By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES, July 19 (Reuters)
The NBA expansion has been stirring up support in recent years from previous stars. The fans in Seattle and Las Vegas have been begging and praying for their own NBA teams. Each city has its own challenges to consider. Seattle has a long and illustrious history in the NBA. The Supersonics were a force and one of the most dominant teams in the NBA, but the organization relocated following a sale by the original owners. Vegas has never had an NBA team; however, the WNBA and NFL have recently established teams, and the NBA could be next.
The NBA expansion is closer than ever, with two cities as potential destinations for new teams
NBA Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood says excitement is building in both Seattle and Las Vegas as the league considers expansion, with recent meetings fueling speculation that both cities could soon be home to new franchises. “They just had the meetings yesterday. Adam and everyone – Seattle and Las Vegas. So that’s pretty exciting,” Haywood told Reuters at the ESPYs on Wednesday, referring to discussions involving NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA Board of Governors in Las Vegas this week.
Seattle has been without an NBA team since the SuperSonics relocated and became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008. Las Vegas, which has never hosted an NBA franchise, has emerged as a prominent sports destination in recent years, buoyed by the success of the WNBA’s Aces and the NHL’s Golden Knights.
“I live in Las Vegas, and I was just up in Seattle. We just put up a statue for Lenny Wilkins. We’re getting ready.” Haywood, who starred for the Sonics alongside fellow Hall of Famer Wilkins, suggested a return of the team could come within the next three years. “All my stuff, Lenny Wilkins’ stuff, and Gary Payton’s stuff is in storage at the Hall of Fame for when they come back,” he said with a smile.
Seattle has been waiting a long time to bring basketball back to the fans
The former Olympian noted the passionate support for basketball in Seattle, where fans turned out in large numbers to honor Wilkins despite the absence of a team. “The fans are hungry. We had thousands of people who came out for a statue unveil of Lenny Wilkins, with no team,” Haywood said. Las Vegas, where construction on a new stadium for Major League Baseball’s Athletics recently got underway, is also poised for NBA action, according to Haywood.
Las Vegas could be the newest city to join the NBA
“Same thing with Las Vegas. We have seen it with the Aces; they’ve won championships. Same thing for the Golden Knights,” he said. “Sports is a good thing.” Commissioner Silver has previously expressed interest in expanding the 30-team league – with Seattle and Las Vegas considered the front-runners – though no official announcement has been made. The call for an expansion is becoming too loud to ignore.
Silver said after the Board of Governors’ meetings that committees at the league have been tasked with further evaluating potential expansion. For Haywood and fans in Seattle and Las Vegas, the prospect of NBA basketball appears closer than ever. The team that used to be known as the Sonics has gone on to find immense success and set new records in the NBA. Seattle fans must be pulling their hair out.
The fans in Seattle and Vegas are itching to get a team of their own
The NBA fans in Seattle must be feeling like they have an itch they simply can not scratch. The relocation of the Supersonics to Oklahoma took some time to produce the same kind of results. But the Thunder have exceeded everyone’s expectations this season. Led by their Canadian superstar, they have lived up to the heritage of former stars like Haywood. Vegas represents a whole new chapter in the NBA following the recent decision to allow sports teams to represent the city in various disciplines. Hopefully, the NBA can iron out all the kinks, and we can finally see Seattle and Vegas join the list of NBA cities.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, Editing by Marguerita Choy)
