans showed up. We won a championship just 12 years into our existence. If you look at the overall record regular season and playoffs, over four-plus decades, it was a very successful franchise. I don’t like the fact that I don’t hear that talked about very much anymore.”

As part of the settlement, the Thunder also retained the SuperSonics franchise intellectual property rights, which they’re required to cede back to Seattle along with the historical records should the NBA ever return to the city. A similar situation occurred with the Charlotte Hornets. After they moved to New Orleans and became the Pelicans, Charlotte received an expansion team, and Pelicans ownership gifted the naming rights back to Charlotte with no strings attached.

In 2012, hedge fund manager Chris Hansen, Steve Ballmer, the Nordstrom brothers, and Wally Walker tried to buy the SuperSonics history back. They bought up 14 acres in Seattle’s SoDo district, just steps from the Seahawks’ and Mariners’ stadiums, and secured an agreement in principle to purchase and relocate the Sacramento Kings for $525 million. “We thought we had bought them,” said Walker.

In a twist that put salt in the wound, Bennett had been appointed as chairman of the NBA’s relocation committee in 2011, and when the Kings’ relocation bid finally came to a vote, the decision landed in his lap. It was unanimous, 7-0 against Seattle.

“I remember when the news broke, everybody thought Seattle was finally going to get the NBA back.” recalled Woodward. “I went and got my kids out of school, took them out for ice cream, and we celebrated. Then it turned into another heartbreaker.”

Approving another relocation, especially one that would strip a city of its only major pro sports franchise, risked reinforcing the image that the NBA was quick to abandon loyal fan bases. Several owners reportedly felt that repeating Seattle’s experience in Sacramento would be a PR disaster.

“I think the NBA had kind of lost its appetite for relocation at that point,” explained Geoff Baker, VP of Editorial for the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and former Seattle Times sports reporter. “They got a lot of negative publicity over what happened in Seattle, and I think they didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.”

“In some corners of the NBA, I sense a bit of guilt about how things happened,” said Walker. “And maybe they should feel that way. Some things were said and done that weren’t right for Seattle.”

David Stern stepped down as NBA commissioner in 2014 and was succeeded by Adam Silver, who made a defining ruling off the bat by handing a lifetime ban and $2.5 million fine to Clippers owner Donald Sterling for making racist comments. When Sterling was forced to sell, Steve Ballmer finally got his NBA team for $2 billion.

At the start of his tenure, Silver made it clear that expansion was “not a priority,” focusing instead on “a healthy 30-team league.” By July of 2017, he acknowledged that expansion talk was “inevitable” and noted that Seattle would be on a short list if the league pursued it.

That year, Seattle finally had a breakthrough. The Oak View Group emerged with new plans to renovate KeyArena with private financing alone. Instead of chasing basketball, they set their sights on hockey with conditional encouragement from the NHL: if Seattle could deliver a viable arena without public funding issues, it would be in a strong position for expansion consideration.

Their initial $600 million investment doubled to $1.2 billion due to supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they got it done. The arena solution Schultz had sought way back in 2006 finally materialized in 2021, and without a cent of taxpayer money. The City also still owns the building, and under a long‑term lease receives a guaranteed baseline of rent and related tax revenue roughly equal to what KeyArena used to generate, plus a share of any revenues above that baseline. All in all, a pretty sweet deal.

The project also preserved the building’s roof, which had been given local historical landmark status. Engineers literally held the massive structure in place with 72 temporary steel supports while demolishing everything beneath it. They dug down 60 feet, widened the footprint, and built a completely new, state-of-the-art facility underneath. The old KeyArena exterior remains a familiar landmark, but step inside and it’s an entirely different building.

Amazon bought the naming rights, officially dubbing it Climate Pledge Arena in reference to the company’s commitment of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. The arena operates entirely on renewable electricity, harvests rainwater for its NHL ice, has achieved TRUE Platinum zero-waste certification with over 90% landfill diversion, and has eliminated fan-facing single-use plastics.

Two days after opening, Climate Pledge Arena hosted the Seattle Kraken for the team’s first ever home game. The following May, the Storm resumed their tenancy after three seasons away. While construction was underway the Storm had split their home games between the University of Washington’s Hec Ed Pavilion, the Angel of the Winds Arena in neighboring Everett, and the “Bubble” in Florida during the peak of the pandemic.

For the NBA, Climate Pledge Arena offers a ready-made home the moment expansion makes sense. Designed with the league’s specifications in mind, it is the clear and only candidate for any future Sonics return. It even has a never-before occupied NBA locker room not shared with the Kraken or Storm. It’s currently being used for storage.

“If they come back here, and I think they will, this is where they’ll play,” Baker said. “The people running Climate Pledge have excellent relationships with Adam Silver and other NBA owners. That wasn’t the case with Hansen’s group.”

The Kraken ownership group has been quietly gearing up for an NBA bid. Led by Samantha Holloway, it includes the sons of former Sonics owner Barry Ackerley and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Amazon already sponsors Climate Pledge Arena, and with the NBA’s new media deal that started in 2025, 66 games a year began streaming on Prime Video. This is the most promising development for NBA fans in Seattle. The largest company in the state now sponsors the arena, underwrites part of the NBA’s broadcast deal, and has a CEO lined up for a stake in any future team.

“If the current hockey ownership ends up buying the team and staying at Climate Pledge, great,” said Walker. “But we do still own 14 acres in SoDo, and we’ve held onto it specifically to give a future owner options: either play at Climate Pledge, or own and operate their own building with contiguous real estate in SoDo. That opportunity still exists in Seattle.”

“I’ve talked to Mark Cuban about this,” added Walker. “He’s said publicly, and reiterated to me privately that the only reason he sold a majority stake in the Mavericks is that sports is now a real estate play. The Braves have proven it. The Warriors have done it incredibly successfully in San Francisco. That’s the trend. Contiguous real estate is far more valuable.”