Round Two: ’79 vs. ’19 / ’96 vs. ’05 / ’12 vs. ’93 / ’16 vs. ’20
In the first round of voting to decide the best SuperSonics or Thunder team in the organization’s history, the recent teams did much better than their older opponents.
Most notably, the No. 12 2020 Thunder team upset the No. 5 1998 Sonics.
In Round 2, there are no more byes, meaning the NBA Champion 1979 SuperSonics, the 1993 Gary Payton/Shawn Kemp team, the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook-James Harden Thunder and the final Durant-Westbrook team are competing.
The following pages have a description of each team followed by a poll to vote for the winner.
Round One: Closed March 23, 11:59 p.m.
Round Two: Closes March 27, 11:59 p.m.
Semifinals: Closes March 31, 11:59 p.m.
Championship: Closes April 4, 11:59 p.m.
No. 1 1978-79 Sonics vs. No. 9 2018-19 Thunder
1 seed: 1978-79
Regular season record: 52-30
Playoff result: Won NBA Finals
In the only championship in franchise history, the Sonics were led by a young guard duo in Gus Williams, who would be a two-time All-NBA player, and Dennis Johnson, a future Hall of Famer. In the post was Hall of Fame center Jack Sikma.
Key Players:
Dennis Johnson — The 24-year-old, in his third season, made his first All-Star appearance and averaged 15.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Johnson won Finals MVP.
Gus Williams — Williams, 25, averaged 19 points, four assists and three rebounds per game while shooting 49.5% as a point guard.
Jack Sikma — The center with modern shooting and passing traits averaged 15.6 points, 12.4 points, 3.2 assists per game. He made his first of seven straight All-Star games with Seattle.
Fred Brown — The guard averaged 14 points on 46.9% shooting.
Lonnie Shelton — Shelton averaged a block and a steal per game while scoring 13.5 points and shot above 50% from the field.
Paul Silas — The five-time All-Defensive player won his third championship this season, his second-to-last year in the NBA.
John Johnson — The two-time All-Star averaged 29 minutes, 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game.
9 seed: 2018-19
Regular season record: 49-33
Playoff result: Lost Western Conference First Round
Paul George emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate in his second year with the Thunder and Russell Westbrook continued to rack up triple-doubles, but Oklahoma City was unable to get out of the first round of the playoffs.
Key players:
Paul George – George was one of the best two-way players in the league in 2018-19, averaging 28 points with 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.2 steals and lockdown defense. He was named to the All-NBA First Team.
Russell Westbrook – Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the third year in a row and led the league in assists for the second year in a row, posting 22.9 points, 10.7 assists and 11.1 rebounds per game. He was named to the All-NBA Third Team.
Dennis Schroder – Schroder provided a much-needed bench boon for the Thunder, averaging 15.5 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 boards per game.
Steven Adams – Adams posted 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game and averaged more offensive rebounds (4.9) than defensive (4.6).
Jerami Grant – Grant averaged 13.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and about one steal and block apiece per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and 39.2% from three.
Terrance Ferguson – The second-year player started all 74 games he appeared in and averaged 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.0 steal in about 26 minutes per game.
No. 2 1995-96 Sonics vs. No. 7 2004-05 Sonics
2 seed: 1995-96
Regular season record: 64-18
Playoff result: Lost NBA Finals
Prime Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp reached the NBA Finals after taking down the Sacramento Kings in four games and then sweeping the Houston Rockets. They lost in the championship to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
Key players:
Gary Payton – One of Gary Payton’s finest years, the point guard won Defensive Player of the Year by averaging 2.9 steals per game. He posted 19.3 points, 7.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 32.8% from three, which at that point was a career-high.
Shawn Kemp – Arguably Kemp’s best season, the All-Star averaged 19.6 points, a career-high 11.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. He shot 56.1% from the field. In the Finals, Kemp averaged more than 23 points per game.
Detlef Schrempf – At 33, Schrempf was still averaging 17 points per game and rounded it out with 5.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists in about 35 minutes per game. He shot 48.6% from the field and 40.8% from three.
Hersey Hawkins – In his first year with Seattle, Hawkins averaged 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 47% from the field and 38% from three while attempting 4.6 3-pointers per game.
Sam Perkins – Perkins, primarily a role player off the bench, averaged 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds and 26.5 minutes per game. He shot 35.5% from three on 4.4 attempts behind the arc per game.
Ervin Johnson – In 18.8 minutes per game, Johnson averaged 5.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
7 seed: 2004-05
Regular season record: 52-30
Playoff result: Lost Western Conference Semifinals
The Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis-led team won 52 games, the most the franchise would win in the decade, and reached the conference semifinals before the injury bug hit and the Sonics lost to the eventual-champion San Antonio Spurs.
Key players:
Ray Allen – Allen posted 23.9 points while attempted seven 3-pointers per game and grabbing 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assist to go with 1.1 steals to earn an All-NBA Second Team nod. He was dominant in the playoffs, averaging 32.4 points against the Sacramento Kings. He suffered a right ankle sprain in Game 1 against the Spurs, though, and then averaged 24 points in the next five games.
Rashard Lewis – Lewis, 26, made his first All-Star game as he averaged 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and shot 40% from three while taking six per game. He posted 22 points in Game 2 against the Spurs and a double-double in Game 3, but he was forced to miss the remainder of the series due to a sprained toe.
Luke Ridnour – The starting second-year point guard averaged 10 points and 5.9 assists in 31.4 minutes per game.
Antonio Daniels – The point guard averaged a career-high 11.2 points to go with 4.1 assist in 75 games, all but two of which were off the bench.
