Thanks to former Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, the Seattle SuperSonics were sold (along with the WBNA team, the Seattle Storm), to a group of Oklahoma City investors, led by Clay Bennett, for $350 million. Schultz wanted a new arena in Seattle and the city disagreed. The rest is history and the past 12 years has been good to the Thunder.
After a slow start to the season in 2008, the team moved forward and saw their valuation rise to $300 million. Over the years, Oklahoma City Thunder stars like Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams led the team on the court.
From 2014 to 2015, the team saw a stunning increase in valuation from $590 million to $930 million. Now, in 2020, Forbes estimates an astonishing valuation of $1.5+ billion.
Who knows how much more the team will rise in value. We can only hope to see them soon when the NBA returns to action after a pause in the 2020 season due to COVID-19.
In the meantime, add to your OKC Thunder memories with some of our unique Collectibles.