It's where dynasties are built or franchises run into the ground. Fortunes can turn on a single Draft pick -- for better (Shawn Kemp) or worse (Pervis Ellison). While the Draft is a time of nervous anticipation for front office personnel and coaches who will be judged on how well they are able to look into their crystal balls and predict the futures of players who are in some cases still teenagers, for fans it's mostly an exciting time where every player is a potential steal and will lead the team back to glory.

In a special history feature, SonicsCentral.com presents a look back at recollections and recaps of past Drafts. We'll start with last year and work backwards.

2001
It was an exciting day for me, but not quite so much because of the Draft as the opportunity to get the word about the KGP out at the Sonics' Draft party. In the morning, I was a guest on radio station X104.9 talking about Payton. By that point, the hot rumor was already Jamal Crawford and Marcus Fizer from Chicago for Payton. Things would get hotter throughout the day, but I was no more stunned than during the party as I was going to get some food and KJR's David Locke announced the Sonics were close to a deal which would bring in Crawford, Fizer, and the Bulls' fourth pick.

Slowly, concern about Payton gave way to worrying about the Draft. I was still holding out hope that high schooler DeSagana Diop might somehow fall to the Sonics' 12th pick, so I was understandably upset when Cleveland took him with pick eight. When the Sonics' turn came, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was still hoping for Villanova's Michael Bradley, but fearing Notre Dame's Troy Murphy. The pick was neither, but instead a surprise: Yugoslavian Vladimir Radmanovic. This move was not real popular with the group I was sitting with, and they were shown later that evening on Fox Sports NW booing the pick. I couldn't believe the Sonics would select a small forward with Rashard Lewis already in place.

After an agonizingly long time, the Sonics' second-round picks came up. Arizona center Loren Woods had surprisingly dropped after some had said the Sonics might take him at 12. I was certain the Sonics would take him, but they first went for Earl Watson of UCLA at 40 and then a real head scratcher at 42, DePaul small forward Bobby Simmons. Another small forward? Billy McKinney quickly cleared that up when he addressed what was left of the crowd, explaining that Simmons' rights had already been traded for a player we would later learn was Predrag Drobnjak.

Initially, I had been upset with the picks. However, when I heard the Sonics planned to use Radmanovic at the four and that Drobnjak could contribute as a backup big man, I was appeased. The fact that Payton had survived another day as a Sonic didn't hurt my attitude.

2000
I remember this Draft as exciting because the Sonics did not have any pressing needs, freeing them to find a talented player instead of one picked only because he was tall. My personal hope was DePaul swingman Quentin Richardson, but the selection of Oklahoma swingman Desmond Mason, a college star, made sense as well. Things especially picked up in the second-round when the Sonics used their 42nd pick on Nigerian native Olumide Oyedeji, a talented big man who was once supposedly a lottery pick. Talk about value! Later, I was confused when the Sonics picked European guard Josip Sesar -- why would they need another two? -- but that turned out well when the Sonics got a pair of 2001 second-rounders for him shortly thereafter. I went to bed the night after the Draft expecting the Sonics to build on their success in the 1999-2000 season and have a great season. Shows what I know. . . .

1999
Disappointingly, I had a schedule conflict with the 1999 Draft, a baseball game starting at five, just a half-hour into the proceedings. I heard the first few picks, but not the Sonics at number 13, before settling into the game. (For the record, I had a hit, walked, and played second base uneventfully.) By the time I had finished racing home, the Sonics were already in possession of Duke small forward Corey Maggette, who had entered the Draft after his freshman year with the Blue Devils. I liked Maggette, who was unquestionably talented, but was he better than Lewis, who the Sonics had drafted the year prior? I didn't think so . . . and my opinion was confirmed shortly after my return when the Sonics sent Maggette and small forwards Billy Owens, Don MacLean, and Dale Ellis to Orlando for Horace Grant.

When it was first announced that the Sonics and Magic had made a trade, my mind immediately jumped to star guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, who was on the way out. Of course, such a deal wasn't possible during the Draft, as Hardaway was a free agent, but I could hope . . . right? I was still pleased with the deal. Ellis was a tough loss, but you had to wonder how much longer he could contribute at his age. Maggette was replaceable by Lewis, and it was a great joy to get rid of the contracts and attitudes possessed by MacLean and Owens. Most importantly, the Sonics had found a solid solution to their hole at center. It was only later, after I got the internet, that I would find out most experts thought the Sonics had erred greatly with their trade (I believe ESPN.com graded the team an 'F' for the Draft).

