The 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder? Kendrick Perkins says they’re the best team in franchise history—yes, even better than the iconic 2012 squad led by KD, Russ, and Harden. His reasons? Insane depth, relentless defense, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who he straight-up calls the best player OKC’s ever seen. With the team averaging 10.3 steals per game throughout the postseason, turning defense into fast-break magic, it’s hard to argue. Wild to think this team didn’t even exist before 2008, right?

And speaking of 2008—here’s where it gets interesting. The franchise we now know as the OKC was once the Seattle SuperSonics, sold for $350 million to an Oklahoma City group led by Clay Bennett. You’ve seen it on social media: OKC is heading to the Finals, chasing its first title since 1979. That’s been the hot topic during the Thunder’s playoff run. But just to remind you, 1979 was back when they were the SuperSonics, rocking it in Seattle and beating the Washington Bullets for the championship. The Sonics were basically the parent team—and you know how parents want their legacy to live on, right? Funny thing is, one key player from that parent squad is not exactly cheering for OKC to take that crown.

SuperSonics legend Nate McMillan isn’t rooting for the Thunder to win it all—he’s rooting for something bigger. “We miss the Sonics,” McMillan told TMZ Sports. “They gotta get them back. It was a great franchise, great tradition, great history. The NBA needs to bring the SuperSonics back, no question.” He demanded it directly from Adam Silver. And look, he’s got every reason to feel that way. Nate McMillan played 12 seasons for the SuperSonics. He averaged 6.1 assists, 5.9 points, and 4.0 rebounds in 796 regular-season games. That move to OKC in 2008 is still a sore spot for Seattle fans who’ve been waiting years for a comeback.

“It’s great there,” McMillan added, talking about the energy of Seattle during the Sonics’ prime. He’s not wrong—during the ‘90s, KeyArena was a legitimate fortress, and the city was buzzing with stars like Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. When Clay Bennett relocated the team after failing to secure arena funding, the franchise’s heart remained in Seattle. McMillan’s focus now is on helping the Lakers prep for next season, but his message was loud and clear: bring the Sonics back. With expansion talks heating up with EuroLeague, maybe, finally, Seattle will get its team again.

Will the SuperSonics make a comeback to the league?

Let’s break this down: the Thunder didn’t win the 1979 NBA championship — Seattle did. It was green and gold, not blue and orange. Payton and Kemp territory, not Shai and Chet. Yet that title still appears in Thunder highlight reels and history graphics, as if it moved cities. That’s the part that stings. The SuperSonics were Seattle’s basketball heartbeat. A cultural pillar. You’ll still catch Kemp throwbacks in high school gyms and Gary Payton murals tucked into alleyways. They meant something. So, when ESPN drops the ’79 title under a Thunder banner? It feels like erasure.

Even George Karl, who coached the Sonics through some of their best years, called it out. He posted, “Media keeps saying the Pacers won 3 championships in the 70s and the Thunder last won 1 in ‘79. But both of those things are BS! The Thunder aren’t the Sonics, and the Pacers’ incredible ABA titles are ignored in NBA records. These two wrongs should be righted!!” And then there’s Thunder coach Mark Daigneault casually saying after a game, as reported by the Seattle Times, “Shout-out to Mr. Bennett, who had a vision 17 years ago.” Sure, in OKC, it sounds like a thank you. In Seattle, it’s salt in the wound. The Sonics didn’t get a send-off. No farewell season. No final game. Just a team stolen out from under a city that loved them for 40 years.

USA Today via Reuters

But here’s the good part — change might finally be coming. If you haven’t been paying attention, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made it clear in March that Seattle’s on the radar. And not just in theory. “We are very focused on it,” he said during the Board of Governors presser, as reported by Basket News. “The fact that we’re not ready to make public announcements on a specific timeline doesn’t mean we don’t care deeply about those fans or that we aren’t working hard on the potential return of the NBA to Seattle.”

That’s real momentum. The arena is there. The fans? Always have been. Ownership interest? Yup. The only thing missing is Silver giving the green light. When the Sonics return, Seattle won’t settle for a clean-slate expansion franchise—they’ll demand the name, colors, and banners back where they belong.

And you better believe if the Sonics do come back, Nate McMillan’s name is going to echo loud in that arena. Player, coach, lifer — he is part of that fabric. Seattle never forgot its team, and it sure didn’t forget Nate.