Spencer Haywood challenged the rules of the National Basketball Association by declaring himself eligible for the draft after his sophomore season in college.  The NBA refused to allow him to play (as the rule at the time was that a player was not NBA eligible until the college class graduated) so he went to the upstart American Basketball Association and promptly won the league MVP as a rookie.  As you can imagine, somebody from the NBA would covet a talent like this, which was occurred when Seattle signed him anyway and a lawsuit went all the way to Supreme Court.  The NBA settled and the Sonics had a star.

In every full season that Ray Allen spent with Seattle, he was named an All-Star.  Known for his sweet shooting skill, Allen’s season average never dipped below 23 Points per Game (as a Sonic) and without question, he was considered the king of the three-point shot.  Allen would later become part of a “big three” with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and win a Championship in Boston but guaranteed there were many in Seattle cheering him on in his later accomplishments.

The first German star of the National Basketball Association, Detlef Schrempf was already an All-Star (with Indiana) when he came to Seattle but it was in the state of Washington where he would become a national star.  Schrempf was a part of the Sonics' push to the 1996 Finals and would make two more All-Star Games while playing for Seattle.  Schrempf would post his best scoring season with 19.2 PPG (1994-95) as a Sonic.

Drafted later than most pundits thought he would be (he was 32nd overall and the last waiting in the “green room”, Rashard Lewis would blossom into stardom with the SuperSonics.  In the 2004-05 season, Lewis would make his first of two All Star Games (his second would be with the Orlando Magic) and rattle off three straight 20 Point per Game seasons.  He remains one of the most prolific three point shooter in Sonics/Thunder history.