Championship, in 1979, in forty one seasons.
The team
The Sonics reached the Finals in 1978 and lost to Washington in seven games. They came back the following year, met Washington again, lost the first game and won the next four.
Lenny Wilkens had taken over as coach midway through the 1977-78 season with the team at five wins and seventeen defeats. He held the record for the most wins by a coach in the league for the best part of two decades.
Gus Williams led the scoring, Dennis Johnson was named most valuable player of the Finals, and Jack Sikma, a second-year centre, took the rebounds. No one on the roster is remembered outside Seattle the way the era's stars are.
The parade
The photograph is from the parade. Someone is carrying a sign that says LENNY WILKENS COACH, someone else one for the mayor. The city has not had a reason to do it again.
How it ended
The team was sold in 2006 to a group led by an Oklahoma City businessman. The new owners asked for public money towards a new arena, which was refused. They announced the move.
The city sued to enforce the remaining two years of the lease. The case settled in July 2008: the owners paid to leave early, and the team began the next season in Oklahoma City under a new name.
What was left behind
The name, the colours and the 1979 banner stayed in Seattle by agreement, held in reserve for a future team.
There has not been one.