Warriors’ Kevin Durant dazzles in return to Seattle

SEATTLE — With the Warriors well on their way Friday night to a 122-94 preseason rout of the Kings, a capacity KeyArena crowd erupted in applause as Kevin Durant sauntered toward the bench.

There were still almost four minutes left in the third quarter, but Durant had done his job, dazzling a fan base that hasn’t seen him in Seattle since the Sonics left for Oklahoma in 2008. In 26 minutes, he scored 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting with seven assists and six rebounds.

The hope for Seattle is that Durant’s display Friday was the start of something bigger. In coming weeks, KeyArena will shut down for renovations that the city hopes will help lure another NBA franchise. Though the league doesn’t figure to expand or a have a team move soon, Seattleites made one thing certain: Their love for the NBA — and, by extension, Durant — remains strong.

As the team bus pulled up to KeyArena on Friday evening, Durant reflected on his lone season in Seattle. Before he appeared on nine All-Star teams, before he made the ultra-exclusive 50-40-90 club, before he cemented his status as one of the greatest scorers of all time, Durant was a rail-thin 19-year-old anointed the "Savior" by a fan base desperate to keep its NBA franchise.

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In retrospect, Durant concedes that it was a strange season. There was near-constant speculation about ownership’s desire to move the team, a rotating supporting cast and a franchise-worst 20-62 record.

But today, when Durant thinks about that Rookie of the Year season, he tends to focus on the relationships he built. In less than 10 months, he made lifelong friendships, carved out a spot in franchise lore and found a community he calls second home.

A decade after the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City and were rechristened as the Thunder, Seattleites still have a void that only the return of their beloved NBA team can fill. The hurt feelings they harbor over the Sonics’ departure, however, don’t stop many from viewing Durant as a sort of adopted son.

It is why Warriors president Rick Welts, a Seattle native and former Sonics ball boy, made bringing Durant back to Seattle a passion project in recent years.

When tickets to Friday’s game went on sale two months ago, they sold out in four hours. Roughly 90 minutes before tip-off, as Durant worked through his pre-game routine, fans in retro No. 35 Sonics jerseys hollered. Wearing green-and-gold KD 11s, he signed dozens of autographs after disappearing through the tunnel.

By the time Durant stepped onto the court for pregame introductions in a green No. 40 Shawn Kemp jersey, courtside seats were filled with such Seattle icons as Sue Bird, Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll, Brandon Roy, Gary Payton, Slick Watts, Jamal Crawford and the rapper Macklemore. With microphone in hand, Durant addressed the crowd of 17,074, thanking the WNBA’s Seattle Storm for "holding down the city" before acknowledging that it’s "been a rough 10 years."

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In the first quarter, the arena roared whenever he touched the ball. Durant, who fidgeted far more than usual during the national anthem, appeared to have some early nerves as he opened 1-for-4 from the field. It didn’t matter. Klay Thompson, another fan favorite for having attended Washington State, poured in 15 of his game-high 30 points in the first six minutes to pave the way to an early 21-6 lead.

Less than 24 hours removed from a 128-123 loss to the Lakers, the Kings didn’t offer much resistance the rest of the way. Not that Friday was about the results of a meaningless preseason game. After 10 years without the Sonics, fans were just pleased to welcome back Durant and celebrate the franchise they cheered for four-plus decades.

During a timeout midway through the second quarter, Payton and Detlef Schempf were honored as representatives from the 1996 NBA Finals team. Fred Brown, Lenny Wilkens and Jack Sikma stepped to the court late in the third quarter to represent the Sonics’ 1979 championship team. On four separate occasions, a familiar chant — "SUP-ER SON-ICS! SUP-ER SON-ICS!" — rained down from the rafters.

After getting over his early shakes, Durant put on a show, mixing tomahawk dunks with step-back three-pointers. The question now: When will another Durant-like player don a Sonics jersey? Though Friday was a joyful reunion, it was also a reminder of all Seattle lost when the Sonics moved.

Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Con_Chron