1998
For the first time in years, the Draft was an exciting event for Sonics fans because we knew that with rookie-hating George Karl out of the picture and Paul Westphal in place as the team's new coach, the Sonics would actually keep their first-rounder and would take three players who would have a chance at making the team. As the Sonics' 27th pick in the first round came up, I was rooting hard for Kentucky's Nazr Mohammed. Mohammed was supposed to go near the middle of the first round but had slipped, and seemed perfect for the Sonics' needs. Instead, I was devastated to hear the Sonics had selected some guy I'd never heard of -- Vladimir Stepania. What were they thinking? Then the Sonics redeemed themselves in the second round by making what even at the time seemed like one of their better picks ever: Houston high-schooler Rashard Lewis, who was supposed to go to the Rockets with one of their three first-round picks, was still on the board. The rest, as they say, is history. Talented but troubled Jelani McCoy, who had left his UCLA team after a series of problems with marijuana, was also a nice grab at pick 33. Two good picks out of three wasn't bad in my opinion, but I was still wondering what could have been had the Sonics picked Mohammed. I still wonder that sometimes, actually.

1997
The Sonics were more concerned about what they were going to do with Shawn Kemp, who had recently announced he would never play for the team again, then anything in the Draft. That meant odds were they would trade out of the first round for the second straight year. The team did draft, and took Minnesota combo guard Bobby Jackson at pick 23. It seemed like a reach, but at least provided a fun moment: Jackson had flown to the Draft on his own and bought tickets. He simply walked out of the stands and shook hands with David Stern. (This was about opposite of what would happen the next year, when a shaken Lewis was crying in the 'green room' as the only player left before the Sonics took him.) Jackson was not a Sonic for long, unsurprisingly dealt to Denver for the rights to second-round pick James Cotton and a 1998 second-rounder. Yawn. Cotton seemed like an interesting prospect, but the Sonics were not at that time in the business of developing youngsters. The team also drafted college big men Eddie Elisma (Georgia Tech; who would know then that he'd still be trying to catch on with the Sonics four years later) and Mark Blount (Pittsburgh; has actually had a decent NBA career, recently with the Boston Celtics).

1996
As Draft day neared, the hot rumor was that the defending Western Conference champs might take the dramatic and unprecedented step of simply refusing their first-round pick. Needing to save cap room for their attempt to return free agents like Gary Payton and bring in a new center, the Sonics could have lived without another guaranteed contract. I could just imagine Stern walking to the podium and announcing, "With the 28th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, the Seattle Supersonics select . . . nobody." Instead, the day before the Draft, the Sonics found an agreeable solution by dealing their pick to Atlanta for a pair of second-round picks. That gave the Sonics four second-rounders: 35, 45, 47, 57. Let's just say their picks -- Arizona center Joe Blair, Colorado State big man Joe Vogel, Arizona State guard Ron Riley (traded to Detroit for a 1997 second-rounder), and Georgia Tech point Drew Barry -- were something less than inspiring. Vogel inspired a surprising degree of criticism, with TNT commentator Scott Hastings, a noted scrub during his playing days, comparing Vogel to himself and other NBA stiffs. I was personally glad to see Barry become a Sonic, as I had liked his game and early in the season made a future Sonics roster with Barry as their rookie (though as a first-rounder, not the second-to last pick of the Draft). Of these four players, only Barry -- during the 1999 season -- has suited up for the Sonics, giving them a total of 183 minutes contributed. Wow.

1995
During the week of the 1995 Draft, I was out of town on vacation in Cannon Beach, Oregon -- and stuck without TNT (!). I lived off ESPN's half-hour updates, but the most exciting moment came the morning before the Draft. The rest of my family had gone out for an early-morning walk, but I stayed behind and flipped on Sportscenter. That's where I found out the Sonics had ridded themselves of Kendall Gill, returning Hersey Hawkins and David Wingate in what I still consider the best trade Wally Walker has ever made. I couldn't wait for my brother to come back so I could tell him about the deal. The next day was not so eventful. I never liked the selection of Sherell Ford. It's always been my opinion that players who move up significantly in pre-Draft camps are bound to be busts, and that was exactly the reason Ford was a first-round pick. As for Eric Snow . . . I had no idea who he was at the time.

