I was excited at the beginning of the 82-83 season. Sure, the Sonics were going after another broken down former star in the hope that he would suddenly get young and healthy and help them compete with the Lakers, and that hadn't worked before. But this guy was different. This was The SkyWalker - CAPTAIN Skywalker, the high-flying David Thompson. The same guy that people had argued - convincingly -- that he was a better one on one player than Dr. J.

Though standing only 6-4 (the Dr. was 6-7 with long arms), Thompson could sky every bit as high as Erving. I could have sworn sometimes when I had seen David in his prime that his sky-high dunks had been jammed down while his head stayed ABOVE the rim.

Unfortunately, rumors abounded that Thompson was a skywalker in a much worse sense as well: he was a cocaine addict. The addiction had taken something away from his game and his conditioning, and ultimately had led to a serious knee injury. Denver didn't want him anymore.

Enter Seattle. Sonic owner Sam Schulman had never shied from risk. Besides -- Thompson surely would pay for himself by increased ticket sales in the 40,000 seat Kingdome. Denver was interested in getting a player who hustled, and Bill Hanzlik fit the bill. So Hanzlik hustled over to Denver (after the NBA ruled the Sonics could not trade their rights to restricted free agent Wally Walker) and Thompson flew to Seattle. If he could just straighten himself out, I dreamed -- if he could return to form -- the Sonics would be great again. He was only entering his eighth season, he could play for 3 or 4 more years, easy.

Jack Sikma was starting center once again, contributing his usual scoring (18.2 pts), rebounding (11.4, sixth in the league), and elsewhere (3.1 assists, 83% free throws.) He had never missed a game. But years of pounding against the big men of the league, along with his heavy playing time, had taken its toll. This year he missed seven games due to injury, and he looked like he was grimacing in pain every time he plodded down the floor.

Lonnie Shelton was back at power forward, with his usual great defense, along with a few rebounds (6.0 per game), assists (2.9), points (12.4), plenty of fouls (3.8 per game) and lots of headaches (and backaches, and leg bruises, and who knows what else) for opponents.

Danny Vranes, the second year defensive ace, started at small forward, seeing 25 minutes per game and shooting 52% from the field (i.e., from close in.) His production was otherwise limited (7 points, 5.2 rebounds.) Wally Walker went to Houston, and Hanzlik was in Denver, so Vranes started almost by default. Ideally, he was the guy who would come off the bench when some smart-aleck opponent was scoring too much. Greg Kelser, the Sonics' other small forward, split time with Vranes, getting 19 minutes per game and managing 8.3 points and 5 rebounds. Kelser might have played more -- he was a decent scorer and rebounder -- but he fouled too much.

David Thompson started at guard, and saw a little time at small forward. Yes, he could still jump, despite his knee, but the sky dunks were less frequent and he had lost at least half a step. But a hurting David Thompson was better than none at all. He was still fun to watch. It was particularly gratifying to see him play against San Antonio--the team that had knocked the Sonics out the year before -- and sky over their new center Artis Gilmore. In 29 minutes per game Thompson averaged 16 points (he had averaged almost 26 two years before), 3.6 rebounds, and 3 assists. As a testament to his health, he played in all but seven games this season.

Gus Williams, the Wizard, continued to dominate in several categories, leading the team in scoring (20 pts per game), assists (8 per game, a career high), steals (2.3 per game, seventh in league), and had an assist to turnover ratio close to 3:1.

Other than Kelser, the main backups were Fred Brown, Phil Smith, and James Donaldson. Dowtown continued to score in double figures (10.2) and provide assists (3 per game), and his vision seemed to improve as well -- he shot 52% from the field, including 44% from three-point range. Smith was healthier than he had been the previous year, playing in all but three games and contributed 6 points and nearly 3 assists in only 15 minutes per game. Huge Donaldson continued to serve as a valuable backup at center. He was the team's second leading rebounder (6.1 per game), averaged 9 points, and shot only close in (58% from the field). Their main weakness was in backing up Shelton (Sikma took some of his minutes), and late in the season the team brought in Steve Hawes from Atlanta, a former player at the University of Washington.

As in the previous season, the Sonics boasted three players in the All Star game -- David Thompson, who started, plus Sikma and Gus Williams.

By the end of the season, there was little to complain about. The Sonics had gained revenge on the team that had knocked them out of the playoffs the year before, winning the regular season series against San Antonio -- an improved San Antonio -- four games to one. The Sonics' 48-34 record seemed acceptable, since they had made the Finals once before with only 47 wins. More importantly, the Sonics made the playoffs once again, though they were seeded fourth behind the Lakers, Spurs, and Suns. Their 29-12 record at home was good, but they would not have the home court advantage beyond the first round.

Not that it would matter.

In the first round, Portland (46-36) came out with all guns blazing. They were led by a balanced attack of Jim Paxson (scoring), Calvin Natt (scoring and rebounding), Mychal Thompson (inside scoring and excellent defense), Darnell Valentine (ball handling), Kenny Carr (rebounding), Wayne Cooper (more rebounding, plus shotblocking), and young Fat Lever (defense and ball handling). Despite Gus Williams averaging 32.5 points per game in the series, and decent rebounding by Sikma, Shelton and Donaldson, the rest of the Sonics fell flat. Fred Brown, usually reliable, made only 22% of his shots; David Thompson took a lot of shots but made only 36% of them; Danny Vranes could not keep Calvin Natt off the boards, or from scoring; hounded by Wayne Cooper and Mychal Thompson, Shelton went 4 for 23; even Sikma shot only 40% from the field; Phil Smith and Greg Kelser, meanwhile, saw little playing time. Gus by himself could not win the series. The Blazers swept the best of 3 series, winning both games by about 10 points.

For the first time in quite a while, the Sonics had lost in the first round. I hoped that was just an abberation, just as the 80-81 season had been.