SEATTLE — One of the biggest nightmares for Seattle SuperSonics fans is one step closer to becoming reality.

On Wednesday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder demolished the Minnesota Timberwolves, 124-94, in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, clinching the team’s spot in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012.

The Thunder lost that series 4-1 to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat and judging by the reaction on social media, many Seattle fans are hoping for a repeat of that result.

Even with 17 years passing since the Sonics packed up and left for OKC, the hate that fans of the green and gold have for the Thunder doesn’t seem to have faded much, if at all.

“ESPN insists on living in the past with their NBA coverage,” podcast host Ross Read posted on X (formerly Twitter). “I think it’s insulting to the people of Seattle to show Sonics playoff highlights during an OKC Thunder playoff game.”

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault’s postgame speech provided another twist of the knife for Seattle, with Daigneault essentially thanking Thunder owner Clay Bennett for moving the team to Oklahoma City.

“Shout-out to Mr. Bennett, who had a vision 17 years ago,” Daigneault said. “He has tied this team to the community. And Sam (Presti) who has been here all 17 years — he’s brought that vision to life, and they’ve provided an unbelievable experience for everybody that works here, including the players, and all of our fans.”

ESPN’s SportsCenter broadcast said Tuesday that this will be the fifth Finals appearance in the Thunder’s franchise history dating to their time as the SuperSonics, much to the annoyance of some Seattle fans who prefer to think of the Sonics and Thunder as distinct entities.

“I just want them to stop using Sonics history with the Thunder,” local fan LaVendrick Smith posted on X. “Enough lol.”

Next week’s series will be the second time the team will make a Finals appearance as the Thunder. Before the franchise’s move, the Sonics lost to the Washington Bullets in the 1978 Finals, beat the Bullets to win the 1979 championship and lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in 1996.

So if the Thunder do manage to win the title this season, is it their first championship or their second? If you ask people from the Pacific Northwest, the prevailing opinion seems to be that Oklahoma City should stop taking credit for Seattle’s accomplishments.

“Stop it @espn. It’s the 2nd NBA Finals appearance for the Thunder franchise. Leave the Sonics out of it. #BringBackTheSonics,” Washington State University Cougar Athletic Fund Director of Communications Jason Krump said on X.

Former Sonics coach George Karl echoed those thoughts in a post on May 20, criticizing the media for the way it has written about the championship histories of the Thunder and Indiana Pacers, who seem likely to be Oklahoma City’s opponent in the upcoming Finals.

In his post, Karl included a screenshot of Sonics great Shawn Kemp being mentioned as a Thunder franchise great. Though it says “Seattle SuperSonics” above Kemp’s stats, he is wearing a blue and black Thunder jersey in the graphic.

“Media keeps saying the Pacers won 3 championships in the 70s and the Thunder last won 1 in ‘79,” Karl posted. “But both of those things are BS! The Thunder aren’t the Sonics and the Pacers incredible ABA titles are ignored in NBA records. These two wrongs should be righted!!”

While Seattle fans like to think of the SuperSonics and Thunder as different franchises, the reality is complicated.

Under the terms of the $45 million settlement reached between Bennett and the city of Seattle in 2008 that allowed the team to break its KeyArena lease and move to Oklahoma City, the two parties have a shared ownership of the Sonics’ history, but Bennett still owns the team’s retired jerseys, banners and the 1979 championship trophy.

Bennett agreed in the settlement not to use the Sonics name, color and logo in Oklahoma City, and the Thunder do not hang the team’s six retired jerseys in the rafters of the Paycom Center. Nick Collison’s No. 4 is the only number that has been retired by the Thunder. Collison was drafted by the Sonics and played four seasons in Seattle and 10 in OKC.

The Thunder do refer to the Sonics stats and history as their own, and Bennett called the Sonics memorabilia “assets” that he would use to market the Oklahoma City franchise.

While Bennett continues to own the memorabilia and trophy, and is permitted to replicate and make copies of them to display them in Oklahoma City, the Sonics’ title trophy is in a case at Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), and the team’s banners have been kept safely preserved there since the Sonics left.

If a new franchise does begin play in Seattle, Bennett agreed to return ownership of those items to Seattle, along with the logos and records.

Until that happens, Sonics fans will have to wait for the NBA to someday return to the city. When will that happen? It’s too early to tell, but NBA commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month that expansion will be on the agenda for the next meeting of the league’s owners in July. Seattle and Las Vegas are considered the favorites to land franchises.

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