Seattle is a basketball city.
Look no further than the way the Storm carried the torch in the absence of the Sonics.
Look at the countless Seattle area basketball stars that starred in the NBA or currently play and/or coach at the show.
RELATED | Seattle leaders back Sonics return as NBA owners weigh expansion
Look at the current young stars that seem destined for greatness.
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The NBA Board of Governors, made up of the league’s owners, is scheduled to meet at a New York hotel to discuss league business. On the agenda is the possibility of expansion.
It is widely expected that the board will advance a formal expansion process focused on Seattle and Las Vegas, potentially growing the league from 30 to 32 teams.
KOMO News will have live coverage of the meeting noon on air, on KOMOnews.com and on the KOMO News App.
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All of that, including the sellout crowds for NBA Exhibition games and an unwavering will to get the Sonics back even 18 years later show a city dedicated to the game.
One that never should have lost its team.
Certainly, all of that is reason enough to believe that the apparent and potential return of the Sonics would provide a feeling of healing for so many in the region.
But then think about the engine that the game can be.
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Basketball can be a way out of a difficult life, we’ve seen the story time and time again. Incredible people and athletes coming out of Seattle, using their talent to make generational wealth playing the game they love.
The blueprint was provided by watching the Sonics, seeing the life those players and coaches led and knowing it was possible.
In fact, Rainier Beach alum Doug Christie said in the moments after Lennie Wilkens passed away that seeing the Seattle icon winning championships and driving in Seattle with luxury vehicles showed him an avenue out of a tough life.
In the wake of the news that the Sonics were potentially on their way back, Christie reiterated that sentiment.
One that proves that this is more than just fans wanting to see an NBA game at Climate Pledge Arena (great as that would be).
This is about the fabric of a city and a beacon of hope for young people within it.
“As a kid growing up in the inner city of Seattle that’s what, probably in many ways, saved my life” Christie, now head coach of the Sacramento Kings said.
“The Sonics and Gus Williams and DJ (Dennis Johnson)_and JJ (John Johnson) and Jack Sikma and the 79 team that beat the Bullets (to win the NBA Title) all of the sudden you’ve got hope that there’s a greater capacity for your life than what you’re seeing every day” Christie added.
Powerful.
And poignant.
Indeed that’s what this game can do. While some sports like football or hockey or baseball take several people to play and in some cases can be expensive to play.
Most young people can pick up a basketball, find a local park and dribble towards their dreams.
It’s a story we’ve seen so often, Christie included.
And that’s the point Doug is making, the one this story is hammering home.
The hopeful impending return of the Sonics is one that will raise the value of so many in Seattle. You may not see it every day depending on your way of life, but it’s real.
The Sonics provided optimism for so many, win or lose.
And returning its NBA team would right a massive wrong for sports fans and the community as whole.
“Those people in Seattle are rabid, they want a team there’s everything that’s built in there to make it happen so I would be very excited, on top of the fact that, you know, Portland, Seattle, it just makes a lot of sense. A lot of money there, yeah, I would be super excited for that” Christie said.
Seattle is ready.
Because this is a basketball town.