NBA Commissioner: ‘Enormous interest’ in bringing Sonics back to Seattle

While much of the Seattle sports community’s attention has been fixed on the All-Star Game, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stoked the rumor mill for a different sport this week, hinting at the possibility of bringing professional basketball back to the Emerald City.

This came during comments to reporters at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where Silver spoke on expansion plans once the the league’s media rights deal expires in 2025.

“It’s not a sure thing but, as I’ve said before, I think it’s natural that organizations grow over time,” he hinted, going on to highlight a couple different cities as early leaders for an expansion team.

“We will look at [Vegas],” he said. “There’s no doubt there’s enormous interest in Seattle, that’s not a secret.”

That marked a significant change in tone from the commissioner, who had previously shot down expansion rumors at the 2022 NBA Finals. At the time, he had said that any talks of expansion were “not true.”

Rumblings of Supersonics’ long-awaited return to Seattle are also nothing new. Mayor Bruce Harrell has expressed his hopes for an NBA team on more than one occasion, while industry insiders have frequently touted Seattle as “first in line” for an expansion team.

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