The potential return of the Seattle SuperSonics and the Sonics Guy who never gave up hope ⁠84%

By Kim Malcolm⁠39% Vaughan Jones⁠0% John O'Brien⁠36%

3/26/2026, 12:30:53 AM

BS Summary: This article contains 18 faulty reasoning types, including Anecdotal, Framing Effect, and Halo Effect, with Optimism Bias as the most egregious example at 28% saturation with 97 hits. Analysis detected 648 faulty-reasoning hits from 346 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 75.4% and a BS Rank of ⁠84% (3,602 of 21,886 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 83.50% of the article peer group.

After 18 years without an NBA team, Seattle-area basketball fans see hope on the horizon. 
It's a hope for a return of the SuperSonics that one fan never lost. 
The National Basketball Association Board of Governors voted Wednesday to explore expanding the league with two new teams in Las Vegas and Seattle. 
It means that if new owners step up, and the NBA can work out a few other details, then Seattle can once again be home to the SuperSonics. 
RELATED: Locals respond to potential return of the Seattle SuperSonics — not just a regular team 
The Sonics left town in 2008 after being moved to Oklahoma City. 
But Tacoma's Kris Brannon never stopped showing his Sonics pride and keeping the team's spirit shining throughout the region. 
He became known as the "Sonics Guy." 
Brannon passed away five years ago at 47. 
"He was kind of a larger-than-life person," said Zaraya Skea, Brannon's younger sister. 
"He lit up every room whenever he came into it and he just loved making people happy, he loved spreading happiness." 
Sonics Guy was the ultimate fan. 
Despite the absence of the SuperSonics, he continued to dress head-to-toe in Sonics gear as he frequented farmers markets, city hall meetings, sports events, and more. 
He always brought a big Sonics sign with him. 
And Brannon never gave up the cause of bringing the SuperSonics back to Seattle. 
"I think he would be celebrating with other fans and friends," Skea said. 
"He would be very happy, but I think he would also be cautious." 
That's because past efforts to bring the team back to town were never successful and hopes were crushed. 
Seattle fans have often lurched from despair to hope and back. 
Not for the Sonics Guy, however, who kept shooting for a future win. 
KUOW's Kim Malcolm also spoke with Seattle Now producer Vaughan Jones for an update on the potential return of the SuperSonics. 
Listen to the full segment by clicking the audio above. 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 9.5%Kim Malcolm: 2.4%KUOW: 2.6%Confirmation Bias9.5%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.8%KUOW: 1.3%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 7.5%Kim Malcolm: 3.3%KUOW: 3.4%Availability Heuristic7.5%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.2%KUOW: 1.2%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 3.8%Kim Malcolm: 0.8%KUOW: 0.7%Hindsight Bias3.8%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.4%KUOW: 1.4%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 17.1%Kim Malcolm: 4.4%KUOW: 7.4%Framing Effect17.1%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.5%KUOW: 1.0%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.8%KUOW: 1.0%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 4.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.2%KUOW: 0.2%Sunk Cost Effect4.0%This article: 28.0%Kim Malcolm: 5.2%KUOW: 3.8%Optimism Bias28.0%This article: 9.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.3%KUOW: 1.8%Pessimism Bias9.0%This article: 10.7%Kim Malcolm: 5.4%KUOW: 8.0%Negativity Bias10.7%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.7%KUOW: 2.0%Self-Serving Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.2%KUOW: 0.9%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.2%KUOW: 0.2%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.7%KUOW: 2.0%In-Group Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.4%KUOW: 0.5%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 17.1%Kim Malcolm: 3.5%KUOW: 2.7%Halo Effect17.1%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.0%KUOW: 0.2%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.0%KUOW: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.1%KUOW: 1.1%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.4%KUOW: 0.4%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.0%KUOW: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.1%KUOW: 0.5%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.1%KUOW: 0.3%Straw Man0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 2.3%KUOW: 4.3%Appeal to Authority0.0%This article: 8.1%Kim Malcolm: 1.2%KUOW: 1.4%False Dilemma8.1%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.5%KUOW: 0.9%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.1%KUOW: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 8.4%Kim Malcolm: 4.1%KUOW: 4.1%Hasty Generalization8.4%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.1%KUOW: 0.3%Red Herring0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.6%KUOW: 0.8%Bandwagon0.0%This article: 9.8%Kim Malcolm: 3.7%KUOW: 6.1%Appeal to Emotion9.8%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.9%KUOW: 0.8%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 3.5%Kim Malcolm: 2.3%KUOW: 2.2%Post Hoc (False Cause)3.5%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.0%KUOW: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.5%KUOW: 0.3%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.4%KUOW: 0.2%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.3%KUOW: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 27.2%Kim Malcolm: 4.2%KUOW: 3.3%Anecdotal27.2%This article: 1.7%Kim Malcolm: 0.2%KUOW: 0.1%No True Scotsman1.7%This article: 1.7%Kim Malcolm: 2.4%KUOW: 1.4%Ambiguity (Equivocation)1.7%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.0%KUOW: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.2%KUOW: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.2%KUOW: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.1%KUOW: 0.2%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.2%KUOW: 0.2%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 6.1%Kim Malcolm: 1.2%KUOW: 1.0%Unattributed Quote6.1%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.3%KUOW: 0.8%Quote-first Misdirection0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 3.9%KUOW: 3.2%Biased Writer Voice0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 1.4%KUOW: 1.5%Indoctrination0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.7%KUOW: 1.1%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Kim Malcolm: 0.1%KUOW: 0.2%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 14.2%Kim Malcolm: 1.4%KUOW: 1.3%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…14.2%

346 words analyzed.

Speakers

3speakers29%attributed speech244writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageNational Basketball Association Board of Governors • 23 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 12 words • 0.0% coverageKris Brannon • 19 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 7 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 8 words • 0.0% coverageZaraya Skea • 13 words • 0.0% coverageZaraya Skea • 21 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 6 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 26 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 9 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageZaraya Skea • 13 words • 0.0% coverageZaraya Skea • 13 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 21 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 100.0% coverage
Selected voice

Zaraya Skea

100%flagged-word coverage
60 attributed words59% of attributed speech97% writer coverage
0%7.5%15.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -10.7 ptsWriter: 10.7%Zaraya Skea: 0.0%0.0%Unattributed Quote-8.6 ptsWriter: 8.6%Zaraya Skea: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.