A lot is said and written about the best individual draft picks in the history of the Sonics, with names like Gary Payton, Jack Sikma and Shawn Kemp immediately jumping to mind. In fact, an article on this site a year ago ranked the top ten. But what of the draft classes? With two picks in the top fourteen of this year’s draft, a situation they’ve been in just twice before in their history (1979 and 1987), the Sonics have the opportunity to find a pair of contributors and put together one of the best drafts in their history. What years would they be joining? SUPERSONICS.COM ranks the top ten, giving strong consideration to multiple contributors and players’ performance with the Sonics (while not ignoring their contributions elsewhere).

10. 1967
Key selections: 1(6) – Al Tucker
2 (19) – Bob Rule
5 (54) – Plummer Lott

The first draft in Sonics history gave the team a solid foundation to work with. Rule was the team’s first star, averaging 18 points per game as a rookie and 20-plus his next two seasons. An injury limited Rule to four games in 1970-71, and the presence of Spencer Haywood made him expendable. After being traded to Philadelphia, Rule had one more strong year. Tucker, the first pick in Sonics history, played two seasons with the team, averaging double-figures both years. He lasted just two more years in the NBA and one in the ABA. Lott was one of the lowest picks by round to make a Sonics team, playing two seasons.

Buechler played 12 NBA seasons. NBAE/Getty

9. 1990
Key selections: 1(2) – Gary Payton
2 (38) – Jud Buechler

Upon further review, maybe Payton alone would have been a top-ten draft. He has written his name throughout the Sonics record book, after all. However, the Sonics did pick up another player who contributed in the NBA, though not for them. He played 12 years with seven other teams, averaging a career-high 6.2 points per game with the Golden State Warriors in 1992-93. A strong shooter off the bench, Buechler was a role player on the Bulls final three championship teams.

8. 1979
Key selections: 1(6) – James Bailey
1 (7) – Vinnie Johnson
4 (73) – James Donaldson

Coming off of an NBA Championship, the Sonics had the good fortune to have a pair of top-ten picks. They had less fortune in that neither made a major mark in Seattle. Bailey, who had a nine-year NBA career, averaged 14.2 points per game during his second year with the Sonics before being traded to New Jersey. Similarly, Johnson broke out in his second year with the Sonics, averaging 13.0 points per game, before being traded to the East – in his case, Detroit. With the Pistons, Johnson would become a feared reserve scorer on two title-winners, earning the nickname “The Microwave” for his scoring prowess. The pick with the longest career both with the Sonics and overall was fourth-round pick Donaldson, who played three seasons with the Sonics before developing into an All-Star center in Dallas.

7. 1976
Key selections: 1(11) – Bob Wilkerson
2 (29) – Dennis Johnson

This draft, as much as any other, helped key the Sonics championship team. Wilkerson was traded after one year with the Sonics, part of the trade with Denver that brought the Sonics paint stalwarts Paul Silas and Marvin Webster. Part of the reason Wilkerson was expendable was the impressive development of Johnson, who would go on to be named MVP of the 1979 Finals, the highlight of a 14-year NBA career.

Drobnjak and his website have proven popular with Sonics fans. Sonics Photos

6. 2001
Key selections: 1(12) – Vladimir Radmanovic
2 (40) – Earl Watson
2 (42) – Predrag Drobnjak

Combined, the three players acquired on Draft night 2001 (Drobnjak was picked up in a trade for forward Bobby Simmons, drafted at pick 42) played 3,368 minutes as rookies on a playoff team. Last season, Drobnjak started regularly at center, Radmanovic was the Sonics sixth man and Watson emerged as a future starter at point guard – albeit in Memphis. Though these players have much of their legends to build, so far they’ve proven to be an excellent group.

5. 1974
Key selections: 1(3) – Tom Burleson
2 (26) – Leonard Gray
3 (44) – Talvin Skinner
5 (80) – Dean Tolson
10 (169) – Rod Derline

In terms of quantity, they don’t come any better than the 1974 Draft, from which five players ended up playing for the Sonics. Despite the fact that Burleson was the highest pick in Sonics history before Payton, the quality was not as good. Burleson never developed into the star the Sonics expected despite a strong sophomore year that saw him average 15.6 points per game. After three up-and-down years in Seattle, Burleson was packaged with Wilkerson to Denver. Gray was possibly more successful, playing two-plus seasons with the Sonics before being traded, averaging double figures each year. Skinner and Derline lasted two seasons apiece, while Tolson managed two years and one game. Skinner and Tolson have had lasting impact as members of the Sonics Legends program.

McKey played six years with the Sonics and eight with the Pacers. Sonics/Pacers Photos

4. 1987
Key selections: 1(8) – Olden Polynice
1 (9) – Derrick McKey

Alas, this draft is remembered more for who the Sonics didn’t get – Scottie Pippen, whom they drafted with the fifth pick before trading him to Chicago for Polynice, a second-round pick and the option to switch first-rounders in 1989. When the knowledge that Pippen became an All-Star is removed from the equation, however, this was actually a quality haul. Polynice was a starter for eight years in the NBA, and served two stints with the Sonics totaling four and a half years. McKey also had a long NBA career that ended after last season. He spent six years with the Sonics as a key player up front before being sent to Indiana in exchange for Detlef Schrempf.

3. 1971
Key selections: 1(6) – Fred Brown
2 (23) – Jim McDaniels

Brown’s value is obvious. He spent 13 seasons with the Sonics and is amongst the franchise’s leaders in several categories – as well as also being a part of the championship team. McDaniels played in the ABA the following season before the Sonics lured him to the NBA with a big contract before the 1972-73 season. Unfortunately, McDaniels never lived up to expectations, playing just two seasons with the Sonics.

2. 1998
Key selections: 1(27) – Vladimir Stepania
2 (32) – Rashard Lewis
5 (33) – Jelani McCoy

Taking where the Sonics were picking into consideration, this class has to be ranked near the top. Lewis, along with Johnson and 1986 selection Nate McMillan, ranks as one of the finest second-round picks in Sonics history. He is a key part of the team’s core going forwards and will only improve his value. Stepania was traded to the New York Knicks after two seasons in Seattle, but since has developed into one of the leauge’s better backup centers and rebounders in Miami. McCoy played three seasons with the Sonics before the team tired of his inconsistency, starting most of his final season. He played regularly for the Toronto Raptors last season, averaging 6.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Drafted a year apart, Kemp and Payton helped lead the Sonics to glory in the 1990s. Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty

1. 1989
Key selections: 1(16) – Dana Barros
1 (17) – Shawn Kemp

The last time the Sonics had a pair of first-round picks, they made good use of them. With the first pick, the Sonics played it fairly safe by selecting Boston College combo guard Barros. Because of the team’s depth at guard during his time in Seattle (Payton was selected a year later), Barros never made a major impact but was a solid reserve. He blossomed into an All-Star in Philadelphia and was one of the league’s most feared three-point shooters throughout his career. Kemp, who had never played an NCAA game, was a gamble. Sonics fans didn’t like it, booing the pick, but it played out perfectly. Kemp became one of the finest players in Sonics history, making five All-Star games with the team before being traded to Cleveland, where he continued to put up All-Star numbers the next three seasons.

Again, the Sonics might go for a point guard and a power forward with their selections this year. Will it work out as well for them this time? Only time will tell.