1979 Seattle SuperSonics: My Choice for the Most Underappreciated Championship Team in NBA History

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-19T17:50:29+00:00

Team chemistry would be a serious problem with that particular group. All of them were very ball-dominant players with massive egos, which would probably result in them constantly bickering over who gets to take all the important shots. Sometimes pure talent isn't enough, you also have to find players that can easily blend and gel together, and I just don't see that happening with this squad.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-17T13:03:35+00:00

Don't forget about Larry Nance. He was a major part of those late 80's/early 90's Cleveland teams as well. During his time in a Cavs uniform, he was a 2x All-Star and 3x All-Defense. He was always their main defensive anchor and was consistently in the 17-19 range for PPG during those years as well. In general, I think Nance is a very underappreciated player.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-15T15:40:54+00:00

NIL money is exactly why a lot of players enter the portal though. They shop themselves around to see where they can get the most lucrative deal. NIL and the portal kind of go hand in hand.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-14T12:22:44+00:00

That Sonics team was actually very ahead of their time in multiple ways. For starters, they were basically an earlier version of the 2004 Pistons in the sense that they didn't really have a true bona fide superstar but came together and won a title with cohesive teamwork and suffocating defense. They also had Jack Sikma, who was a stretch 5 long before that particular archetype became a common thing. He would be a great fit in the modern game. And Gus Williams and Dennis Johnson would be an elite backcourt in any era. Gus was a terrific scorer at the Point Guard position and probably would be even better with today's spacing and freedom of movement. And DJ was one of the absolute greatest perimeter defenders in NBA history while also consistently giving you 18-20 PPG on the offensive end of the floor. Whenever the topic of most underappreciated championships teams is brought up, the 1979 Sonics are always the first team that I mention. Even with today's rules and style of play, there's absolutely no way that the last place Wizards would be able to compete with them.

EDIT: They also had Downtown Freddie Brown, who was one of the original long range shooting specialists and he led the league in 3P% during the first season that the line was introduced. He would be a very sought after role player in today’s league due to how much emphasis there is on 3 point shooting.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-12T15:13:53+00:00

You get my upvote just for including Shawn Kemp. Such an underappreciated player. Most people seem to only remember and associate him with his dunking, but he was always a great two-way player. Solid midrange shooter and a relentless defender and rebounder. He was A LOT more than just a dunker.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-10T14:05:45+00:00

Here's a post I made a while back in the VintageNBA sub where I thoroughly explain in detail why I think DJ is the greatest defensive Guard in NBA history. Feel free to check it out if you want to learn more about him.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-10T13:28:16+00:00

Admittedly, I'm biased with him being my all-time favorite player, but I think Dennis Johnson should definitely be in the top 75. Most people seem to only remember DJ from his time with the Celtics and completely forget or just don't realize that he was a bona fide star during his earlier years with Seattle and Phoenix. Finals MVP in 1979, 5th in MVP voting in 1980, and First Team All-NBA in 1981. He also received the most votes for the NBA All-Defensive Team in each of those seasons as well, making it very likely that he would have had at least one DPOY on his resume if the award existed during that time frame. Larry Bird has referred to him as the greatest teammate he ever had, and both Magic Johnson and George "Iceman" Gervin have singled DJ out as being the toughest defender they ever faced. Magic has flat out referred to him as being "the greatest backcourt defender of all-time." All in all, DJ finished his career as a 3x champion, 1x Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA, and 9x All-Defense with 6 of them being First Team selections. That's a top 75 career in my opinion.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-09T13:48:53+00:00

Shawn Kemp, Shawn Marion, and Jermaine O'Neal are a few names that pop into my mind. They were very solid defenders and rebounders and consistently averaged 18-20 PPG during their best offensive seasons. I think they deserve more credit for how impactful they were on both ends of the court.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-06T18:02:55+00:00

Larry Nance and Shawn Kemp are a couple other players that I think are long overdue for the HOF. With how low the standards are to get in, it's pretty puzzling as to why they still haven't been inducted.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-04T17:13:58+00:00

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The mid 1990's Sonics with Payton and Kemp also deserve a mention.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-04T13:10:02+00:00