1994
Prior to last year, this was the most eventful Draft day I could recall. Prior to the Draft, I remember the disappointment of the playoff collapse washing away in the realization that the best team in the NBA the previous season would have a lottery pick -- #11 -- thanks to the previous year's Gill trade. The possibilities were endless. Then everything came crashing down. I recall going to Safeway with my mom, and on the way hearing on KJR that the Sonics were close to a deal where they would give up Kemp -- and their pick! -- for Scottie Pippen. I was distraught. It would be a horrible deal. Fans agreed with me, flooding the KJR switchboards with angry calls. Then-Sonic owner Barry Ackerley (who, in something less than a coincidence, also owned KJR) heard them and struck down the deal, which George Karl was supposedly the force behind. When pick 11 rolled around, the Sonics took Carlos Rogers, a rather uninspiring lottery pick. But by that point Rogers had already been dealt to Golden State, though we didn't do it. Walker has told me that he had a deal in place with Sacramento to bring in Mitch Richmond, but Karl had already completed the move with the Warriors to bring in Sarunas Marciulionis and Byron Houston. Oh, what could have been. . . .

1993
With the 23rd pick, the Sonics took Ervin Johnson, a 6-11 center out of New Orleans University. Johnson was a fascinating story; he had been a checker in a grocery store before his height caught the eye of someone at the college and led to him joining the team. He seemed like a pretty decent value for the late pick. I was somewhat more interested in second-rounder Adonis Jordan, who had had an excellent career at Kansas University and was a familiar name. However, he never played a minute for the Sonics.

1992
It should have been a storybook ending: Local boy makes good, becomes a star for hometown team. In those days, the Seattle area wasn't producing the same kind of NBA talent it has recently, so when the Sonics were able to draft Seattle native and Rainier Beach high school grad Doug Christie with their 17th pick, it was a special thing. That Christie, who had gone on to play at Pepperdine, could play was an added benefit. As you surely know, things didn't work out that well: Christie was portrayed as a villain when he held out, but the Sonics were able to turn him and Benoit Benjamin into Sam Perkins, meaning fans were still happy with the deal even after Christie turned into a productive starter years later with Toronto.

1991
Things weren't so different a little more than a decade ago. As they have been throughout much of their history, the Sonics were trying to fill their center position. Nebraska's 7-2 Rich King, who had come on in a surprising season for the Cornhuskers, seemed to fit the bill. NBA superscout Marty Blake is quoted on the back of a basketball card of King I have as calling him, "The steal of the Draft." Shows what the experts know. . . .

1990
Sometimes Draft-day decisions aren't so tough. When you have a player who was Sports Illustrated's college player of the year and won a number of other awards -- and he's fairly local -- you ignore the fact that you already have a competent starting point and just draft Payton. I don't think anybody was complaining about this pick.

1989
After a complex set of deals I'm not going to even begin to get into, the Sonics ended up with back-to-back picks in the 1989 Draft, 16th and 17th overall. They couldn't select Iowa's B.J. Armstrong, having received a second-round pick from Chicago for agreeing not to take him. With the first pick, the Sonics selected Boston College gunner Dana Barros to back up Nate McMillan, an unremarkable pick. With the second pick, Bob Whitsitt gambled on a young Kemp, who had yet to play a minute of college ball. Sonics fans were not quite as infatuated with Kemp's athletic potential as Whitsitt; those present at the Seattle Center Coliseum booed the pick. Shows what they knew. . . .

1988
Much like this year, the Sonics' main goal during the summer of 1988 was finding a rebounder to complement scorers Ellis and Xavier McDaniel (and replace unrestricted free agent Tom Chambers). To achieve that, the Sonics made a Draft-night trade, sending their first-rounder (Michigan point guard Gary Grant) and a 1989 first-rounder to Los Angeles for the NBA's defending rebounding champ, forward Michael Cage. That left a team with only a third-round pick in the final year the NBA went more than two rounds.

1987
Scottie Pippen for Olden Polynice. Remember at the top when we talked about Drafts that made or broke an organization? Just imagine plugging Pippen in alongside the Sonics' other talent -- how about at shooting guard with Detlef Schrempf, Payton, and Kemp? The Sonics did better with their other pick, as Alabama small forward Derrick McKey was a solid player for the Sonics for six years before fetching Schrempf in trade. In the third round, the Sonics took current Michigan coach Tommy Amaker.

1986
Despite being without a first-round pick, the Sonics were able to pick a player who became synonymous with the Seattle organization. In Whitsitt's first ever Draft, he found a second-round steal in McMillan -- aka "Mr. Sonic" -- who stepped in and started from day one before finding his niche as one of the league's best defenders and reserves. His career was, uh, slightly more memorable than those of the team's other second-rounders -- DePaul's Lemone Lampley and Cal-Irvine forward Tod Murphy.

