Almost twenty years later, Durant - known as the Slim Reaper - still dominates the league with his lethal skills. 37 years of age and playing for Houston, he is a guard-like forward and one of the best players in the NBA.
Now, after spending just one season with the Supersonics, Durant might have a chance to finish his career where it started – in Seattle.
A few days ago, the exciting news shook the basketball world: The NBA is nearing an expansion and is expected to hold a vote at the Board of Governors meeting next week. The intention is to add not just one, but two new teams, expanding the league from 30 to 32 franchises, with Seattle and Las Vegas the leading candidates.
League sources suggest the vote is largely a formality - at least 23 of 30 governors must approve, and that threshold is expected to be met. When that happens, the NBA will proceed to take bids for the new franchises.
Bids are expected to be between $7 billion and $10 billion. Over the last few years, franchise valuations have surged; in 2022, the Phoenix Suns were sold for a then-record $4 billion, a number that looks comically low today. Last year, the Boston Celtics were sold for $6.1 billion, followed by the sale of the famous Los Angeles Lakers – Mark Walter paid $10 billion for the legendary franchise.
“We’re in the process of working with our existing teams and gauging the level of interest and having a better understanding of what the economics would be on the ground for those particular teams and what a pro forma would look like for them,” said NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
Just passing the vote doesn’t guarantee the expansion, but it would give the league great momentum in terms of moving forward.
The NBA is targeting the 2028-2029 season to be the debut year for the new teams. Both markets are expected to be among the NBA’s top eight revenue generators.
Seattle, in particular, is a proven sports city - home to the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Mariners, Seattle Kraken, and Seattle Storm. One thing is missing: an NBA team.
As soon as the expansion talks broke to the public, fans started pulling out their throwback Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton jerseys.
There’s no guarantee that the new team will revive the Supersonics, but there’s not a single reason not to reignite the franchise that was once so loved by the state of Washington. The team won an NBA championship in 1979 and was a Western Conference powerhouse throughout the 1990s. They returned to the finals in 1996 but lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
In 2001, former Starbucks president and CEO Howard Schultz purchased the Supersonics. His tenure was marked by friction with fans and players, but most importantly, the major decline of the team.
Seattle started struggling, both on and off the court. To this day, Schultz is one of the best businessmen in the country, but his brilliant knowledge proved to be the Supersonics’ Achilles heel. He knew everything about business but nothing about sports, and he tried to run the franchise like it was Starbucks. Basketball is nothing like ground coffee, and he ran Seattle into the ground, literally.
Howard faced criticism for focusing solely on profitability rather than sporting success. Issues and tension kept piling up. He had to endure a public fallout with Gary Payton
“We let a knucklehead get the team, and that’s what he was,” said the star point guard who played for the Supersonics from 1989 to 2003. “You know the knucklehead didn’t know what to do with it. He tried to run a basketball team like a coffee company. You can’t run it like a coffee company. There’s no comparison.”
The final blow came when Schultz failed to secure funding for a new arena or major renovations to KeyArena. The ongoing dispute proved decisive. In 2006, he sold the team, and the new ownership group relocated the franchise to Oklahoma City, where it became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Later on, Schultz reflected on his purchase of the Supersonics and admitted it was a mistake. He labelled it his biggest business regret.
Seattle has been without a men’s basketball team since the move. In 2021, the Climate Pledge Arena was renovated and became home to the Kraken and Storm. This reopening rekindled talks of the Supersonics returning. Five years later, Seattle now stands closer than ever to seeing its original team come back.
This new beginning could also be the perfect ending for one of basketball’s most decorated players.
If the 2028-2029 season tips off with the Supersonics, Durant will have just turned 40 years old. The comeback of KD to conclude his career with the franchise that drafted him would be the dream-come-true for every original Seattle fan. A full circle moment, for both Durant and the city.
While Seattle leans on history, Las Vegas represents a blank slate. The city could build a franchise from scratch - whether it becomes the Spades, High Rollers, or something entirely new. Sin City has already established itself as a major sports destination, home to the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Aces, and Las Vegas Raiders.
The NBA has tested the market before. In 2007, Las Vegas hosted the All-Star Game, highlighted by a dominant MVP performance from Kobe Bryant. While the event was memorable on the court, it was also marked by off-court issues. The influx of visitors resulted in over 400 arrests as rampant violent behaviour and crime took over.
Since then, however, the city has matured into a stable and thriving sports hub - one now ready for a permanent NBA presence.
Furthermore, the expansion would not only create two more fanbases but also open doors for more basketball talent.
The NCAA overflows with rising stars hungry to compete on the big stage, and the same rings true for the international sphere; last year’s draft featured athletes from Italy, France, Canada, South Sudan, China, and Australia. Competing in the NBA remains the ultimate dream, and now with two new teams on the horizon, that dream is about to get a little more attainable.