Despite Seattle losing their NBA franchise back in 2008-2009, NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver, has indicated that it is likely that the NBA will expand back to Seattle in the near future. The SuperSonics were around in Seattle for 41 seasons, winning a championship in 1979, before the franchise was sent off to Oklahoma City with Kevin Durant as their poster child.
Now a decade and a half later, Seattle could get an NBA franchise back near the Space Needle. Common sense would say that if there was an expansion team for Seattle in the next few years, they would simply adopt the old SuperSonics name. However, if they decided to go with a completely fresh team name, logo, and branding opportunity, there are 5 amazing Seattle expansion team names that would work well.
First, there are always NBA fans starting rumors about great team name ideas, however some fail to realize just how many of their ideas are already active team names or historically relevant for a different franchise in the Seattle area. Here are 14 Seattle-based teams that would likely be off-limits or at the very least copying a current or former team in the city.
Seattle Seahawks (NFL Football)
Seattle Mariners (MLB Baseball)
Seattle Sounders (MLS Soccer)
Seattle Kraken (NHL Hockey)
Seattle Storm (WNBA Basketball)
Seattle Sea Dragons (XFL Football)
Seattle Redhawks (NCAA Sports)
Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL Hockey)
Seattle Steelheads (WCNBA Baseball)
Seattle Majestics (WNFC Football)
Seattle Mist (LFL Football)
Seattle Totems (CHL Hockey)
Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA Hockey)
Seattle Surge (CDL esports)
Not including SuperSonics, the 5 best Seattle expansion team names possible
Despite all of those nicknames being “taken” already, there are still some intriguing options that would leave NBA fans in Seattle happy, even without the switch back to the SuperSonics moniker. Ranked in order, these are the 5 team names that would make the most sense based on city significance, branding and mascot opportunities, and an overall coolness factor:
5. Seattle Smog – This is definitely the weakest of the five options, however there are some interesting things that could be done with this team name. “Seattle Smog” rolls off of the tongue nicely and the color scheme of the rebrand could go nearly anywhere from a smokey-gray and black layout to more colorful purples, pinks, blues, and greens. During starting lineup introductions, the fog machines would also be going crazy. The downside of this is it might be “too real” and the poor air quality of the city might not be something that they want to play into.
4. Seattle Space Needles – This team name is about as straightforward as it gets. Seattle is most known for the 605-foot-tall Space Needle that sits near the center of the city. It is one of the most photographed structures in the entire world, which would make jersey sales and overall branding extremely profitable. It is easy to picture some slick alternative Seattle Space Needles’ jerseys that just have 605 branded across the chest. This also allows for a wide array of mascot options.
The top-3 best Seattle expansion team names available
3. Seattle Sea Otters / Seattle Splashers – This is a great either-or combo suggestion for the new Seattle team name. In Washington, there are over 1,000 sea otters living on the outer coast and throughout the western Strait of Juan de Fuca. They are still facing conservation threats but are a good representative animal of the state. The other option, which would still have the same otter mascot and color scheme but be a non-animal team name, would be the Seattle Splashers. This would have some nice basketball relevance on top of representing the amazing beaches of Seattle.
2. Seattle Emeralds – Now we are talking. Known as the Emerald City, Seattle has lush greenery and has been called the “jewel of the Pacific Northwest”. The Seattle Emeralds team name would represent the city incredibly well, but not just as a copy of a landmark like the Space Needles option.
The jerseys could be a very vibrant and bright emerald, green that should easily blow standard green jerseys like the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks out of the water. The simplicity of the team’s name also allows their mascot to be literally any animal they want since they can turn the animal emerald, green, and it will naturally look awesome.
1. Seattle Sasquatch – The Emeralds is probably more realistic than this team name option, however the Seattle Sasquatch would likely win the fan-vote if there was one. Washington has historically led all Bigfoot/Sasquatch sightings in the United States and a big reason for this is because Seattle North Country is 70% unspoiled forest.
The branding could be whimsical, fierce, or downright terrifying depending on how Seattle wants to play it. These jerseys would be less flashy/vibrant and more of a forest green with darker accents, but the mascot alone could be enough to carry this rebrand. Picture an emerald, green Sasquatch mascot named Emerson running around the court wreaking havoc and pumping up the Seattle crowd during a playoff game. It would be must-see television.
The SuperSonics are probably still the most logical team name if and when Seattle gets an NBA franchise back in town, however if they had to go a different route, which team name above has the power to re-energize the Seattle fanbase?