Gary Payton On Importance Of Seattle Supersonics Franchise Possibly Returning To NBA In 2028

Gary Payton echoes the importance of the NBA possibly returning to the city of Seattle for the first time in two decades: "Really big." (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

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It’s no secret that Gary Payton is one of the biggest legends in Seattle sports history.

The Hall of Game point guard starred for 13 years for the Seattle Supersonics and established his basketball legacy in the city. Payton not only led the Supersonics to the 1996 NBA Finals where they defeated the 72-win Chicago Bulls twice in the series – after Payton famously switched to guard Michael Jordan in Game 4 – but he won the Defensive Player of the Year as the first-ever point guard to do it.

In addition to those accolades, Payton led the league in assists and steals as a member of the Supersonics while going to nine All-Star games.

It’s been 18 years since Seattle has had an NBA franchise after the Supersonics moved and became the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the NBA moving forward with expansion as soon as the 2028-29 season, it appears Seattle will be getting an NBA franchise back for the first time in two decades.

“Really big,” said Payton in a one-on-one interview of the meaning of having the NBA back in Seattle. “We’ve been done away for 18 seasons now, 18 big years. People have been really, really looking forward to it now that the NBA has announced and our great Commissioner does what he’s doing, he’s given us an opportunity to come back and show that this is a city that needs basketball, and that’s what we’re about to do.”

The NBA Board of Governors approved possible expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas as the two new potential additions to the league. Obviously it’s not official and it’s still a process that the city has to go through to get their franchise back. But it’s a very likely situation given how big of a sports and basketball city Seattle is – the Seattle Seahawks just won the Super Bowl and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm has won four titles – combined with the history of the NBA in the 12th-biggest media market in the country.

“The city is a city where people say it rains all the time, but it’s a family city,” said Payton. "It’s all good. If you looked at every player that played in Seattle during the time, they were always saying, ‘Man, it’s a great city.’ They always want to come back there. It’s a hell of a city. I think that everybody just doesn’t understand that. Especially when summers comes, we got all the boats, we got all the fishing. We got everything.

“It’s a city where you can go and walk down the walk down the downtown and go shopping and do things like that,” Payton continued. “A good tourist situation, good food, good eats. They got a lot of good things going on around there. People have to understand, you got to see our city to understand what it is. I’s not just a city of rain, it's a city of love.”

Gary Payton Currently Working As Basketball Consultant For USBL’s Seattle Franchise

The 57-year-old Payton maintains a presence in Seattle, currently serving as a consultant for the recently restarted USBL (United States Basketball League). The UBSL was revived this season after being defunct since 2008. Payton currently works with the Seattle SuperHawks where former NBA guard Robert Pack serves as the head coach of the team.

“It’s great, you know, the owners, Jacqueline Yang and Pierre Cockrell Sr., they’re big friends of mine, and so we’re doing a lot of things over there especially to help out the city of Seattle,” said Payton “We’re trying to get this league to jump off and and that’s what I’m trying to do. I'm trying to help them do that.”

The SuperHawks made headlines by signing Jontay Porter, the former NBA player who was banned for life from the league due to violating gambling polices while playing for the Toronto Raptors.

Payton detailed how he’s trying to grow the league – he will lead the Oakland USBL franchise when it begins play next year – and spoke positively about Porter, saying that everyone makes mistakes and that they’re helping the 6-foot-10 big man get his career on track.

“It was just one of the things that they wanted me to help out and get this team better, especially with Porter, who everybody knows had the trouble with with the NBA,” said Payton. "We’re just trying to revamp him and revamp this team, which is a good team. They’re a very good basketball team and especially with Porter – young kids make mistakes. I’m saying that everybody make mistakes. If we didn’t make mistakes, we’d be perfect, and then we can be in the Guinness Book of World Records. But we’re not, so that’s what it is. It's just that.

“We’re just trying to help out here, and it’s a good thing for our city, especially with the Sonics coming back,” Payton continued. “This program is coming where it’s gonna be really great for us.”

Payton – who owns the Oakland team that will begin play in 2027 – went into further detail why he’s involved with the USBL and how he wants to help these kids continue to grow their basketball careers rather that be in the G-League or overseas.

“Next year is going to be my season in Oakland, California, that’s going to be a big deal for me,” said Payton. "I own the team in Oakland, California, which is going to be great, and that’s going to be a good move for us. I’m going to build something like Seattle, that’s what we’re trying to do right now. People don’t understand that some kids don’t get opportunity. They don’t even get an opportunity in the G League, and this is an opportunity for them to show what’s going on. I think that’s what’s going to happen once I get one in Oakland, California, it’s going to be even better, because then I can be more hands on every day.

“Instead of me coming back and forth from Seattle, but I’m on a hands on every day, and I can get with them players,” Payton continued. “That’s what’s going to happen there, and it’s going to be bigger and bigger, and I’m just going to get a lot of more kids opportunities to show themselves, who can get to the G league or get overseas so they can get paid with money and they get a little confidence. Some of these kids don’t have confidence. They lose confidence when they don't get picked up or do stuff like that. But then you can show it in this league, and then they have people come see.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com