1985
Few Sonics draft picks have brought the NCAA credentials possessed by their fourth pick in 1985, Wichita State forward Xavier McDaniel. With 27.2 points and 14.8 rebounds per game in his senior season, McDaniel led all collegians in both categories. Despite the fact that hometown boy Schrempf (the eighth pick) was still on the board (as was Karl Malone, for that matter), the Sonics had little trouble taking McDaniel. Thank goodness Benjamin -- the third pick by the Clippers -- was off the board!

1984
Though the Sonics entered the Draft without a first-round pick -- traded the year before in the deal that brought in Chambers -- that didn't mean they weren't busy. Gus Williams, coming off another stellar season where he averaged nearly 19 points per game, was dealt to Washington for a package of 12th pick Tim McCormick, guard Ricky Sobers, and a future first-round pick. In the second round, the Sonics found a solid contributor in guard Danny Young, who would play four years with the team.

1983
With the 16th pick, the Sonics selected Missouri sharpshooter Jon Sundvold, who played two undistinguished seasons in Seattle before getting dealt to San Antonio for a second-round pick. Overall, a fairly uneventful Draft for the Sonics. The team also traded Lonnie Shelton to Cleveland for a second-round pick.

1982
The Sonics generally bowed out of the 1982 Draft as they looked to get back on top of the NBA, but that didn't mean they weren't busy on Draft day, or that they didn't add a big name. Instead, the team traded Wally Walker and their first-rounder to Denver for David "Skywalker" Thompson, a star with the Nuggets both in the ABA and NBA. Fans hoped that Thompson would lead the Sonics back to glory, but, like a pick, he never lived up to that potential with the Sonics.

1981
With their highest pick in seven years after the disappointing 1980-81 season, the Sonics selected Utah small forward Danny Vranes with the fifth pick. The defensive specialist never quite had the impact the Sonics hoped he would have, though he did play at least 2000 minutes in three of his five seasons in Seattle before getting traded to Philadelphia.

1980
Hoping to return to the Finals after missing them for the first time in three years, the Sonics were looking further into the future during the 1980 Draft. With small forward John Johnson on the downside of his career, the Sonics selected Notre Dame forward Bill Hanzlik in the hopes that he could be Johnson's replacement.

1979
Despite being the defending champions, the Sonics had not one but two top ten picks in the 1979 Draft, thanks to their trade of Spencer Haywood and compensation for the free agent loss of Marvin Webster. With those picks they added Rutgers forward James Bailey and sharpshooting Baylor guard Vinnie Johnson. Bailey and Johnson had eerily similar Sonic careers. Both did little their first year and were big contributors during the down 1980-81 season before being traded three days apart in November 1981. Johnson would go on to "Microwave" fame off the bench with the Detroit Pistons. The player from the '79 Draft who would contribute the most for the Sonics was actually their fourth-round pick, Wazzu center James Donaldson, who would go on to a very successful NBA career.

1978
Looking to solidify the team that had been one win away from the NBA championship, the Sonics dealt their first-round pick to rival Denver for center Tom LaGuarde, who supposedly had a lot of potential. He wouldn't reach it, spending one injury-plagued season and then one on the bench in Seattle.

1977
Few Sonics draft picks have been as little-known as their 1977 first-rounder, Illinois-Wesleyan's Jack Sikma. And surely none of those others have been picked as high (eighth overall) or had as distinguished a career as did Sikma. The 6-11 Sikma was spotted by short-lived Sonic head coach Bob Hopkins in what was likely the best thing he ever did for the Sonics. Sikma would, of course, go on to be the best center in Sonics history by a good distance and one of the league's best.

1976
The Sonics selected two shooting guards in the 1976 Draft. Their first-rounder, Indiana's Bob Wilkerson, was a solid NBA player at both ends of the court who spent only one season in Seattle. But he's hardly remembered compared to the team's 29th pick of the second-round, Pepperdine's Dennis Johnson. While Wilkerson was solid, Johnson was a star, one of the league's best defenders who keyed championship teams in both Seattle and Boston. Another Hopkins find, Johnson has to be mentioned in any list of the Sonics' best picks.

1975
Preceding the Christie pick by 17 years was another hometown rookie gone bad. With the 12th pick in 1975, the Sonics selected Seattle University star guard Frank Oleynick. The prolific scorer would struggle in the NBA and was mostly a non-factor in his two years with the Sonics. Second round pick Bruce Seals, a small forward from Xavier of Louisiana -- where Hopkins had previously coached -- was much more successful in his three years, starting for two of them.

