It was a little bit of a throwback scene right here in Seattle on Monday night: Steve Ballmer revving up the group on the prime of his lungs, and NBA hoops again on the hardwood.
The previous Microsoft CEO had Local weather Pledge Enviornment roaring as he took the microphone at midcourt simply earlier than a preseason recreation between the Los Angeles Clippers, which Ballmer owns, and the Portland Path Blazers.
“I’m so excited to have a recreation in my hometown of Seattle, Washington!” Ballmer yelled, pumping his fist and pacing round in his trademark energetic fashion.
The sport represented the primary NBA motion on the redeveloped area, which was dwelling to the Seattle Supersonics till 2008 when the crew left city for Oklahoma Metropolis.
The departure left a big void within the metropolis — one which Ballmer almost helped fill whereas he was operating Microsoft, headquartered in close by Redmond, Wash.
Earlier than he bought the Clippers for $2 billion in 2014, Ballmer was part of an ownership group that attempted to maintain the Sonics in Seattle in 2008. He then turned part of an funding crew that attempted to construct a brand new area south of downtown.
Since shopping for the Clippers, Ballmer has made it clear from the start that he is not going to transfer the crew to Seattle. Nevertheless, when it comes time for NBA growth, he said he will be in a position to make the case for Seattle to the rest of the league.
In his 75-second speech on Monday, Ballmer thanked the Blazers, owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen since 1988 earlier than he handed in 2018. He stated Allen “acquired me excited by basketball.”
Paul Allen’s sister, Jody Allen, is managing The Paul G. Allen Belief, which nonetheless maintains possession of Portland’s crew. Jody Allen was sitting courtside on the recreation Monday.
Ballmer closed out the speech by asking the group: “If this can be a basketball metropolis, rattling it, let’s hear it!”
Approached by GeekWire on the court docket throughout pre-game warmups, Ballmer greeted us warmly however stated he wasn’t capable of remark for this story.
Ballmer sat courtside throughout the recreation along with his spouse, Connie, and displayed a full vary of emotion, locked into the motion till the ultimate seconds, even at a preseason matchup.
The sport had a who’s-who in attendance, together with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who’s a part-owner of the Seattle Kraken, the town’s NHL crew that debuted final 12 months. Seattle-based tech big Amazon bought the naming rights to the building in 2020 and adjusted its title from KeyArena to Local weather Pledge Enviornment.
Authorities leaders got here out to the occasion, together with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and King County Government Dow Constantine.
And naturally, Sonics legends confirmed up: Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Lenny Wilkens, Sam Perkins, Detlef Schrempf. Former head coach George Karl was additionally within the crowd. They have been all honored on the court docket throughout the recreation.
“I don’t assume we’ve to show something to the NBA,” Schrempf informed GeekWire earlier than Monday’s recreation. “They perceive we’ve a fantastic fanbase; we’ve a tremendous facility; and we’ve sufficient wealth on this metropolis that may assist a crew and pay for all of the stuff that’s wanted.
“It’s nice for individuals to see this,” Schrempf stated of the sport, “and maintain our hopes alive.”
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