<P> The Thunder's previous incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, were formed in 1967 . In their 41 seasons in Seattle, the SuperSonics compiled a 1745--1585 (. 524) win--loss record in the regular season and went 107--110 (. 493) in the playoffs . The franchise's titles include three Western Conference championships and one NBA title in 1979 . </P> <P> In 2006, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sold the SuperSonics and its Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) sister franchise, the Seattle Storm, for $350 million to the Professional Basketball Club LLC, a group of Oklahoma City investors led by Clay Bennett . The sale of the SuperSonics and Storm was approved by NBA owners the following October . In 2007, Bennett announced that the franchise would move to Oklahoma City as soon as the lease with KeyArena expired . </P> <P> In June 2008, a lawsuit brought by the city of Seattle against Bennett due to his attempts to break the final two years of the Sonics' lease at KeyArena went to federal court . Nearly a month later, the two sides reached a settlement agreement . The terms awarded the city $45 million to get out of the remaining lease at KeyArena, and would have provided an additional $30 million payment to Seattle in 2013 if certain conditions had been met . The owners agreed to leave the SuperSonics name, logo and colors in Seattle for a possible future NBA franchise; however, the items would remain the property of the Oklahoma City team along with other "assets", including championship banners and trophies . On September 3, 2008, the team name, logo, and colors for the Oklahoma City franchise were revealed to the public . The name "Thunder" was chosen in reference to Oklahoma's location in Tornado Alley and Oklahoma City as the home of the U.S. Army's 45th Infantry Division, the Thunderbirds . </P> <P> The Thunder participated in the Orlando Pro Summer League featuring their second - year players, potential free agents and rookies . The players wore generic black and white jerseys reading "OKC - NBA" against an outline of a basketball . The Thunder's temporary practice facility was the Sawyer Center at Southern Nazarene University, which had been used by the New Orleans Hornets when they relocated to Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina . </P>

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