Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best known for his 13-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he holds franchise records in assists and steals and led them to an NBA Finals appearance. He also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat. Payton won an NBA championship with the Heat in 2006. Nicknamed "the Glove" for his defensive abilities, Payton was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. In October 2021, Payton was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Donald Earl "Slick" Watts is an American former basketball player who was the first NBA player to lead the league in both assists and steals, in 1976.
Jack Wayne Sikma is an American former professional basketball center. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics, who drafted him in the first round with the eighth overall pick of the 1977 NBA draft. In 1979, he won an NBA championship with Seattle. Sikma finished his playing career with the Milwaukee Bucks. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Jerome Keith James is an American former professional basketball player. Originally from Tampa, Florida, James played college basketball at Florida A&M for three seasons and was the national leader in blocks per game in the 1997–98 season, his junior year. James declared for the 1998 NBA draft after his junior year, and the Sacramento Kings selected James in the second round of the draft. Over the course of his career, he has played for the Kings, Seattle SuperSonics and New York Knicks. He has also played for KK Budućnost Podgorica and the Harlem Globetrotters.
Calvin Lawrence Booth is an American basketball executive and a former professional basketball player who currently serves as the general manager of the Denver Nuggets.
Thomas Doane Chambers is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally from 1981 to 1997. Playing power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Chambers was selected to four NBA All-Star Games and was a two-time All-NBA Second Team member during his career. In December 2021, Chambers was nominated to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame but did not advance to the list of finalists.
David John Corzine is an American retired professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Reggie Williams is an American retired professional basketball player who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player at Georgetown University and was a member of their 1983–84 National Championship team.
Gregory Ballard was an American professional basketball player and NBA assistant coach. A collegiate All-American at Oregon, Ballard averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds over an eleven-season NBA career with the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors and briefly, the Seattle SuperSonics.
Rodney King Thorn is an American basketball executive and a former professional player and coach, Olympic Committee Chairman, with a career spanning over 50 years. In 2018, Thorn was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Samuel Lacey was an American basketball player. He spent the majority of his career with the Royals/Kings franchise. Lacey was selected as an all-star while playing for the Kings in 1975, and eventually had his number 44 retired by them.
James Michael McIlvaine is an American former professional basketball player who spent seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Washington Bullets, Seattle SuperSonics, and New Jersey Nets. The 7-foot-1 shot-blocking specialist is perhaps best remembered for the fall-out that occurred after he signed with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1996.
Daniel LaDrew Vranes is an American retired professional basketball player.
Kurt Nimphius is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nimphius played nine seasons in the NBA after his collegiate career at Arizona State University.
The 1990–91 NBA season was the 23rd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff was replaced by his former assistant K. C. Jones, and went on to occupy the desk of vice-president of Basketball Operations for Seattle, resigning months later to accept a job as General Manager of the Denver Nuggets. The Draft Lottery gave the SuperSonics the No. 2 pick, which was used to select future All-Star point guard Gary Payton out of Oregon State in the 1990 NBA draft.
The 1989–90 NBA season was the 22nd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. It was Bernie Bickerstaff's last season as head coach of the Sonics, and the first season for rookie and future All-Star forward Shawn Kemp, who was selected with the 17th pick in the 1989 NBA draft. After winning two of their first three games, the Sonics lost in a quintuple-overtime game on November 9 to the Milwaukee Bucks, 155–154 at the Bradley Center. The Sonics played around .500 for the entire season, holding a 22–23 record at the All-Star break, and peaking late in the season at 34–32 before going 7–9 to end their season, as they finished fourth in the Pacific Division with a 41–41 record, losing the #8 seed in the Western Conference to the Houston Rockets, who had the same record but were ahead after tie-breaks, and thus did not reach the playoffs.
The 2000–01 NBA season was the 34th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. The SuperSonics received the seventeenth overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected Desmond Mason out of Oklahoma State University. With the hopes of improving the team in the middle, the Sonics acquired All-Star center Patrick Ewing from the New York Knicks in a four-team trade, and signed free agent Pervis Ellison.
Russ Schoene is a retired American professional basketball player and former assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Washington.
Bayard Forrest is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'10", 235 lb center who played at Grand Canyon University before being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1976 NBA draft. Forrest never played for the Sonics, but he played one season for Athletes in Action and two seasons for the Phoenix Suns before retiring in 1980.
The 1988–89 NBA season was the Seattle SuperSonics' 22nd season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Sonics acquired Michael Cage from the Los Angeles Clippers. The SuperSonics won their first three games of the season, and held a 28–18 record at the All-Star break. However, the team lost seven straight games between March and April, but then posted an 8-game winning streak afterwards, and finished third in the Pacific Division with a 47–35 record.
