Paul Douglas Westphal was an American basketball player, head coach, and commentator.
Timothy Theodore Duncan is an American former professional basketball player. He spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA history, and was a central contributor to the franchise's success during the 2000s and 2010s. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who last coached for the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) before ending his playing career with brief stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic. Ewing is regarded as one of the greatest centers of all time, playing a dominant role in the New York Knicks 1990s success.
Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr., usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Pippen played an important role in transforming the Bulls into a championship team and popularizing the NBA around the world during the 1990s.
Clyde Austin Drexler is an American former professional basketball player and the commissioner of the Big3 3-on-3 basketball league. Nicknamed "Clyde the Glide", he played 15 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), spending a majority of his career with the Portland Trail Blazers before finishing with the Houston Rockets. He was a ten-time NBA All-Star and named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams. Drexler won an NBA championship with Houston in 1995, and earned a gold medal on the 1992 United States Olympic team known as "The Dream Team". He was inducted twice into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in 2004 for his individual career and in 2010 as a member of the "Dream Team". Drexler is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players and greatest shooting guards of all time.
Thomas Terrell Brandon is an American former professional basketball player. He played for three teams during his 11-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time All-Star, Brandon was a key starter on three NBA franchises before a series of injuries ultimately forced him to play his last game at 31 years old.
Jacques Dominique Wilkins is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA Team member and is widely viewed as one of the most acrobatic slam dunkers in NBA history, earning the nickname "the Human Highlight Reel". In October 2021, he was honored as one of the league’s greatest players of all-time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Gary Dwayne Payton 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. 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.
Walter Ray Allen Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2018. Allen is widely considered to be one of the greatest three-point shooters of all-time, and he held the record for most three-pointers made in a career from 2011 until 2021, when he was surpassed by Stephen Curry.
Nicholas John Collison is an American former professional basketball player who is a special assistant for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He spent his entire career with the Seattle SuperSonics, later renamed the Thunder in 2008. Collison was drafted by the SuperSonics in the first round of the 2003 NBA draft and retired as a member of the Thunder in 2018. As a college player, he went to two Final Fours as a member of the Kansas Jayhawks.
Daniel Lewis Majerle, also known by the nickname "Thunder Dan", is an American former professional basketball player and former coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. He played 14 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He won a bronze medal with the U.S. national team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and a gold medal at the 1994 FIBA World Championship.
Xavier Maurice McDaniel, nicknamed "X-Man", is an American retired professional basketball player who, at 6 ft 7 in, played both small forward and power forward. He played in college at Wichita State University.
Nathaniel McMillan is an American basketball coach and former player who previously served as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2012, and the Indiana Pacers from 2016 to 2020. He spent his entire 12-year NBA playing career with the SuperSonics, then served as an assistant coach for one-and-a-half years and as head coach for almost five years. His long tenure as a player and coach in Seattle earned him the nickname "Mr. Sonic".
Dennis Wayne Johnson, nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and an alumnus of Dominguez High School, Los Angeles Harbor College and Pepperdine University.
John Richard Motta is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Chicago Bulls. Motta is eighth all-time with 1,952 games as coach, while ranking 13th in wins and fourth in losses; he has the most wins of eligible coaches not currently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 25 seasons as a coach, he reached the postseason fourteen times.
Cedric Z. Ceballos is an American former professional basketball player. As a small forward, he played mostly for the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers, later finishing his National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, and Miami Heat.
Richard Charles Pierce is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Deuces" and "Big Paper Daddy", he was selected as an NBA All-Star (1991) and was twice the NBA Sixth Man of the Year while with the Milwaukee Bucks.
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.
Serge Jonás Ibaka Ngobila is a Congolese-Spanish professional basketball player for Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. Ibaka was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. Ibaka is a three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection and has twice led the league in blocks. Although born in the Republic of the Congo, Ibaka plays for the Spain national team. In 2019, he won an NBA championship as a key member of the Toronto Raptors.
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.
