SPORTS TEAM HISTORY

  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • More…
    • STH News
    • Sports Team History Products
Sports Team History

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages
Sports Team History
Image

Seattle Supersonics Team History

STH Products Sale Banner
STH Clash of Logos NBA - Banner
Sports News History Banner
Sports Market History Banner #4
Seattle Supersonics




  • 1967
  • 1979
  • 1983
  • 2005
  • 2006
  • Seattle Sonics 1967

    Seattle Supersonics Team Formation

    On December 20, 1966, Los Angeles businessmen Sam Schulman and Eugene V. Klein and a group of minority partners were awarded the NBA franchise for the city of Seattle. Schulman would serve as the active partner and head of team operations. He named the SuperSonics after Boeing’s recently awarded contract for the SST project, which was later canceled. The SuperSonics ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • Seattle Sonics Champs 1979

    NBA Finals Winner 1979

    NBA Finals – 1979 The 1979 NBA World Championship Series at the conclusion of the 1978 – 1979 season were won by the Seattle SuperSonics defeating the Washington Bullets 4 games to 1. The series was a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals which the Washington Bullets had won 4-3. Due to a better regular-season record, the Bullets had a ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • Barry Ackerley Purchase Sonics

    Barry Ackerley Purchases Sonics

    In October 1983, original team owner Sam Schulman sold the SuperSonics to Barry Ackerley, initiating a period of decline and mediocrity for the franchise. 1984 saw Fred Brown retire after playing 13 productive seasons, all with Seattle. His career reflected much of the SuperSonics’ history to that time, having been on the same team roster as Rule and Wilkens during ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • Key Arena - Seattle

    Schultz Cannot Get a New Arena

    Schultz is the former owner of the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics. During his tenure as team owner, he was criticized for his naïveté and propensity to run the franchise as a business rather than a sports team. Schultz feuded with player Gary Payton, feeling that Payton disrespected him and the team by not showing up to the first day of training ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • Seattle Sonics Relocate to OKC

    Relocating to Oklahoma City

    From 2001 to 2006, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz was the majority owner of the team, along with 58 partners or minor owners, as part of the Basketball Club of Seattle LLP. On July 18, 2006, Schultz sold the SuperSonics and its sister team, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)’s Seattle Storm, to the Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), a group ...
    Read More
    See Full Story

Sonics Primary Logo
Sonics Alternate Logo
Sonics Wordmark Logo

History of the Supersonics

The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Pacific and Northwest divisions from 1967 until 2008. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sam Schulman owned the team from its 1967 inception until 1983. It was then owned by Barry Ackerley until 2001 when it came under the ownership of the Basketball Club of Seattle, headed by Starbucks chairman emeritus, former president, and CEO Howard Schultz. On July 18, 2006, the Basketball Club of Seattle sold the SuperSonics and its Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) sister franchise Seattle Storm to the Professional Basketball Club LLC, headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. The sale was approved by the NBA Board of Governors on October 24, 2006, and finalized seven days later, at which point the new ownership group took control. After failing to find public funding to construct a new arena in the Seattle area, the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City before the 2008–09 season, following a $45 million settlement with the city of Seattle to pay off their existing lease at the KeyArena at Seattle Center in advance of its 2010 expiration.

 





Established
1967

City
Seattle – Oklahoma City

League History
1967 – Present / National Basketball Association

Team History
2008 – Present / Oklahoma City Thunder
1967 – 2008 / Seattle SuperSonics

Nickname
SuperSonics – The SuperSonics had been named for an airplane called the (SST) SuperSonic Transport project. The plane was to be built by Boeing, which had a large plant in the Seattle area. However, the project was later canceled.

