SEATTLE (AP) 鈥� It鈥檚 logical to think someone like Danny Ball is a fair representation of Seattle these days.
Ball, a hoops fan who runs an Instagram account called 鈥淚conic Sonics,鈥� is pulling for the Indiana Pacers over the Oklahoma City Thunder in .
There are no deep ties between Seattle and Indianapolis. The Seahawks play the Colts this December, so the cities will be foes that weekend. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever probably won鈥檛 be warmly welcomed when they visit the Emerald City later this month to play the Seattle Storm.
But right now, Seattle may as well be an Indy suburb.
Seattle fans lost their NBA franchise, the SuperSonics, in 2008 when it was stolen from them and rebranded in Oklahoma City.
For the scornful, that means one thing: .
鈥淚鈥檇 love to see the Pacers pull it off in six games,鈥� Ball said.
The Thursday night. For some in Seattle, it鈥檒l be a heaping helping of fresh salt on the wounds that opened when the Sonics were taken away. And people like Ball, who was born in Seattle and heard stories of Sonics legends Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton from his father, aren鈥檛 exactly rooting for Oklahoma City right now.
The to beat the Pacers. Should they pull it off, the Thunder would claim their first NBA title in Oklahoma City, but technically their second as a franchise after Seattle won the title in 1979.
It鈥檚 no secret the city wants the league to come back. Expansion is on the NBA鈥檚 to-do list, and it鈥檚 likely that talks 鈥� the first of many, many steps in this process 鈥� could start in earnest with interested cities in the next few months. Commissioner Adam Silver, however, hasn鈥檛 fully committed to adding new teams.
鈥淭he issue I would not have anticipated at the time I sort of began talking about the timeline is how much unknown there is about local media right now,鈥� Silver said earlier this year. 鈥淗aving said that, though, I would just say again to our many fans in Seattle, and I hear from them often, and the legacy of the Sonics is still very strong and it鈥檚 a fantastic basketball market, is that we are very focused on it. 鈥� We don鈥檛 take those fans for granted. We鈥檙e thankful that the interest has remained over all these years.鈥�
Any sends fans into a tizzy. Steve Ballmer, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, spoke to the crowd before a preseason game in Seattle 鈥� his hometown 鈥� in 2023, and made a thinly veiled reference to how fans need to remind the league鈥檚 New York office how much the city loves the game.
鈥淎ll night long, it better be loud enough in this building to hear us all the way back in New York, if you get me,鈥� Ballmer told the crowd. 鈥淟et鈥檚 make sure we鈥檙e loud tonight.鈥�
And then came the Ballmer bellow: 鈥淕o Seattle,鈥� he screamed.
It鈥檚 something Seattle takes seriously, as Mayor Bruce Harrell learned earlier this year in his address to the city.
鈥淩ight now, at this moment, I have an announcement to make,鈥� Harrell said, reaching into the lectern where he was standing and pulling out a basketball, spinning it in his hands as he displayed it to the crowd 鈥� which began roaring. 鈥淎h, I鈥檓 just kidding.鈥�
The crowd wasn鈥檛 amused. Harrell later was interviewed by Seattle鈥檚 KOMO News and apologized for the attempt at humor, getting reminded that residents of the city aren鈥檛 happy that the NBA hasn鈥檛 returned yet.
鈥淐ount me among them,鈥� Harrell said.
A very real void has been left in the SuperSonics鈥� absence. The NHL鈥檚 Seattle Kraken entering the fold has helped, as has the success of the WNBA鈥檚 Seattle Storm, both of whom play at Climate Pledge Arena, which sits on the site of the SuperSonics鈥� former home.
That same arena received a significant remodel ahead of the Kraken arriving, which could make it suitable for NBA games. That would ultimately be up to the association to decide one day, but Ball hopes it would be the Sonics鈥� former home in the Queen Anne neighborhood they get to triumphantly return to one day.
鈥淎 lot of Sonics fans that I know I鈥檓 sure never got over the wounds of what happened here 17 years ago with them leaving (for) Oklahoma City,鈥� SuperSonics fan Eric Phan said. 鈥淎ll of the Sonics fanbase (is) rooting for the Indiana Pacers.鈥�
Seattle seemed to have a chance at getting a team back in 2013 when the Maloof family put the Sacramento Kings up for sale. But investor Chris Hansen鈥檚 bid to relocate the team to Seattle was rejected by the NBA鈥檚 Board of Governors.
For fans like Ball and Phan, hope lives on. Ball recognizes that鈥檚 partially because he is an inherently positive person, and he鈥檚 hoping for a Hollywood ending.
鈥淚t would be poetic if the year that OKC wins the finals 鈥� if that occurs 鈥� is in the same summer that the league comes out and says, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檙e forming an expansion committee to start really exploring this process,鈥欌�� Ball said. 鈥淚 think that would help damper or therapize the feelings and emotions that would come along with seeing the Thunder hoist the Larry O鈥橞rien.鈥�
Phan pointed out that just because the Sonics don鈥檛 play in Seattle, it doesn鈥檛 mean the team is truly gone.
鈥淵ou can see people walking the sidewalks and streets of Seattle, and even the suburbs,鈥� Phan said. 鈥淧eople are wearing Sonics gear like they never really left.鈥�
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AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds in Oklahoma City contributed.
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AP NBA:
Andrew Destin, The Associated Press