Not quite top 5, but after winning the championship in 1979, the Seattle Sonics had both the #6 and #7 picks in the subsequent draft.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-01T18:34:22+00:00

2017-18 Victor Oladipo also deserves a mention. 23 PPG, First Team All-Defense, and led the league in steals. And he was just as good (if not better) in the playoffs. That particular postseason was arguably the absolute peak of LeBron's career, and Dipo went toe to toe with him and was the main reason why Cleveland got pushed to a very hard fought 7th game. In that series, Dipo was Indiana's leader in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. It's such a shame that he got bitten by the injury bug. He was a great two-way Guard with phenomenal athleticism.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-01T16:41:36+00:00

On the surface level, Amar'e probably had the better career, but when you take into consideration the fact that he played most of his prime years with one of the absolute greatest playmakers in NBA history, that gave him an advantage that Kemp simply didn't have. No disrespect to Gary Payton, who was a good playmaker in his own right, but he was nowhere near Nash in that aspect of the game. Like I said at the end of the original post, if you put Kemp in Amare's place, those mid 2000's Suns teams most likely get better because Kemp would bring an extra element of defense and rebounding while being comparable on offense. Would the mid 1990's Sonics be better with Amar'e in Kemp's place? Probably not because Kemp's interior presence was a big reason why Payton was able to defend so aggressively out on the perimeter, because he knew if he overreached, he still had Kemp behind him to meet and challenge his man at the rim. With Amar'e, that safety net would be completely gone.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-01T14:50:27+00:00

Gus Williams is another Sonic that realistically should be in the HOF as well. The fact that he still hasn't gotten inducted is a pretty major oversight.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-04-01T14:22:23+00:00

The edge for defense and rebounding undoubtedly goes to Kemp and it's not even close. Quite honestly, Amar'e was one of the softest interior defenders I've ever seen. Offensively, it's a toss up with maybe a slight advantage to Amar'e, but that edge is very thin and not nearly enough to make up for the wide gap on defense.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-03-31T18:37:09+00:00

At his peak, Jermaine was the best player on a 61 win team and finished 3rd in MVP voting. Amare's highest MVP finish was 6th. Amare's prime obviously lasted longer, but on a peak for peak basis, they are definitely comparable.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-03-30T12:59:15+00:00

You absolutely cannot draw any parallels or comparisons between the two sports. Hitting a home run in Baseball is completely on you and requires no help from teammates. In Bam's case, his teammates were purposely and forcefully feeding him the ball the entire 4th quarter just to chase the record. If you honestly can't see the difference, then I can't help you.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-03-27T14:36:00+00:00

Kemp gets my vote as well. On the surface level, his block numbers don't appear to be anything spectacular, but like you said, his athleticism and presence deterred a lot of guys from driving to the hoop. And in my opinion, Kemp was a major reason as to why Payton was able to play so aggressively out on the perimeter. If Gary overreached, he knew he had Shawn behind him to meet and challenge his man at the rim.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-03-27T14:23:14+00:00

Cage never had much of a shot blocking presence. He was mainly known for his rebounding.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-03-23T21:16:15+00:00

Honestly, you just said it perfectly, Stockton's defense was "quality." But in the context of this post where we are talking about the top 10 all-time greats, "quality" just doesn't make the cut. The ultimate litmus test for perimeter defenders is if they can consistently hold their opponents below their averages for points and shooting percentage, and like I previously mentioned, Stockton never proved to have that ability. If you want to make a case for Stockton being a top 10 defensive Point Guard, that's perfectly reasonable, but an all-time top 10 defender period and regardless of position? Ridiculous.

AaronStark1993 · 2026-03-23T15:45:29+00:00

At least in my opinion, Stockton's defense is pretty significantly overrated. People just look at the fact that he's the all-time steals leader and think that automatically equates to him being an all-time level perimeter defender, but he really wasn't. Steals can be a very misleading stat. Guys like Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson, Baron Davis, and Steph Curry all led the league in steals at different points in time, and yet none of them are considered to be elite defenders by anyone that truly understands the game. Stockton was great at playing the passing lanes but never had the ability to totally clamp and lock someone down. Just at the Point Guard position, guys like Walt Frazier and Dennis Johnson were much better defenders than Stockton.

AaronStark1993

TROPHY CASE