With the NBA looking to place an expansion team back in Seattle, the Oklahoma City Thunder are going through with the agreement of giving Seattle back the SuperSonics history. When the Sonics moved to OKC and rebranded, the agreement was that all the branding, colors, banners and name stays in Seattle but the two organizations will share the Sonics history going forward. The Thunder will effectively chop that history off, give it back to Seattle, and become a team who was birthed in 2008.
That makes sense. The Thunder have created a nice history that includes their own NBA championship, two Finals appearances, and three separate MVP winners. The Sonics will then own their history of 1967-2008 and then when the team comes back. Seems fair.
This isn't the only time we've seen this. In the NBA, the Charlotte Hornets relocated to New Orleans and remained the Hornets in 2002. In 2004, Charlotte was awarded a new franchise called the Bobcats ... but the New Orleans Hornets kept that Hornets past ... because they didn't rebrand. When they rebranded as the Pelicans in 2013, there was some pushing and pulling that allowed Charlotte to get back the Hornets name and, in turn, the Hornets history when they were in Charlotte. So the New Orleans Pelicans history begins in 2002 when they got the team and the Charlotte Hornets history goes from 1988-2002 and then 2004-present. It was a successful ... albeit a bit messy ... resolution.
And easier example was when the Cleveland Browns relocated to Baltimore in 1996, the Ravens became a brand new franchise while Cleveland kept everything for their new team in 1999.
Seeing this Sonics/Thunder swapping makes me think we should have some more of these happening across the four major leagues. Now, that doesn't mean every city that used to have a team can get its history back ... but there are a few examples that I'd like to see change out.
So ... NO ... the Minnesota Timberwolves will not get back the Minneapolis Lakers history. The franchise kept the branding and name when they moved to Los Angeles.
WINNIPEG JETS
A simple one is the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets were an WHL team that entered the NHL during the 1979 merger. They stayed in Winnipeg until 1996 when they moved to Arizona and became the Coyotes. Since then, two things have happened. One was Winnipeg got a relocated Atlanta Thrashers franchise in 2011 and renamed them the Jets. The other is that the Arizona Coyotes franchise "moved" to Utah and became the Mammoth in 2024. The Coyotes are no longer a franchise and are considered defunct, and the Utah franchise is considered a new entity.
So no one is really using that Jets history from 1972-1996. It's dead. Sure, if Arizona ever gets a team again, they would kinda sorta get it back ... but why?
Let the Jets get that history back. Let their history begin in 1972-1996, then inherit the Thrashers and new Jets history from 1999-present. Seems rather simple. They can get their old logo back (even if for just throwbacks) and have their complete history. As for Arizona, if they ever do get another NHL team, they get to keep those Arizona years (which is the plan) from 1996-2024.
Simple.
HOUSTON OILERS
This one won't happen because it has already been an awkward mess that has only gotten worse recently. A quick history: The Houston Oilers (born in 1960) moved to Tennessee and were the Tennessee Oilers in 1997 for two years before rebranding as the Titans in 1999. Houston was awarded a franchise in 2002 that is named the Texans.
Since then, things have been contentious between the two organizations. The Titans hold the Oilers history and have no plans to ever let Houston have any of it back. So much so that the Titans have even wore Oilers "throwback" gear in games versus the Texans. The fact the two teams are division rivals makes things even more tense.
Now, in 2026, the Titans have overhauled their brand and are using the Oilers colors and uniform style. Of course, it's completely their right since they do own the Oilers history ... but it would be nice if it could switch over to Houston.
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