Warriors planning 2018 preseason game versus Kings in Seattle

ByKEVIN PELTON
February 22, 2018, 12:55 AM

— -- The Golden State Warriors plan to host the first NBA game in Seattle since the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City following the 2007-08 season, sources told ESPN.

The Warriors would face the Sacramento Kings during the 2018 preseason.

The Sacramento Bee first reported the potential matchup.

Golden State star Kevin Durant played his rookie season for the Sonics before moving with the team, which became the Thunder. Durant returned to Seattle to play in front of a sellout crowd at Seattle Pacific University during the Crawsover Pro-Am in the summer of 2013, telling fans, "I miss you guys. Thank you for the warm welcome. I can't wait to come back."

According to a source, the Warriors had hoped to schedule an exhibition game in Seattle last fall but were unable to do so because of their preseason trip to China.

While the Portland Trail Blazers held an open scrimmage in 2010 at Seattle's Garfield High School, the alma mater of then-star Brandon Roy, the last official NBA game in Seattle was the Sonics' final home game on April 13, 2008.

In 2013, the NBA board of governors voted against a proposal for an investment group led by Chris Hansen to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle. Instead, the team was sold to a group headed by Vivek Ranadive that oversaw the construction of a new downtown arena in Sacramento.

The city of Seattle recently approved a proposal by the Oak View Group to rebuild KeyArena, the Sonics' home before their move, into a larger venue capable of hosting NBA and NHL teams. Because the rebuild is scheduled to begin in October, the preseason game would potentially have to be played at a different location in Seattle.