Championship
NBA Championships 1
1979

Arena
2012 – Present / Chesapeake Energy Arena
2010 – 2011 / Oklahoma City Arena
2008 – 2010 / Ford Center

*Seattle*
1995 – 2008 / KeyArena at Seattle Center
1985 – 1994 / Seattle Center Coliseum
1978 – 1985 / Kingdome
1967 – 1978 / Seattle Center Coliseum

Owner
2006 – Present / Professional Basketball Club, LLC
2001 – 2006 / Howard Schultz
1983 – 2001 / Barry Ackerley
1967 – 1983 / Sam Schulman

Who is the greatest Seattle Supersonics?
  • Add your greatest player

To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.

Retired Number
1 / Gus Williams
4 / Nick Collison
10 / Nate McMillian
19 / Lenny Wilkens
24 / Spencer Haywood
32 / Fred Brown
43 / Jack Sikma
– / Bob Blackburn

*Blue is this team’s history

Sports News History

Sports News Worth Knowing

RSS NBA Headline News

  • Sources: Suns’ Booker could return for Nets game
  • Lakers ticket prices are skyrocketing as LeBron James nears Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record
  • Are Lakers really getting singled out by refs?
  • Mazzulla, Celts staff to coach Giannis-led All-Stars
  • Tyrese Haliburton return coming for Indiana Pacers | Pacers vs Los Angeles Lakers preview

Sports Market History

Sports Team Marketplace of Champions!

Sports Trading Cards Boxes

Loading RSS Feed

NBA Logo Battle

NBA Greatest Player

STH Product Sale

NBA Teams
Menu
  • Atlanta Hawks
    • St. Louis Hawks
    • Milwaukee Hawks
    • Tri-City Blackhawks
  • Boston Celtics
  • Brooklyn Nets
    • New Jersey Nets
    • New York Nets
    • New Jersey Americans
  • Charlotte Hornets
    • Charlotte Bobcats
  • Chicago Bulls
  • Cleveland Cavaliers
  • Dallas Mavericks
  • Denver Nuggets
    • Denver Rockets
  • Detroit Pistons
    • Fort Wayne Pistons
    • Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons
  • Golden State Warriors
    • San Francisco Warriors
    • Philadelphia Warriors
  • Houston Rockets
    • San Diego Rockets
  • Indiana Pacers
  • Los Angeles Clippers
    • San Diego Clippers
    • Buffalo Braves
  • Los Angeles Lakers
    • Minneapolis Lakers
  • Memphis Grizzlies
    • Vancouver Grizzlies
  • Miami Heat
  • Milwaukee Bucks
  • Minnesota Timberwolves
  • New Orleans Pelicans
    • New Orleans Hornets
    • Charlotte Hornets
  • New York Knickerbockers
  • Oklahoma City Thunder
    • Seattle Supersonics
  • Orlando Magic
  • Philadelphia 76ers
    • Syracuse Nationals
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Portland Trailblazers
  • Sacramento Kings
    • Kansas City Kings
    • Cincinnati Royals
    • Rochester Royals
  • San Antonio Spurs
    • Texas Chaparrals
    • Dallas Chaparrals
  • Toronto Raptors
  • Utah Jazz
    • New Orleans Jazz
  • Washington Wizards
    • Washington Bullets
    • Capital Bullets
    • Baltimore Bullets
    • Chicago Zephyrs
    • Chicago Packers
  • Past Teams
    • Baltimore Bullets 1949
    • Chicago Stags
    • Cleveland Rebels
    • Denver Nuggets 1948
    • Detroit Falcons
    • Pittsburgh Ironmen
    • Providence Steamrollers
    • St. Louis Bombers
    • Toronto Huskies
    • Washington Capitols

STH News

Latest Sports Team History News

A Tale of Two Expansion Teams: Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets

February 2, 2023

Red Sox Looking for a Great Start in the MLB 2023 Season!

February 1, 2023

Highest Scoring Trio in Premier League History

February 1, 2023

84 and Counting – History of March Madness

January 31, 2023

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages
Sports Logo History
Sports News History
Sports Market History
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Sports Team History
© 2013 - 2023 Sports History Group LLC - All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • More…
    • STH News
    • Sports Team History Products
  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • More…
    • STH News
    • Sports Team History Products