Nate McMillan
NBA Needs To Return To Seattle
… I’m Not Rooting For Thunder In Finals
Published
TMZSports.com
SuperSonics legend Nate McMillan isn’t actively rooting for the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA Finals … instead, he tells TMZ Sports he’s pulling for Adam Silver to do the right thing and bring a franchise back to Seattle.
We caught up with the current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach at LAX … and we had to ask, considering the Thunder used to be the Sonics, how he felt about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co.’s chances at getting it done.
While he said OKC has a good squad, he was more focused on what he thinks the league needs to do to his old stomping grounds.
“We miss the Sonics,” he said. “They gotta get them back. It was a great franchise, great tradition, great history. The NBA needs to bring the SuperSonics back, no question.”
McMillan — who played in the Emerald City for 12 years — said during the ’90s, it was the best place to play.
“It’s great there,” he added.
Unfortunately for Seattle, the Sonics moved to OKC in 2008 … after owner Clay Bennett failed to get funding for a new arena.
The league has discussed expansion in recent years … and the topic is slated to be revisited at meetings in July.
While the longtime NBA coach talked Sonics with us … it’s clear his priority is the Lakers — and he’s looking forward to helping get this team ready for the 2025-26 season.
“We got an offseason we got to get to work on, and we’ve already started.”