The Seattle Supersonics were an iconic NBA franchise. Their fanbase is still one of the best in the NBA, and Seattle remains the primary breeding ground for elite hoopers from the Pacific Northwest, too. Players like Jamal Crawford, Zach LaVine, Paolo Banchero, Isaiah Thomas, Jason Terry, Dejounte Murray and more all hail from the area.

Seattle being fertile ground for basketball is in large part due to the success of the Supersonics. The team won an NBA championship back in 1979 and had some truly great teams in the 1990s, making another Finals appearance in 1996 against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. They've drafted some great players as well. Needless to say, there's a lot of history with the Supersonics franchise.

Unfortunately, the team was bought in 2006 by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, who initially insisted on making a good-faith effort to keep the Sonics in Seattle. Two years later, they moved to the Sooner State, re-branding as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The NBA needs to come back to Seattle and revive back the Sonics. Sorry to James Harden and Jalen Williams, but the history of the Seattle Supersonics deserves to be celebrated and remembered, which is why only players drafted by the green and gold, not the Oklahoma City Thunder, are being considered for this list. Without further ado, let's rank the 10 best draft picks in history of the Supersonics.

10. Dana Barros (No. 16 overall, 1989)

Dana Barros did not make his hay as a Seattle Supersonic. He made an All-Star team in 1995 as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, also winning Most Improved Player of the Year. It was the only season in Barros' career he averaged more than 20 points per game. He also set an NBA record by connecting on at least on three-pointer in 80 consecutive games.

Barros' VORP of 18.1 is very high among all-time Sonics draft picks, too. Not all of the guys on this list have made an All-Star game, but Barros did. That's good enough to get him in the top-10, his relatively nondescript tenure in Seattle be damned.

9. Nate McMillan (No. 30 overall, second round, 1986)

One of the nicknames on Nate McMillan's basketball-reference page is ‘Mr. Sonic.' That makes sense considering he played 12 seasons in the NBA, all of which came in Seattle.

His play made him a fan favorite and worthy of that Mr. Sonic nickname, too. McMillan was a sensational defender. He made two All-Defense teams during his career, forming an impenetrable backcourt duo with Gary Payton. McMillan even led the league in steals in 1994. He did enough as a floor-spacer too, making 34.3% of his threes for his career.

McMillan also posted a strong 27.2 VORP and 0.118 win shares per 48 minutes. His place in this top-10 is ironclad for now, just like his status as a Sonics legend will be forever.

8. Xavier McDaniel (No. 4 overall, 1985)

It's a shame that Xavier McDaniel couldn't stick around with the Sonics once they became a perennial contender. But he did make a big impact upon his arrival to Seattle.

McDaniels was runner-up to Patrick Ewing for Rookie of the Year, then averaged a career-best 23.0 points per game the following season, helping lead the Sonics to the 1987 Western Conference Finals. He made his first and only All-Star team in 1987-88. But a fight with teammate Dale Ellis and persistent locker room turmoil caused the Sonics to trade McDaniel during the 1990-91 season.

McDaniel was a very good player and talented scorer, averaging at least 20 points per game in four of his first six seasons in the NBA. He had a very solid career before calling it quits after 12 seasons in 1998.

7. Rashard Lewis (No. 32 overall, second round, 1998)

Rashard Lewis was another player who probably isn't best known for his time in Seattle, but that is where he spent the majority of his career. Believe it or not, nine of his 16 NBA seasons came with the Sonics. Lewis was named to his first and only All-Star Game with Seattle in 2004-05, averaging 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while establishing himself as one of the league's most dangerous long-range shooters.

Lewis is another one of those players whose game would've easily translated to the modern NBA. At 6'10, 215 pounds,  Lewis shot 38.6% from three for his career on 4.4 attempts per game. He could stretch lumbering bigs out to the perimeter and also bully smaller guys on the block.

Those skills really shined with the Orlando Magic, who signed-and-traded for Lewis with a six-year, $118 million maximum contract in July 2007. Flanking prime Dwight Howard, Lewis shined in Orlando and was a major reason why the team made lengthy playoff runs during his tenure, including a trip to the 2009 NBA Finals versus Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lewis' Magic lost that series, but he eventually won an NBA championship in 2013 after latching on with the Miami Heat, led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. Lewis is an underrated player, one whose supreme influence as a stretch four in Orlando helped usher in the league's revolution of space and three-point shooting. But his career began in Seattle, where Lewis remains one of the most notable players in Sonics history.

6. Shawn Kemp (No. 17 overall, 1989)

Shawn Kemp's nickname back in the day was ‘Reign Man,' the perfect label for a powerful, acrobatic high-flier who made instant-classic highlights like the one below seem routine.

A six-time All-Star who made three All-NBA teams during his career, all with the Sonics, Kemp rose to prominence as Payton's running mate in the 1990s. His last All-Star appearance came as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1998, his first season outside Seattle after the team traded him for Vin Baker.

Kemp was best known for his vicious dunks, but had a little bit of touch as well and was a tenacious rebounder. He averaged over 10 rebounds per game in every season from the 1991-92 to 1996-97 Kemp wasn't a hall of famer, and he doesn't quite crack the top-five of this list, but he was still a very good player and deserves his spot at six.

