One question that I keep hearing is ‘If the NHL can move into Seattle, why can’t the NBA move back?’ The National Basketball Association ripped the Sonics out of Seattle in 2008 because of financial woes and moved the team to Oklahoma City where they reside as the Thunder. Since then, non-profit organizations and rally groups all over Seattle have been bending over backward to get their beloved team back.

The Sonics were the first professional sports team that Seattle ever had when they arrived in 1967. Like with all expansion franchise, except for the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sonics started off poorly with a record of 23 wins and 59 losses. The Sonics saw a lot of mediocrity until 1975 when they reached the playoffs for the first time. Fast forward four years later in 1979, they won the NBA Championship 4 games to 1 against the Bullets. That success carried over to the early 80’s until 1983. After another few years of tepid play, the Sonics rose to power once again with the help of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. The success only lasted a few years when the Sonics experienced 10 years of underachieving. The team folded in 2008. In 2012, the Thunder made it to the NBA finals off of the backs of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant. The Thunder lost to the Miami Heat 4 games to 1.

I conducted a survey asking 20 random people if they wanted to see the Sonics come back. 60% of people, I asked said that they would like to see the Sonics. 15% said that they don’t want to see the Sonics come back, and 25% say that they don’t have a preference.

“As much as I like to have the Sonics back, I don’t think Seattle will have enough space for either a hockey or basketball team,” said senior Chase Beyer. “I would rather have a team either in Tacoma or Olympia. A better idea would be developing a minor league team and see if it can grow into an NBA team.”

After contemplating about the NHL and the NBA coming back to Seattle, I’ve come to a realization. Basketball is a more popular sport than hockey in the United States because kids can play basketball in their driveway with no problem. It’s hard for both kids and parents to commit to hockey. Plus, we all know the glories of Lebron James and Steph Curry. A lot of people don’t know who Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin is. And if you don’t know who they are, Crosby is a star player on the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ovechkin is another star player on the Washington Capitals. If the NHL has a strong chance of coming to Seattle, then there’s an even better chance that the NBA will come back to Seattle.