It seems like a lifetime ago doesn’t it?

James Harden was the third overall pick in the 2009 Draft and the first ever pick for the Oklahoma City Thunder.  In his third year, Harden would a beast off of the bench and essentially formed a young “big three” with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.  This unit was so good that they took OKC to the NBA Finals and while they lost the 2012 Finals there was reason to believe that this triumvirate would take them to the Finals again and win. 

Arguably the most productive time of Ricky Pierce’s career was the time he spent with the Seattle SuperSonics where he spent the bulk of his time as the starting Shooting Guard.  Pierce would be named to his only All Star Team in the year he was traded from Milwaukee to Seattle and would average a very healthy 18.5 Points Per Game tally as a Sonic.

Lonnie Shelton would lead the NBA in Personal Fouls in his first two years in the league when he was with the New York Knicks, but he had much more control in his third season, where he went to the Seattle SuperSonics and was the starting Power Forward for the 1979 NBA Championship Team.  Shelton was very good defensively and would be named to a Second Team All Defensive roster in 1982, which was the same season that he would represent the Sonics in the All Star Game.

One of the first stars of the Seattle SuperSonics, Bob Rule was a scoring machine and the first option in the franchise’s early days.  Granted, the team was not very good, but Rule would average a double-double in his four years plus in Seattle, finishing as high 24.6 Points per Game in his final full season with Seattle.  He would go to the 1970 All Star Game.