Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell held his State of the City address on Tuesday and thought during his lengthy speech that teasing a return of the NBA to the city would be a good idea.
At one point, Harrell paused and said he had an announcement to make before pulling out a basketball from behind the podium. The crowd inside Benaroya Hall reacted positively, believing that he was about to reveal that the NBA and Sonics would be returning to the city after the franchise left for Oklahoma City in 2008.
After a pause, Harrell then said he was only kidding and that he wanted to take a short break during his speech.
While no news regarding the topic came up during NBA All-Star weekend, the interest remains high to bring the NBA back to Seattle. Giving Seattleite’s hope is the NHL’s Seattle Kraken ownership group.
“It would be an amazing market, and the NBA knows that,” said Kraken executive chair Samantha Holloway in a June interview with Bloomberg. “This is an exercise in patience for both us and the fans because we’re all really excited for what could be.”
That same month NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that Seattle, along with Las Vegas and Mexico City, has been discussed as a potential location should the league expand.
One thing delaying central focus on NBA expansions is the sale of the Boston Celtics. Whenever that transaction is finalized, the league would then know how high of an expansion fee to command to interested ownership groups.
Harrell has long-supported bringing back the Sonics, and with a strong approval rating as he seeks reelection to a second term fans might let this joke slide for now.
