On Friday evening, the Los Angeles Clippers narrowly defeated the Portland Path Blazers 101-99 in a preseason matchup. However for this recreation, what mattered wasn’t a lot the “what” because the “the place.”
Friday marked the third version of the Rain Metropolis Showcase, with the Clippers internet hosting a preseason recreation in Seattle. The sport, sponsored by Pokémon, introduced the NBA again to Seattle 16 years after the SuperSonics have been abruptly moved to turn into the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder.
For one evening solely, it was just like the Sonics have been again on the town: Seattle packed into Local weather Pledge Area, a sold-out crowd noticed with inexperienced and yellow (and Pikachu hats handed out as giveaways). Children who weren’t even born when the Sonics have been moved from Seattle to Oklahoma Metropolis have been carrying Sonics jerseys — these of Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Kevin Durant. With 5 minutes left within the recreation, a chant of “SuperSonics” was heard on one aspect of the sector. Indicators all through the group referred to as for the NBA to carry the workforce again.
The most important cheers of the evening had nothing to do with both workforce, however with the previous Sonics within the constructing: A slew of Sonics legends — Payton, Kemp, Detlef Schrempf, Dale Ellis, Rashard Lewis, George Karl, Sam Perkins, Luke Ridnour, in addition to former Sonics coach Lenny Wilkens — have been on the recreation and obtained a hearty response from the group.
Jamal Crawford, Isaiah Thomas and Brandon Roy rounded out a who’s who of Seattle basketball stars, and former Seahawks coach Pete Carroll additionally obtained a loud cheer of his personal. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Washington Governor Jay Inslee have been additionally within the constructing, demonstrating a present of solidarity from the state and town.
On the concourse, Sarah Parks, a self-described “lifelong Sonics fan” who watched the workforce from the early ’90s till the transfer, was there together with her mom and brother, Karen and Sam. All three have been decked out in Sonics gear at Sarah’s urging, even supposing they have been rooting for the Path Blazers, having “adopted” the workforce within the Sonics’ absence.
Sarah, who mentioned she was “devastated” when the workforce was moved, has been to all three of those preseason video games at Local weather Pledge Area. “I’ll preserve coming to them till we get ’em again,” she mentioned.
For a lot of followers, gamers and coaches alike, bringing the NBA again to Seattle is a no brainer. A number of energetic gamers have mentioned that they’re all for giving Seattle an enlargement bid, with Durant, who spent his rookie season with the Sonics earlier than the transfer, being of bringing the NBA again to town.
Forward of the matchup, Clippers and Path Blazers coaches Tyronn Lue and Chauncey Billups each praised the Seattle surroundings, saying that they liked coming to Seattle as gamers. The 2 coaches additionally cited Seattle’s different fan bases — the Seahawks, the Storm — as proof of town’s ardour for sports activities.
“These followers are passionate, they perceive the sport of basketball, and we miss that,” Lue mentioned.
“That is clearly a deserved metropolis and market,” Billups mentioned. “It makes essentially the most sense.”
Clippers proprietor Steve Ballmer, the previous CEO of Seattle-based firm Microsoft and a resident of the Seattle space, shouted out town in a speech earlier than the sport, saying that “Seattle’s bought one of the best basketball followers on the planet.”
Manny and Laura Ochoa, who have been there with their children Quentin and Elena, have been a few of these followers, decked out in their very own Sonics gear on the concourse and itching for basketball to return to the world.
Manny, who grew up in LA and rooted for the Clippers, mentioned that he wished the NBA again in Seattle in order that it may turn into an everyday a part of their life, with video games on Wednesdays and $25 nosebleed tickets like he had when he was rising up. When the Sonics left, he mentioned, “I felt a void in our hearts.”
Manny and Quentin went to final 12 months’s Rain Metropolis Showcase, and determined to carry the remainder of the household this 12 months. Now, Manny and Laura are hopeful that the workforce will come again — and he’s passing down a love for the Sonics to his children.
“And what will we inform folks in regards to the Sonics?” Manny requested Elena, who wore a Payton jersey that went right down to her knees. With some prompting from her mom, Elena relays the message: “Carry them again.”
Most followers weren’t a lot right here for the Clippers and Path Blazers as they have been for the return of NBA basketball within the metropolis.
“We wish basketball in our lives. We miss our workforce, so when an actual basketball recreation is occurring in Seattle, folks present up,” Cathy Jimenez mentioned earlier than the sport, whereas on the concourse together with her husband Jacobo. They’re longtime Sonics followers, and so they purchased the tickets earlier on Friday after realizing that the occasion was occurring.
It was Jacobo’s first time, and Cathy’s second, contained in the brand-new Local weather Pledge Area, which was accomplished in 2021. The brand new stadium efficiently attracted an NHL enlargement workforce, the Seattle Kraken, and was additionally constructed with the hope of attracting an NBA enlargement bid.
The proposal to construct a brand new stadium was one of many main sticking factors that led to the workforce getting moved, with proprietor of the now-Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder Clay Bennett saying that town wanted to redo the sector in an effort to preserve the workforce in Seattle. However, the way in which Jacobo and plenty of Seattle followers see it, that was simply an excuse for Bennett and former NBA commissioner David Stern to relocate the workforce.
The Jimenezes agree that the stadium is “lovely” and can serve nicely for a future NBA workforce. However for now, they must accept watching different cities’ groups.
“I like the sector and I’m actually hoping that we don’t have to attend an excessive amount of longer to look at our Sonics right here, as a result of that’s what I actually need,” Jacobo mentioned.
Friday’s recreation got here right down to the wire, with the Path Blazers getting a game-tying free throw with 4 seconds left. The world was rocking as Kai Jones hit a go-ahead dunk off an alley-oop from Jordan Miller with simply two seconds left, main the Clippers to the win.
“It’s simply good to see, it simply tells you the way a lot this metropolis desires a basketball workforce and so they deserve it,” Lue mentioned after the sport. “They confirmed you that tonight once more.”
