This Friday, the Golden State Warriors will play host to the Sacramento Kings at KeyArena. The game is the fruition of a three year plan from the Warriors’ President, Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Welts.
Welts is a Seattle native and University of Washington graduate who started his NBA journey at 16 as a ball boy for the Seattle Supersonics. He eventually moved on to become the team’s PR director when they won their Championship in 1979.
During the Warriors’ 2018 preseason debut, Welts spoke about the upcoming game on the team’s broadcast.
We worked three years to bring the Warriors there and I can tell you KD is incredibly excited. I think he may have a couple tricks up his sleeve, actually, while we’re up there. We sold out the game in 4 hours. Seattle is dying to welcome an NBA game back and to welcome Kevin Durant who won his Rookie of the Year award when he was a Seattle Sonic.
Tricks up his sleeve, hmm? Interesting. We’re not sure what these tricks might be, but Durant did speak about the game during the Warriors’ media day.
While we don’t know what these tricks or this show are going to entail, Welts did confirm the presence of some Sonics legends.
“Downtown” Freddy Brown is coming, Jack Sikma is coming, Gary Payton is coming, if you have an extra quarter or two in the broadcast to talk to him. It’s gonna be really fun. It’s gonna be Lenny Wilkins, Bill Russell. It’s gonna be a great celebration of the Sonics in Seattle.
Slick [Watts]’s gonna be there.
Durant and Welts both have fond memories of Seattle and working for the Sonics organization. Even though he never played for the Sonics, Warriors coach Steve Kerr also pines for the Sonics’ return.
The Sonics to me were a lot like the Warriors here in the Bay -- really cool brand, good history and tradition, great colors and an unbelievable fan base. I played there in the Finals in ‘96 with the Bulls. It’s a basketball town.
It’s a real shame -- just the fact that the Sonics don’t exist ... I think it was a real black mark on the NBA. And I’m hoping that the Sonics will be back at some point in the near future.
Durant, who played for the Oklahoma City Thunder for seven seasons after the team was relocated, also spoke candidly about the way the team was uprooted.
It was very devastating how we up and left in the middle of the night. I know those fans have been yearning for basketball for a long, long time.
Even backup guard Shaun Livingston, who visited Seattle as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2008, spoke positively and expressed his desire for a Sonics return as well.
Seattle’s a great city. I wish, I hope they get a (NBA) team again.
Friday night is our chance to show the Warriors, and the nation, just how right they are. It’s a chance to show off that “amazing energy” that Durant spoke about. It’s a night to get past the anger and the contempt and prove to the NBA that we are, as Kerr said, “a basketball town.”
To quote Welts one more time;
It’s gonna be an amazing night.
Comments
Go Warriors!
They’ve earned my support and are the home team as far as I’m concerned.
By Brian Robinson on 10.01.18 8:45am
100% this
Absolutely. And seriously, no hatred for the Kings. They and their fans are not our enemies despite the way things went down with Chris Hansen’s attempt to buy the team.
By MrCLM on 10.01.18 9:54am
As a long time Kings fan
And with all the animosity between the fan bases seemingly gone. I want to wish the Sonics fans nothing but the best of luck in getting a new franchise. It was devastating to watch that team leave, and is coming form Sacramento. I know what the possibility of our team leaving felt like, I can’t imagine how it feels to watch your team roll out of town. I hope for a good, competitive game (not likely, given the tire fire that is our GM), and I hope your team follows on the heels of the new arena deal.
By nolookpass432 on 10.03.18 12:37pm
The Sonics are the home team.
By Kyle Sherwood on 10.04.18 1:56pm
I’m so f***ing excited for this
By Kevin Nesgoda on 10.01.18 9:27am
Couldn't afford tickets, but I'll be there in spirit.
SUPER -
By Number Of The Beast on 10.01.18 9:31am
SONICS!
By Taylor Made on 10.01.18 10:20am
SUPER.......
By snovalleyhockeyfan on 10.01.18 10:52am
Wear that green and gold
We’ll get the crowd chanting and cheering!
By Matt Tucker on 10.01.18 10:24am
Recorded?
If anyone happened to record that segment, would love to see it posted. I’ll check the Warriors and NBA video pages to see if it was officially posted by either.
By Sixth Man on 10.01.18 10:12am
It's on League Pass
By Taylor Made on 10.01.18 10:22am
This
Penn State professor will be wearing his Sonic tie to work and either his 1979 World Champs shirt (tight by now) or a more forgiving yellow Sonics Durant jersey that evening. Cheer for me since I can’t be there in person.
By charliesonic on 10.01.18 6:28pm
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/01/kevin-durant-sonics-need-to-be-back-in-seattle/
By Taylor Made on 10.01.18 9:40pm
I hope OVG has a trick up it's sleave...
A real-life model of the new Arena and include features players will like
Time to start showing the NBA what we will have in 2 years…
By BBS117 on 10.01.18 11:41pm
It's times like these I wish I lived in Seattle
And not just because it dumped over 15 inches of snow today here in Calgary.
By 06dbiebe on 10.02.18 8:49pm
15 inches of
Snow on October 2 you’ve got to be kidding me…I am so glad I live on the west coast….but I do want to visit Calgary maybe next summer
By D-sport on 10.02.18 10:08pm
Wait...
Calgary gets summer? Huh…
By MrCLM on 10.04.18 7:43am
A shout out to...
Bob Blackburn (sadly gone)
Kevin Calabro
Voices that were very familiar to me, I hope the Sonics bball team will be resurrected soon.
By Katra2Logic on 10.03.18 12:27am
I was a kid living in Tacoma....pencil and paper, keeping score listening to...
Bob Blackburn. He called the games himself back then, I kept score. I wish I could remember some of his catch phrases…I think "bang" was one of them, when a Sonic would score a bucket.
Players I remember from those days…
Spencer Haywood
Gar Heard
Lenny Wilkens
Dick Snyder (he was my favorite)
Bob Rule
Lee Winfield
Tom Meschery
Jim Fox
By Rush717 on 10.03.18 6:01am
Pre-Game
Hello Sonics Rising Team.
My name is Dave. I have been following your site for 7 years now. I am a die hard sonics fan as well. I am looking forward to the game Friday.
Is anyone planning to meet up prior to the game Friday?
By SonicBuyer on 10.03.18 8:16am
Nothing set yet
But Ozzie’s is usually a good pregame spot.
By Taylor Made on 10.03.18 10:07am
Here you go... Buckley's.
By Throbert Bedford on 10.03.18 11:58am
Just watched some NBA pre-season games
On MSG there’s Walt Frazier and Mike Breen doing the commentating and Breen said he’s going to be in Seattle this week(for ESPN I’d guess) and Frazier talked about that Seattle’s a nice city and he was basically going to be drafted by the Sonics before the Knicks took him.
By Silvio on 10.03.18 10:01am
Huge if it's Breen on the call......
Number 1 crew, and that comes with Jeff Van Gundy. You all know where he stands on the subject.
By snovalleyhockeyfan on 10.03.18 1:34pm
We could have
drafted Clyde Frazier but the Knicks took him before we picked wow I never knew that….Mike Breen has always advocated for the Sonics returning it will be great that he will call the game…this is going to be huge folks….bring them back!!
By D-sport on 10.03.18 11:27am