Danny Forston – In 17 minutes per game, Fortson averaged 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per. He often played center behind Jerome James, who started 80 games but only averaged 16.6 minutes per with 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Reggie Evans – Evans started 79 games and averaged 24 minutes per game, posting 4.9 points and 9.3 boards per contest.
No. 3 2011-12 Thunder vs. No. 6 1992-93 Sonics
3 seed: 2011-12
Regular season record: 47-19 (lockout-shortened year)
Playoff result: Lost NBA Finals
Favored to beat the Miami Heat entering the NBA Finals, the league looks back at this rendition of the Thunder as a what-could-have-been with the young cast filled with future MVPs.
Key players:
Kevin Durant – Durant, 23, averaged 28 points, eight rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. In the playoffs, he scored at least 20 points every game and at least 30 points nine times, including in three of the five Finals games.
Russell Westbrook – Westbrook, 23, averaged 23.6 points, 5.5 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game during the season. He scored 37 points in a Game 4 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals and had 43 points in Game 4 of the Finals.
James Harden – The 22-year-old Sixth Man of the Year averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 39% from three. He helped the Thunder sweep the reigning champion Dallas Mavericks with 29 points in a six-point Game 4 win.
Serge Ibaka – Ibaka, 22, averaged 9.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and a career-high 3.7 blocks per game in his third season as a pro. He averaged four blocks in the playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers and two against the Heat.
Kendrick Perkins – Kendrick Perkins posted 5.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 27 minutes per game, all of which were starts.
Thabo Sefolosha – The final starter on this list, Sefolosha averaged 4.8 points and 3.0 rebounds while continuing to provide strong defense and shot 43.7% from three, on 1.7 attempts per game.
Derek Fisher – Fisher signed with the Thunder late in the season and played a prominent role in the playoffs, averaging 25 minutes per game in the Finals.
Nick Collison — Collison averaged 4.5 points and 4.3 blocks in 21 minutes per game.
6 seed: 1992-93
A young Kemp and Payton took the Charles Barkley Phoenix Suns to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.
Regular season record: 55-27
Playoff result: Lost Western Conference Finals
Key players:
Ricky Pierce – The shooting guard averaged a team-high 18.2 points with 2.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game
Shawn Kemp – The 23-year-old Kemp made his first All-Star game this season as he averaged 17.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. In the playoffs, he averaged a double-double with 1.5 steals and two blocks per game.
Gary Payton – At 24 years old, Payton hadn’t yet hit stardom and was a year away from his first All-Star appearance. He averaged 13.5 points, 4.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds while increasing his field goal percentage to 49.4% and getting 2.2 steals per game.
Eddie Johnson – One of the best career sixth-men in league history, Johnson put up 14.4 points in just 22.8 minutes per game for the Sonics.
Derrick McKey – In his final year with the Sonics, McKey averaged 13.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Sam Perkins – A midseason trade to the Sonics from the Los Angeles Lakers, Perkins was instrumental in the playoff run, averaging 14.4 points, 7.0 boards and 1.9 assists while averaging a steal and a block apiece. He scored at least 20 points in four playoff games and had double-digits in six of seven games against Phoenix.
Nate McMillan – McMillan averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 assists and 2.4 steals in 27.1 minutes per game. He started 25 games.
Michael Cage – The center, who started 66 games, posted six points and eight rebounds per game.
No. 4 2015-16 Thunder vs. No. 12 2019-20 Thunder
4 seed: 2015-16
Regular season record: 55-27
Playoff result: Lost Western Conference Finals
The Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t close out the series against Golden State, falling in seven games to bring an abrupt end to the Durant years in OKC.
Key players:
Kevin Durant – Durant averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
Russell Westbrook – Westbrook posted 23.5 points, 10.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Serge Ibaka– Ibaka had 12.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
Andre Roberson – Roberson had 4.8 point and 3.6 rebounds in 22 minutes per game. He started all 70 games he appeared in.
Steven Adams – The 22-year-old center averaged 8 points and 6.7 rebounds in 25 minutes per game as a third-year player, starting all 80 he appeared in.
Dion Waiters – In Waiters’ only full season with Oklahoma City, he averaged 9.8 points primarily off the bench.
Enes Kanter – Kanter posted 12.7 points and 8.1 rebounds – 3.0 of which we offensive – in just 21 minutes per game.
Randy Foye: Foye joined the Thunder midseason and averaged 5.6 points for Oklahoma City.
12 seed: 2019-20
Regular season record: 40-24 (postponed)
Playoff result: Fifth seed as of March 11
Hopefully this year’s Thunder team will get more games, because they were one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the league. Despite trading Westbrook and Paul George, Oklahoma City was in the thick of the playoff race.
Key players:
Chris Paul – Statistically the best player during crunch time this season, Paul has averaged 17.7 points, 6.8 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – The key player return from the George trade, the second-year player is posting a team-high 19.3 points with 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Danilo Gallinari – Gallinari, one of the best stretch-fours in the league, is posting 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting above 40% from 3.
Dennis Schroder – Schroder has been an elite sixth man this season, averaging 19 points with 4.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds and often closing out games as part of the three-guard lineup.
Steven Adams – Adams is averaging 10.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game to go with about a block and steal apiece in 27 minutes per game.
Luguentz Dort – Dort played himself into a key piece of the rotation with fierce defense. He averages 6.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
Nerlens Noel – In 18 minutes per game, Noel is averaging 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, one steal and 1.5 blocks per game.
Terrance Ferguson – Ferguson has started 37 games this year, and in 23 minutes per, he is averaging 4.2 points and 1.5 rebounds.
