The Utah Jazz will return to prominence next season, as they are well on track to become a playoff contender if all goes according to plan - getting a high lottery pick in a loaded draft class, re-signing Walker Kessler, extending Keyonte George - as they'll put the NBA on notice.
As they likely push themselves toward relevance again, they could also see one of their most intense rivals back in the fold: the Seattle SuperSonics. ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed that the NBA will vote to expand the league, and if it goes through, Seattle is among the teams chosen to get an NBA team.
This first vote will allow the league to explore purchase processes for Las Vegas and Seattle. There will then be a potential final vote later in the year to finalize transactions to 32 teams -- if bids reach necessary threshold. In both voting rounds, 23 of 30 governors must… https://t.co/Xhmlbo48ZP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 16, 2026
If it goes through, it goes without saying that the Seattle SuperSonics would be back in the NBA after nearly 20 years. After being taken away in sketchy circumstances in 2008, one of the league's classic teams will finally be back in.
Congrats to Seattle for if and when they get their iconic NBA team back, but it also means the Jazz will get one of their most heated rivals back. When they do, they should have a three-word response:
Bring it on.
Jazz & SuperSonics had a legendary rivalry in the 90s
The old-school Jazz fans remember that, from the legendary days of Karl Malone and John Stockton, Utah was a Western Conference powerhouse throughout the 90s and formed multiple rivalries among their fellow powerhouses, chief among them the SuperSonics.
Utah and Seattle faced off four times in the postseason when the SuperSonics were in the league - 1992, 1993, 1996, 2000 (okay, that last one is cheating but that season technically started in the 90s!) - where they split their overall history at 2 series apiece.
It was actually the SuperSonics who prevented the Jazz from making the NBA Finals three straight times, as they beat them in one of the most intense seven-game playoff series Utah ever played in in 1996.
Utah never really got the chance to avenge that loss (the Gary Payton SuperSonics were a shell of themselves by 2000), but at least they stepped up over the next two years. Any Jazz fan who watched during that time remembers the SuperSonics all too well, and it's also easier to remember not only a playoff rival but a division rival as well.
If and when the SuperSonics return to the league, their rivalry with the Jazz wouldn't instantly be there, as expansion teams have needed a minute to become good (some more than others), but once both teams are relevant again, many will remember it as a rivalry renewed.