5. Jack Sikma (No. 8 overall, 1977)

Finally, a member of the Sonics' lone title team. Sikma was only a sophomore in the NBA when the Seattle won it all in 1979, but was still a major contributor. He averaged 15.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists across 36 minutes per game, also posting a positive assist-to-turnover ratio—extremely impressive numbers for a 23-year-old on a championship team.

Sikma continued his stellar play from there, averaging a double-double in seven of his nine seasons in Seattle. The only two he didn't were his first and final seasons with the Sonics. Sikma requested a trade from Seattle in 1986, eventuallyu being sent to the Milwaukee Bucks. While he never duplicated his production with the Sonics, the big man was still an impact player in Milwaukee, starting at center for four consecutive seasons.

Sikma made seven All-Star teams in his career, all with Seattle, as well as an All-Defense team in 1982. He was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, a fitting coronation for a Sonics icon.

4. Dennis Johnson (No. 29 overall, second round, 1976)

Another member of the 1979 title team, Dennis Johnson is best known for the contributions he made with the Boston Celtics during their 1980s heyday. He won two more championships with the Celtics and was on the receiving end of one of the greatest plays in NBA history, the ‘steal by [Larry] Bird' that clinched Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against the rival Detroit Pistons.

But don't sleep on what he did as a Sonic, let alone in his career as a whole. Johnson was named MVP of the 1979 Finals after averaging 22.6 points, six rebounds and six assists per game in Seattle's triumph over the Washington Bullets. He made five All-Star appearance, two of which came as a Sonic, and three All-NBA teams. Johnson was also named to nine All-Defense teams during his career.

Johnson was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2010, three years after his death at 52 years old. He'll always be a Celtics legend first and foremost. Johnson holds that same status in Seattle, though, a reality that almost makes his spot on this list seem too low. But considering who's ahead of him, No. 4 seems right for D.J.

3. Russell Westbrook (No. 4 overall, 2008)

Russell Westbrook never played a game in green and gold, but he was technically drafted by Sonics.

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The team left for Oklahoma City shortly after the 2008 draft, so the Seattle crowd never got to see Westbrook rumble through the paint and unleash hell on the rims at Key Arena. Westbrook is currently as polarizing a player as there is in the league, but there's no denying his gaudy past accomplishments as a member of the Thunder.

He's made nine All-Star appearances and nine All-NBA teams over his career. Only two of those were First Team selections, but Westbrook can't help the fact he's played in an era with all-time guards like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and James Harden. He's led the league in scoring twice and assists three times, feats many historical greats have never pulled off just once.

Westbrook also has an MVP to his name, won back in 2016-17 after Kevin Durant rocked the league by leaving Oklahoma City for the Golden State Warriors. And of course, Westbrook averaged a triple-double for three consecutive seasons; Oscar Robertson is the only person in NBA history to accomplish that feat, and he only did it once.

Westbrook doesn't have a championship, and his faults as a player have reared their head at the worst times in the postseason. But he is still an all-time great and a worthy member of the NBA's 75th anniversary team. He never played for the Sonics, but it would be wrong to exclude a superstar of his caliber from the top-three of this list.

2. Gary Payton (No. 2 overall, 1990)

Gary Payton is also a member of the 75th anniversary team. But unlike Westbrook, Payton did play for the Supersonics, and he's arguably (probably?) the greatest player in team history.

Payton was a nine-time All-Star and made as many All-NBA teams. ‘The Glove' also made nine All-Defense teams. Before Marcus Smart won Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, Payton was the last guard to have won the award when he won it in 1996. Not only was Payton clamping the best players in the NBA, but he also delivered at least 19 points and seven assists per game in every season from the 1994-95 to 2002-03.

Unfortunately, Payton couldn't deliver a title to Seattle. His best shot came in 1996 when he and the Sonics made the Finals, but they ran into Jordan's Bulls at the beginning of their second three-peat. Payton did eventually win a title in 2006 as a member of the Miami Heat. He at least got one ring, but it would've been much sweet if it came as a member of the Sonics. Nevertheless, there isn't a player more synonymous with the Sonics than Payton.

1. Kevin Durant (No. 2 overall, 2007)

Payton is the greatest Sonic of all-time, but he isn't the best player to ever don a Seattle uniform. That distinction belongs to Kevin Durant. It seems like eons ago, but Durant did play one season in Seattle before the Sonics migrated to Oklahoma City. He was hailed as an all-time prospect coming into the NBA and immediately hit the ground running once he made his NBA debut.

Durant has made 13 All-Star teams in his career across 15 seasons. He has 10 All-NBA selections to his name as well, six of which have been First Team selections. He won an MVP with the Thunder in 2014, and won back-to-back Finals MVPs with the Warriors on arguably the greatest teams in league history. He's won the scoring title four times in his career, and has a real case as the most gifted scorer ever.

Unfortunately for Seattle hoop fans, almost all of these accolades came after he and the Sonics left town. The only award they were able to see Durant win was the 2007 Rookie of the Year award. But that still doesn't take away from the fact that he's the best draft pick Seattle ever made. Now, the Sonics just need to come back so they can try to top these selections in the future.