Gary Payton Says NBA Will Bring Team Back To Seattle, 'It's Gonna Happen'

Get ready, Seattle ... the NBA is coming back -- at least, that's according to Gary Payton, who tells TMZ Sports he truly believes the Association is gearing up to put a squad back in the city soon.

The NBA legend said he feels it'll all come as part of an expansion effort in the next two or three years.

Payton explained ... he thinks NBA commissioner Adam Silver will add two teams to the league, one in Las Vegas -- and the other in Seattle. He said he figures it'll all go down around 2025.

"I think it's gonna happen," The Glove said. "I think us and Vegas should be a good starting point for what the NBA wants to do."

Of course, the league used to have a team in Seattle -- Payton played for it for 13 of his 18 NBA seasons -- but it relocated the franchise to Oklahoma City following the 2007-08 season.

Seattle mainstays have been pining for a return of the SuperSonics almost ever since -- with even Russell Wilson fighting for it during his time as the Seahawks' quarterback.

Payton tells us he's doing everything he can to facilitate the move ... saying he's already had talks about potentially being involved in the new ownership group.

"I'm already in the works with that," he said.