"It translates into seven or eight figures in marketing and endorsements, " says Darren Prince, who runs Prince Marketing Group, a sports and entertainment company that counts Magic Johnson and Dennis Rodman among its clients.
But through a cumulative 111 seasons and 37 playoff appearances, Seattle boasts only one champion: the 1979 Sonics of Gus Williams, Jack Sikma and DennisJohnson.
And Johnson, once tipped by Dennis Lillee as a star of the future, has been given another chance to impress after playing in the Chappell-Hadlee Series in New Zealand in December.