On Monday night, the Golden State Warriors faced the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Warriors in overtime, 137-131. Before the game, former Chicago Bulls sharpshooter Steve Kerr, now Warriors head coach, was asked about his favorite moment versus the Seattle SuperSonics.
Steve Kerr Reflects on Energy at KeyArena in the 1996 NBA Finals
Kerr mentioned without hesitation the Finals win in six games over the Seattle SuperSonics.
“Definitely the finals and ’96, just feeling the energy and the noise at Key Arena,” said Kerr.
“And you know, those teams were really iconic, with Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, Detlef Schrempf, Nate McMillan, and RC. They were a great team. But more importantly, Seattle is one of the iconic franchises in the NBA.”
Speaking on the expansion vote scheduled for Wednesday to see if Las Vegas and Seattle could explore forming ownership groups to submit bids, Kerr shared that he was shocked when Seattle left.
“I was shocked when the league left Seattle. Incredible fan base. Great basketball market. A ton of talent coming from Seattle. Top 10 media market. Incredible sports city. So, it was kind of shocking to all of us when the league left Seattle. And I think we all hoped it would be a lot sooner than 18, 19 years, whatever it’s going to be, before they got back in the league. They belong in that city, and a team belongs there. Those fans deserve it.”
NBA Board of Governors Approves Vote To Explore Expansion
On Wednesday, the NBA Governors voted to approve exploring expansion, according to Shams Charania.
“Breaking: The NBA’s Board of Governors has approved a vote for the league to explore bids and applicants for expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle, sources tell ESPN. A bidding process is expected to generate offers in the $7-10 billion range for each team.”
“This starts the NBA’s 32-team expansion process. Multiple high-ranking officials have termed expansion as “when, not if.” Now the NBA will examine Seattle and Las Vegas bids over the next several months, and whether to execute the new franchise purchases now or in a few years.”
Kevin Durant was asked after the Rockets’ loss to the Chicago Bulls about the news.
“I mean, about time Seattle get some basketball back,” Durant said. “It was sorely missed in that Northwest. Portland was holding it down for them, but it’s always good to go Seattle-Portland road trips. So I’m looking forward to that in the future for the NBA. I don’t know if I’ll be around when the Seattle teams come, but I’m still thinking about it.”
In recent days, there has also been some chatter among fans and members of the basketball community that Kevin Durant’s current contract with the Houston Rockets expires the summer before the 2028-2029 season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Last season, as a member of the Phoenix Suns, Durant was asked if he could see himself finishing his career as a Sonic, and he replied, “That sounds good, but we will have to see what happens.”
When Jamal Crawford was asked about that scenario, he shared, “The city would be ecstatic. It’d be unbelievable. Not only was he on the team when they left us, but he was going to be the bridge to kinda keep us here,” Crawford said.
“You get a player of this magnitude in your hometown who goes on to be the best player in the world, and he comes back and says, ‘You know what, I am going to play another year here and then go into ownership,’ they would be over the moon.
“I think Kevin is a very very bright and smart guy and his basketball intelligence, how to put teams together, how to navigate certain things, his experiences, what worked, what didn’t work, what players do we need, all that stuff that you think about, I think he’d be phenomenal.”
