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Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | January 17, 2007

"You can punch him in the face or prove him wrong," responded McDaniel to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "and Red's too old for me to punch."

The Sonics would go on to prove Auerbach wrong, first by making the playoffs. Then, they shocked the NBA by becoming the first number seven seed in the history of the NBA to win a playoff series, ultimately advancing to the Western Conference Finals. SUPERSONICS.COM went to the players and coaches responsible for the team's playoff run and asked them to tell their story in their own words.

GUARD NATE MCMILLAN: I did take (Auerbach's comment) personally. For him to make a comment like that ... I think some people, when they have a little success, they feel they know everything about the game and about people. I knew that he didn't know me. The comment was made and it did become personal. I really have never had respect for him after that.

FORWARD XAVIER MCDANIEL: To be honest, I was like, 'I don't want to go through this again.' I lost more games in one year than I lost in high school and college combined. So it was a very frustrating year for me because I wasn't accustomed to losing. I came in thinking I didn't know what was going to happen. I just knew that I couldn't go through another 31-51 season. I didn't know what we could do.

ASSISTANT COACH TOM NEWELL: I heard about the preseason fate of our team and I think the players, to a man - beginning with X and probably Tom Chambers as well - weren't going to be denied. Bernie established real early that the team was going to take on his personality. We went into every game feeling that we belonged and we proved it by the way we competed. As long as we left it on the floor, Bernie was always happy with that. We were known as playing very hard and together.

FORWARD RUSS SCHOENE: Like every team, you think you're better than your record shows, but we had everything needed to be a good team. I think that was the year we had three guys averaging 20 points per game. We had rock-solid guys at four of the five spots on the floor except maybe Nate as a rookie.

It took some time for Coach Bernie Bickerstaff to sort out his talent, particularly at guard. Six games into the season, the Sonics dealt starting off guard Gerald Henderson to New York for a future second-round pick and the right to swap first-round picks in either 1987 or 1989. The move made Dale Ellis a starter. The ninth pick of the 1983 Draft, Ellis had played sparingly in three seasons in Dallas. The Mavericks featured stars Rolando Blackman and Mark Aguirre on the wings, as well as veteran Jay Vincent and another promising future Sonics player, Detlef Schrempf.

GUARD DALE ELLIS: I wanted out of Dallas, I wanted an opportunity to play basketball. I sat there and studied the game for three years under Dick Motta, who's an excellent coach. I wanted an opportunity to show what I could do.

DALLAS FORWARD DETLEF SCHREMPF: The second unit used to beat the first unit in practice all the time. Dale and myself, young stars, and Derek Harper. It was obvious that Dale had game. He was a good player, and when he got a chance to play, he performed.

"It was obvious that Dale had game. He was a good player, and when he got a chance to play, he performed." Stephen Dunn/NBAE/Getty

NEWELL: When Dale came in, my assignment from Bernie was you need to take Dale and teach him footwork and teach him how to play the two. That's what we did. Dale dedicated himself over a two-week period there and the transition was smooth. It was incredible. There weren't a lot of people that knew Dale had that kind of talent, but he did it himself. He made a decision - 'If I'm going to play, I'm going to put the time in' - and he did.

The starting lineup was completed in late December, when McMillan moved into the starting lineup in place of veteran Danny Young. The unheralded rookie out of North Carolina State would prove a quick study, tying the NBA rookie record and setting a Sonics record in February by handing out 25 assists.

MCMILLAN: I was so happy to be drafted into the NBA and have the opportunity to compete for a spot on an NBA team. To make that team, it was somewhat of a dream come true. To get to that point - being not an All-Star throughout your career - to play professional ball was amazing for me.

NEWELL: Nate was somebody I remember talking to Bernie about. When he got him, I told Bernie, 'You've got a sleeper in the draft, because this guy can play two positions - maybe three positions defensively.' Then I told him about how I scouted Nate against North Carolina. True story. It was down to crunch time. One of his teammates took a shot, it came off, Nate was in the lane running. He caught it and in one swoop threw it down. The scouts then sat under the basket in the old arena in Raleigh. Guys are hitting one another - they couldn't believe what they just saw.

