Jack BilyeuFri, February 6, 2026 at 2:03 AM UTC·2 min readWhile the world is focused on the Super Bowl, Seattle NBA fans are getting a spark of hope thanks to a mysterious meeting between Governor Bob Ferguson and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
The meeting appeared on the governor’s calendar out of nowhere, prompting KIRO 7 to figure out what exactly happened.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe governor’s office confirmed it was about bringing the Sonics back.
“I have not watched a full NBA game since then,” Steven Pyeatt, founder of the Save Our Sonics movement, said.
There are still a lot of hurt feelings about the Supersonics’ departure to Oklahoma City more than 15 years ago. Just ask Pyeatt, who dedicated countless hours to trying to keep them in Seattle.
“The disservice that happened here,” he said. “It was political malfeasance that happened here. We deserve to have a team back.”
Out of nowhere came a glimmer of hope, all based on the governor’s online calendar. The calendar shows mostly what you’d expect: meetings with caucuses, councils, senators and the like.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne event stood out: a meeting with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for Thursday at 11:15a. Silver has spoken several times about the possibility of an expansion to Seattle and LAs Vegas.
“We are looking at Seattle, we’ve looked at other markets as well,” he said in December. “I want to be sensitive about the notion that we are somehow teasing these markets because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while.”
According to the governor’s office, Thursday’s meeting was an introductory Zoom call at Ferguson’s request. The pair reportedly had a “good conversation” and Ferguson offered to “be helpful.”
“All the pieces are here,” Pyeatt said. “All we need is a go.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis is something Pyeatt and countless others have wanted for years.
He said he’s cautiously optimistic, and called the governor a great negotiator, which he would know better than most; they ran against each other for a King County Council seat in 2005.
“What we lacked back then, when the team moved, was leadership,” Pyeatt said. “But I believe we have leadership now at the state level that can get this done.”
Silver said he will make the call on expansion sometime in 2026
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