1979 Seattle SuperSonics

Seattle went 52-30 and won the Pacific Division behind the best defense in the league, allowing the fewest points per game of any team. Lenny Wilkens coached a balanced group with no true superstar and no clear weakness. The core had matured fast after reaching the Finals as a young team in 1978.

Gus Williams led the regular-season scoring at 19.2, with Sikma adding 15.6 points and 12.4 rebounds and Johnson 15.9. The backcourt of Williams and Johnson was the identity: quick, long, and disruptive. Lonnie Shelton started at power forward, and Fred Brown, the shooter known as Downtown, gave them instant offense off the bench.

Seattle lost the 1978 Finals to Washington in seven, so the 1979 rematch carried weight. The Sonics handled the Lakers and edged Phoenix in a seven-game conference final, then beat Washington four games to one. Williams averaged 26.7 in the playoffs, and Johnson's two-way play earned him the Finals MVP.

It remains the only title for the Seattle franchise, which relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. Sikma and Williams became the faces of the era, and Johnson was later traded to Phoenix and then Boston, where he won twice more.