Professional Basketball Club

{{Infobox company

| name = Professional Basketball Club LLC

| logo =

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| type = Private

| genre =

| fate =

| predecessor = Basketball Club of Seattle

| successor =

| foundation = 2006

| founder =

| defunct =

| hq_location = 208 Thunder Drive

| hq_location_city = Oklahoma City, OK 73102

| hq_location_country = U.S.{{cite web|title=Contact Us|url=https://www.nba.com/thunder/contact|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=OKCThunder.com|access-date=May 8, 2023}}

| area_served =

| key_people = Clayton I. Bennett (Chairman, CEO)

| industry =

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| assets = estimated $590 million

| equity =

| members = {{ubl|Jeffrey Records Jr. (significant)|George Kaiser (19.23%)|Clayton I. Bennett|Aubrey McClendon estate|William Cameron|Jay Scaramucci|Everett R. Dobson|Robert E. Howard II}}

| num_employees =

| divisions = Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Blue

| subsid =

| homepage =

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}}

Professional Basketball Club LLC is an investment group headed by Clay Bennett that owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise (formerly the Seattle SuperSonics) and the Thunder's NBA G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue.{{cite web |title=The Professional Basketball Club LLC |url=http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Professional_Basketball_Club_LLC.22257961530a755d.html |publisher=Hoover's |date=February 6, 2015 |access-date=February 6, 2015}}{{cite web|title=The Professional Basketball Club, LLC|url=http://www.nba.com/thunder/ownership|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=OKCThunder.com|access-date=February 6, 2015}} The group also owned the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Seattle Storm franchise from 2006 to 2008. The PBC then sold the Storm to local Seattle owners, before relocating the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City.

History

On July 18, 2006, Basketball Club of Seattle, led by Howard Schultz, sold the Seattle SuperSonics and Seattle Storm to Professional Basketball Club after failing to reach an agreement with the city of Seattle over a publicly funded $220 million expansion of KeyArena.{{cite news|author1=Angela Galloway|author2=Phuong Cat Le|title=Sonics sold to ownership group from Oklahoma City|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/basketball/277945_sonics18ww.html|work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer|date=July 18, 2006|access-date=July 18, 2006}} The team relocated to Oklahoma City and began play as the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2008–09 basketball season, becoming the third NBA franchise to relocate in the 2000s.

The Professional Basketball Club on January 8, 2008, sold the Storm to an ownership group consisting of four Seattle businesswomen.{{cite news|last1=Farmer|first1=Sam|title=How the Sonics became the Thunder: A timeline|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-xpm-2012-jun-16-la-sp-0617-sonics-thunder-timeline-20120617-story.html|access-date=June 7, 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 16, 2012}} On July 31, 2008, the Tulsa 66ers, now Oklahoma City Blue, announced that Professional Basketball Club had purchased the team, marking the third NBA Development League team to be owned by an NBA team (Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs).{{cite news|title=Oklahoma City NBA group has purchased Tulsa 66ers basketball franchise|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/oklahoma-city-nba-group-has-purchased-tulsa-ers-basketball-franchise/article_9be495ea-d427-5c99-b14b-bccc893307b7.html|access-date=June 6, 2017|work=Tulsa World|date=July 31, 2008|language=en}}

In September 2013 the OKC Thunder added station KAKC, the 66ers' radio broadcasting partner, to its Thunder Radio Network.{{cite news|author=Staff Reports|title=Thunder gets new Tulsa radio affiliate|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/nba/thunder-gets-new-tulsa-radio-affiliate/article_38fca059-330c-5159-bd11-c77053685cc6.html|access-date=June 6, 2017|work=Tulsa World|date=September 10, 2013|language=en}} In April 2014, George Kaiser bought Tom L. Ward's interest in Professional Basketball Club, while Jeffrey Records Jr. sold part of his stake to Bennett while two other changed their stakes.{{cite news|title=George Kaiser Joins Thunder Ownership Group|url=https://www.nba.com/thunder/corporatenews/kaiser_140418|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=OKCThunder.com|date=April 18, 2014|access-date=May 8, 2023}}{{cite news|last=Wilmoth|first=Adam|title=Tulsa businessman George Kaiser buys stake in Oklahoma City Thunder|url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/business/2014/04/19/tulsa-businessman-george-kaiser-buys-stake-in-oklahoma-city-thunder/60831066007/|newspaper=The Oklahoman|date=April 18, 2014|access-date=May 8, 2023}}

Former members

Tom L. Ward
Aubrey McClendon (died on March 2, 2016){{cite news|title=Thunder part-owner McClendon dies in car crash|url=http://www.nba.com/2016/news/03/02/thunder-part-owner-dies-in-crash.ap/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpts|agency=Associated Press|publisher=NBA Media Ventures, LLC|website=NBA.com|date=March 2, 2016|access-date=March 3, 2016}}
G. Edward Evans

References

Category:Companies based in Oklahoma City

Category:Oklahoma City Thunder owners

Category:Sports holding companies of the United States