ASSISTANT COACH BOB KLOPPENBURG: Bernie Bickerstaff was really responsible for that, because he was a second-round pick and he saw that in him. The minute we had him that first year, I could sense his leadership. It was kind of doubtful then because he was hurt and he was out a lot, but you could see the potential in him.

McMillan set up a trio of high scorers. Ellis (24.9 points per game), Chambers (23.3 ppg) and McDaniel (23.0) all topped 20 points per game. The Ellis-Chambers-McDaniel trio repeated the feat the following season, but no NBA trio has done it since. All three players were in the NBA's top 15 in scoring and could dominate on any given night.

ELLIS: I loved it. We had role players that were fine with the fact that Xavier, Tom Chambers and myself would get the majority of the shots. That was just beautiful, because if Xavier didn't have it one night, Tom would or vice versa. Either one of those guys could put up 30-plus points any night. It was OK if you stumbled. You could walk into the arena knowing you could just play basketball. The whole focus was not on you. It was a beautiful environment.

80s NIGHT

Xavier McDaniel will be on hand Friday as the Sonics celebrate 80s Night as they take on the Milwaukee Bucks. Throw on your '80s finest and take advantage of a special Pepsi ticket offer.

MCDANIEL: Tom Chambers and Dale were the go-to guys. I was that third go-to guy where, if one of them was slacking off, I could pick it up offensively.

MCMILLAN: There's only very few teams - I can't think of another - that had three players that scored 20 points. I never gave myself credit, but I would have to tap myself on the shoulder. Those guys could score. The strength of my game was getting the ball to scorers and we had three guys who could score. If you gave them the ball in the right spot, they could put the ball in the hole. It was a lot of fun playing with X, Dale and Tom.

KLOPPENBURG: They were all excellent offensive players, but the thing that always stuck out to me was that they bought into the defensive scenario because I think they felt that was our one way to get to the playoffs. As great as offensive players as they were, sometimes that doesn't happen. They got to take a lot of pride (in their defense). Xavier McDaniel became very effective in our trapping scenarios with his aggressiveness. Tom Chambers was not a good defensive player, but that year he really focused on it.

Near midseason, the Sonics - with a record above .500 - began to realize they could compete in the Western Conference.

NEWELL: I'd say (I knew) when we matched up against the Lakers and we held our own, we didn't back down. With three All-Stars - actually four, because Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) was an All-Star alternate the year before - and we beat them up here [125-101 on Jan. 28]. It was a big win, a huge win. It was one of those situations where we realized at that point that we could play up and compete.

MCDANIEL: Bernie had us believing that if we walked in fire, we would come out fine, with no scratches. We bought into the system.

CENTER MAURICE LUCAS: I think they just needed leadership, somebody who had been there, done that. Fortunately for me, I had a chance to be that and do that. We were a real competitive team. It took us probably about half a season before Tom and X felt free enough to move the ball around. They were young, they were trying to get what they called 'theirs' and not understanding that if the team won, everybody won.

"I was a late replacement and ended up being the Most Valuable Player. It was like a fairytale thing and certainly could never be duplicated." Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty

The NBA turned its eyes to Seattle in February, when the All-Star Game came to the Kingdome. None of the Sonics three high-scoring stars was initially picked to play in the game, but when Houston forward Ralph Sampson was unable to play due to injury, NBA Commissioner David Stern sought a hometown replacement. Chambers was named to the team and picked to start by West Coach Pat Riley. Chambers responded with a storybook performance, scoring 34 points in the West's 154-149 overtime win - 14 in the fourth quarter. For his efforts, Chambers was named the game's MVP.

FORWARD TOM CHAMBERS: Coach Pat Riley, who is a smart coach - he just won the championship in Miami - asked me to start. He wanted 50,000 fans on his side.

MCDANIEL: I was there watching the game. It was unbelievable that a guy that wasn't initially selected to be in that game was MVP. I was really happy for Tom, because I felt Tom never got his due. The turnout was beautiful in the Kingdome. It was a packed house. After the game, I went down there and congratulated Tom for his performance. He had a heck of a performance.

CHAMBERS: I was a late replacement and ended up being the Most Valuable Player. It was like a fairytale thing and certainly could never be duplicated.