The Thunder have spent the bulk of their time in Oklahoma City as a contender, winning fewer than 40 games only three times in their first 17 seasons since relocation.
For many NBA fans in Seattle, that success feels stolen. Before they planted their flag in Oklahoma City, the Sonics built up a loyal fan base in Seattle as the SuperSonics.
The transition to a new city was the culmination of a long saga in 2008, but it was remarkably quick in many ways. In June 2008, Russell Westbrook donned a Sonics hat when he was drafted by the franchise. By October, the NBA was out of Seattle altogether.
Here's the story behind the Thunder's relocation from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008.
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Why did the Thunder leave Seattle?
The Sonics' future in Seattle was unsteady throughout the 2000s after Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz took ownership of the team with intent to sell. After Schultz unsuccessfully lobbied the city of Seattle to financially support either the construction of a new arena or major renovations to KeyArena (now known as Climate Pledge Arena), Schultz sold the franchise to an Oklahoma City-based group led by Clay Bennett in 2006.
While the agreement included a promise by Bennett's group to make a year-long effort to work out an arena deal and potentially keep the Sonics in Seattle, no deal ever came to be. Seattle voters also voted for an initiative preventing public money from being used on an arena. Many, however, believed Bennett planned to relocate the Sonics all along, and evidence later surfaced supporting that claim.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the Sonics during the 2000s and a relative lack of success on the court, the franchise struggled to bring in enough revenue to pay for arena renovations. Bennett announced in late 2007 that he planned to move the franchise to Oklahoma City. While negotiations continued to try to keep the Sonics in Seattle and a legal battle delayed the official relocation to Oklahoma City, the Sonics formally moved to Oklahoma City on July 2, 2008 and later took on the Thunder moniker.
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Who is Clay Bennett?
Bennett has been the majority owner of the Thunder since purchasing the franchise from Schultz in 2006.
Before purchasing the Sonics, Bennett served as a minority owner with the Spurs and spearheaded a group of businessmen who allowed the NBA to temporarily relocate the New Orleans Hornets to Oklahoma City following Hurricane Katrina. That turn of events led Bennett's group to express interest in permanently bringing the NBA to Oklahoma City.
While Bennett is seen as a villain in Seattle, he has overseen one of the NBA's most well-run organizations since the Thunder moved to Oklahoma City while largely remaining in the background and letting GM Sam Presti control basketball operations.
Bennett has battled health issues over the years, receiving treatment for cancer in the late 2010s and undergoing brain surgery in 2017, but he was able to join the team at the podium when the Thunder celebrated a Western Conference championship in 2025.
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Sonics' KeyArena issues
When Schultz sought funding for either a new arena or renovations, KeyArena had the smallest capacity of any NBA arena at just over 17,000. While the venue had undergone renovations over the years, it opened in 1962 and needed a facelift to become more viable for an NBA team long-term.
The Sonics had difficulty covering the cost of either renovations or a new arena elsewhere in Seattle with their financial struggles in the 2000s, and the city of Seattle's reluctance to spending public funds on an arena stood in the way of any progress in Schultz's quest.
Today, KeyArena still stands as Climate Pledge Arena and is the home of both the NHL's Seattle Kraken and WNBA's Seattle Storm. Seattle approved a $700 million renovation plan while pursuing an NHL expansion franchise in 2018, and the city spent three years renovating the arena before the Kraken began play in 2021.
The arena has also hosted college basketball games, including 2025 NCAA Tournament games, with an expanded capacity of 18,300 in hopes of bringing an NBA expansion franchise to the city.
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Legal battle to keep Sonics in Seattle
Both Schultz and the city of Seattle launched legal efforts to block the relocation of the franchise. Seattle sued the Sonics to prevent the team from breaking its lease at KeyArena before 2010.
The case was heard in 2008, but the two sides reached a settlement on the lease agreement just hours before a judge was set to release her ruling. As part of the agreement, the franchise paid $45 million to Seattle for breaking the lease and an additional $30 million when the city did not secure a replacement team within five years.
Schultz, meanwhile, filed a lawsuit in hopes of overturning the sale of the franchise after leaked emails indicated Bennett's group planned to relocate the team to Oklahoma City all along. As part of his agreement, however, Bennett was required to spend 12 months making a "good faith" effort to work out an arena deal and keep the Sonics in Seattle.
Schultz dropped the lawsuit in August 2008, after the Thunder had already received approval to move to Oklahoma City, explaining that he did not believe his case had any path forward.
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When did the Thunder leave Seattle?
The Thunder formally left Seattle after the 2007-08 season.
The move occurred after a long saga, which started in earnest when Schultz sold the franchise to Bennett in 2006. Once his 12-month window to work out an arena deal ended in October 2007, Bennett announced his intention to relocate the franchise to Oklahoma City, and the move became official in 2008 after a legal battle. The Thunder took the floor in Oklahoma City for the first time in October 2008.
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Why was Oklahoma City chosen as new home?
Schultz spoke to suitors from numerous cities that didn't have an NBA team, but the group who purchased the Sonics was based in Oklahoma City. Bennett and other investors previously helped bring the New Orleans Hornets to the city on a temporary basis following Hurricane Katrina, and the experience proved to both the group and other NBA owners that Oklahoma City was prepared to take on an NBA team full-time.
The city already had an arena, as the Paycom Center — then known as the Ford Center — opened in 2002 and proved it could handle an NBA team when the Hornets spent two seasons in the venue.
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Reactions to Sonics' move
Former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, who was in office when the Sonics were sold and relocated, said in 2016 that he knew the franchise was "gone" the day it was sold.
"The day that they were sold to the folks from Oklahoma City, they were gone,” Nickels said. "There were a lot of efforts by the city, state and county to try and figure something out, but it was very clear that the new owners were intent to take them away."
Schultz, meanwhile, said in 2019 that selling the Sonics was one of the "biggest regrets" as a businessman. "I should have been willing to lose money until a local buyer emerged," Schultz said. "I am forever sorry."
3,000 Sonics fans showed up outside the courthouse to protest Bennett's relocation plans during the 2008 lawsuit trial between the city of Seattle and the ownership group. Fans didn't take the move lightly, even if it seemed like a foregone conclusion by that point, and it might be an understatement to say Seattle fans have mixed feelings about the Thunder today, even all these years later.
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Will Seattle get another NBA team?
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made it clear he is open to expanding from 30 teams to 31 or 32 and said in 2025 that Seattle was at the top of his list for potential destinations.
"I would just say the fact that we’re not ready to make any public announcements with a specific timeline doesn’t mean we don’t care a lot about those fans and we aren’t focused on the potential for the NBA to return to Seattle," Silver said at a March press conference.
While Silver has not put a timetable on expansion, citing concerns about regional sports networks as one issue to figure out first, Seattle has long been at the center of expansion rumors, along with Las Vegas, and would be ready to host an NBA team at the renovated Climate Pledge Arena. The day in which NBA basketball returns to Seattle appears to be coming, but the exact date is very much uncertain.
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