Golden State Warriors superstar forward Kevin Durant, who started his career playing for the now defunct Seattle SuperSonics, believes that Seattle deserves an NBA team once again.
“For sure,” Durant said, according to ESPN. “Most definitely. It’s a basketball city. It’s a sports town. … They have a good representation of basketball in the NBA from Seattle-born players, Washington state-born players.
“And I feel like that whole brand deserves an NBA team. Just like the Golden State Warriors deserve a team or the Los Angeles Lakers deserve a team, Seattle is that same way. [A team] has that same type of impact in the community.
So [we have] a lot of time in life before this whole thing is over, and I’m sure we’ll see a team before it’s time.”
Durant also reflected on his time playing in the city of Seattle.
“I look back on it and picture what it would have been like to [still] live there and play there, but I had no control [over the move],” Durant said. “I spent some great, great years in Oklahoma City, and that path was perfect for me. But I still got a connection with the Northwest area, always going up there with Nike in Portland, making trips to Seattle here and there, just knowing that I’m always going to be a Sonic. I think no matter what jersey I put on, I think those fans know that.”
“The Sonics to me were a lot like the Warriors here in the Bay,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said recently. “A really cool brand, good history and tradition going back to the championship in ’79, just like the Warriors in ’75. Great colors, cool brand and an unbelievable fan base. I played there in the Finals in ’96 with the Bulls, and it’s a basketball town.
“I think it’s a real shame — just the fact that the Sonics don’t exist. … I think it’s a real black mark on the NBA, and I’m hoping that the Sonics will be back at some point in the near future.”
Durant also spoke recently about playing in Seattle again.
“It means a lot,” Durant said. “I spent a season there, and the fans were amazing to me my first year there. It was very devastating how we up and left in the middle of the night, and I know those fans have been yearning for basketball for a long, long time.
“Even though it’s just a preseason game and it’s one game, hopefully we can give them a nice little show for the night. But I’m looking forward to going back and playing in front of that crowd again, and I know my teammates are going to be excited as well. The energy is going to be amazing in the building.”