Kevin Durant Wants NBA Franchise in Seattle

Kevin Durant has pushed for an NBA return to the city of Seattle, during a recent preseason trip there.

Kevin Durant began his NBA career with the Seattle Supersonics and still has fond memories of the Northwest. The Supersonics selected Kevin Durant with the second pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s preseason game against the Sacramento Kings in KeyArena, Durant said Seattle deserves a franchise.

“For sure,” Durant said. “Most definitely. It’s a basketball city. It’s a sports town.”

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“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.”

Durant played for the Seattle Supersonics for one year before the franchise moved to Sacramento. In 2008 new owner Clay Bennett decided to relocate the team and rename them the Thunder.

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“[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.

“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],” he 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.”