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Seattle SuperSonics: 9 stars you forgot played for the Sonics

By Luke Duffy

Seattle SuperSonics' Patrick Ewing (L) battles with former teammate Larry Johnson (R) for a rebound in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden in New York 27 February 2001. Ewing, who was traded from the Knicks to Seattle in the off-season, was making his first visit to New York since the trade. AFP PHOTO Henny Ray ABRAMS (Photo by HENNY RAY ABRAMS / AFP) (Photo credit should read HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Seattle SuperSonics' Patrick Ewing (L) battles with former teammate Larry Johnson (R) for a rebound in the first quarter at Madison Square Garden in New York 27 February 2001. Ewing, who was traded from the Knicks to Seattle in the off-season, was making his first visit to New York since the trade. AFP PHOTO Henny Ray ABRAMS (Photo by HENNY RAY ABRAMS / AFP) (Photo credit should read HENNY RAY ABRAMS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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(Photo credit should read PAUL BUCK/AFP via Getty Images) /

1. Horace Grant

When you think of Horace Grant, you think of those iconic goggles in two different strips. The red of the Bulls, and the blue of the Magic. You might even remember him with the Lakers, where he actually won a fourth championship in 2001, after being a part of the first three-peat of the Bulls.

What is certainly less remembered is his time with the SuperSonics, and even to this day, it is strange to him in the jersey. To add another twist of irony to this, Grant was traded from the SuperSonics to the Lakers after only one season in a three-team deal that saw Ewing end up in Seattle.

Unlike some others on this list who were used sparingly or were far from their best while with the SuperSonics, Grant wasn’t actually too bad. He started all 76 games he played for them and averaged 35.4 minutes a night. The 8.1 points per night may not have been a lot, but one year later he started every regular season game he played for Lakers and averaged only 8.5 points as they won a championship.

Looking at the roster Grant played with essentially all of the same core guys as Ewing would one year later, which perhaps explains why they were never getting closer to truly contending again. This was before Allen arrived and changed their trajectory, although unlike Ewing a season later, the SuperSonics would actually make the playoffs.

They lost to the Utah Jazz in five games in round one, bringing an end to another season. Grant started all five of those games too, upping his minutes per game to 37. Once again proving that he was a guy who was capable of playing big minutes when it mattered, even if he was able to do little while there and didn’t have a lot of help.

Although 34 while in Seattle, it would have been interesting to see what more Grant could have done there if given the chance. If he’d stayed one more season in place of Ewing, and if some different free agent moves or trades had gone down, he could have been even more valuable to them. Instead, he went back to the Magic and Lakers for second stints, before calling it a day.

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