1974
With the third pick in the Draft -- as high as any they'd had -- the Sonics took big, talented center Tom Burleson, who had just joined Thompson to lead N.C. State to the NCAA title. Burleson was unquestionably talented, and many thought he could be a great star, after a strong playoffs during his rookie season and a good second year, but he lacked motivation and struggled through his final season with the Sonics before he was traded to Denver as part of the Marvin Webster deal. Second-rounder Leonard Gray, a power forward from Long Beach State, showed more staying power, averaging double-figure scoring in each of his four years as a Sonic. Later picks Dean Tolson and Talvin 'Tab' Skinner may never have been stars, but they've had staying power -- both now attend numerous Sonic events.

1973
You want a candidate for the worst Sonic draft of all time? 1973 jumps to the head of the class. Despite having the fourth pick, the Sonics ended up with basically nothing from the Draft when their selection, Louisiana Tech's Mike Green, bolted to the ABA. Nobody else amounted to anything. Yecch.

1972
1972 provided only slightly more talent during some of the Sonics' darkest years; their first-round pick was Oklahoma guard Bud Stallworth. After two undistinguished seasons -- oddly, he averaged 6.3 points per game in both seasons -- Stallworth was allowed to leave in the expansion draft.

1971
In the 1971 Draft, the Sonics picked up a pair of players that they thought could be contributors for years to come. With their sixth pick, Iowa sharp shooting combo guard Freddie Brown was the man. Pick 23 of the second round brought skinny center Jim McDaniels, jumping from the ABA. After a fierce battle in the courts, the Sonics brought over McDaniels over mid-season on an exorbitant contract. He would prove an enormous bust, however, never really providing much of anything. The same, of course, could not be said of "Downtown", the first Sonic to have his jersey retired and, at that time, the team's all-time leader in games, scoring, field goals, and steals. He did alright for himself, I suppose.

1970
The Sonics' first two picks in the 1970 Draft yielded little. The team's sixth selection, Cincinnati's Jim Ard, bolted for the ABA, where he had an injury-riddled career. 20th pick Jake Ford saw limited playing time in two seasons with the Sonics. USF center Pete Cross, the 23rd pick, was forced into action during his rookie year by Bob Rule's injury, but medical problems cut his career -- and life -- short. Third-rounder Garfield Heard, a small forward from Oklahoma, would turn out to be the best NBA player out of this Draft as a long-time starter with Phoenix, but barely contributed with Seattle. However, between him and UW's George Irvine, the Sonics have to have one of a select group of draft classes with two players who became NBA head coaches.

1969
Despite having Lenny Wilkens on board, thinking to the future, the Sonics used their third pick in 1969 on UCLA point guard Lucius Allen. He spent one solid season in Seattle as a reserve before being traded to Milwaukee, where he would emerge as a starter. Third-rounder Lee Winfield also contributed, spending four years in Seattle and playing starter's minutes in one.

1968
The Sonics' reward for a trying first season was the third pick in the 1968 Draft -- as high as they would pick until 1990. They used the pick on an extremely obscure player, forward Bob Kaufman out of Guilford college. Kaufman was as much of a potential pick as any player taking in the modern lottery, and the Sonics came up short; he played just one decent season off the bench with the Sonics before being traded. Second-rounder Art Harris, a guard out of Stanford, started and made the All-Rookie team in his first season, but injuries kept him from developing. In the fifth round, the Sonics took future Garfield head coach and UW assistant Al Hairston.

1967
So we have finally arrived back at the Sonics' initial Draft, 1967. With their first ever pick, the Sonics selected Oklahoma Baptist (?) small forward Al Tucker. After two solid seasons with the team, Tucker was dealt for John Tresvant. Of more impact was the team's second-rounder, center Bob Rule. One of the team's only great centers, Rule was fantastic for three seasons before injuries and weight problems derailed his Sonic career and he was traded in November 1971.

Over 35 wild and wacky Drafts, the Sonics have picked up plenty of players whose names will forever live on in team lore -- for better or worse. One interesting trend that can be spotted through this is just how many of the Sonics' most memorable players began their careers as second-round picks: Rashard Lewis, Nate McMillan, Dennis Johnson, and Bob Rule were all key contributors picked up in the second round. Maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to add another name to that list after tonight's Draft.

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