SEATTLE — Gary Payton's resume is full of impressive accolades at many different levels of basketball, but the Hall of Fame guard doesn't believe he would be who he is today without his time in Seattle.
The former National Basketball Association (NBA) star is back in the Pacific Northwest this weekend to be honored by the Seattle Super Hawks, a local professional basketball team competing in "The Basketball League" (TBL).
Payton spoke exclusively with KING 5's Paul Silvi earlier this week and said he is all but assured that the NBA will be announcing an expansion team in Seattle sooner rather than later. Payton was emphatic about wanting to be part of the organization when and if that does happen.
"Jump at it," Payton said when asked about being part of the potential expansion franchise's ownership group. "We've been talking, a lot of things have been revolving around for me to be involved with this. Guys like me and Shawn (Kemp) and Detlef (Schrempf) we need to be involved with things like this."
Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf were two of Payton's co-stars with the Seattle Supersonics, and both still live in western Washington. Kevin Durant, who still plays in the NBA but was originally drafted by the Supersonics in 2007, has also spoken publicly on multiple occasions about wanting to have a piece of ownership in a possible future NBA team in Seattle.
The Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City after the 2007-08 season and became the Thunder. Basketball fans in the region have been clamoring for a team to return ever since.
Tod Leiweke, the CEO of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, recently told Silvi in an exclusive interview that if he were a betting man, he too would bank on the city ending up with an NBA team soon.
On multiple occasions, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said that Seattle is among the lead potential options for league expansion. However, the NBA must first solidify its new media rights deal for television and streaming. That process has been ongoing for months, but recent reports indicate that the full new package will be announced soon.
Once that happens, Silver has indicated that expansion is the next major topic he and the league's 30 current owners will address. Just as the NHL went from 30 to 32 teams by adding expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, the NBA might be poised to add in those same two markets.
No matter when it finally comes together, Payton makes it clear that he wants to have a central role with the organization. Although he was born and raised in Oakland, Calif., Payton feels right at home in the Seattle area.