Truth + Media — the creative media business of NBA Hall of Fame Coach George Karl — and Seattle magazine have entered into a strategic partnership. Truth + Media’s Iconic Sonics production is the leading content source for stories and discussion about the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics, who began play in 1967 and remained in Seattle until relocating to Oklahoma City in 2008. Seattle magazine is proud to amplify local changemakers who continue to elevate our city.

George Karl fondly recalls the days when defense in the NBA was akin to aggravated assault and the three-point shot was a specialized weapon practiced only by a handful of deadeye shooters.

“The ‘90s was more about defense and the best games were like wrestling matches,” recalls Karl, former longtime Seattle SuperSonics coach and a 2022 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. “And no one thought the three-point shot was going to work the first couple years.”

Karl, former SuperSonics shooting guard and NBA All-Star Dale Ellis, and former ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne — who grew up in Kent — were in Seattle Feb. 26 to appear on the Iconic Sonics podcast.

Podcast host Alyssa Charleston with George Karl, Dale Ellis and Kenny Mayne.

Photo by Linda Lowry

The event featured a private luncheon with about 70 people before the Beer Hall filled up for the afternoon podcast. It’s one of many events Truth + Media is holding in the Seattle area as rumors persist that the NBA will soon begin an expansion process that could return a team to Seattle. The Sonics left for Oklahoma City 15 years ago.

Ellis, a sharpshooter who won the NBA’s three-point contest in 1989, recalled the excitement around the Sonics when he played here from 1986-1990. Mayne said the Sonics sparked “a great sense of belonging” across the entire region.

“You could say you were part of something really cool,” says Mayne, who left ESPN in late 2021 after 27 years with the network. “You could see the effect they had, the rollover in business, and all the other good things.”