It is evidence of just how much my perspective is centered around the Sonics that whenever I watch other NBA teams in the playoffs, I can't help but think about the Sonics. Sometimes, that comparison is easier than others. For example, last night during the overtime period, NBC flashed a graphic indicating that this was the first game seven to go into overtime since game seven of the Sonics and the Houston Rockets during the 1993 Western Conference Semi-finals.

I'm not even old enough to drink, but it makes me feel remarkably old to think that a playoff run that I can clearly remember happened nearly a decade ago. Could fifth grade really be that far removed? Apparently it can be.

That game seven against Houston was an epic for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it was the last time the Rockets would be defeated in a playoff season for three years . . . until the Sonics again pulled off the feat in the 1996 Semis when they swept Houston en route to the Finals.

What I remember most in hindsight about that series before game seven was that none of the first six games was particularly close. Looking at it, only one was decided by less than 10 points, and that one by nine, so the series was somewhat lacking in drama. Both teams held their home court during the first six games, with the scores getting progressively more lopsided until the Sonics won by 25 in game five. Nevertheless, the Rockets won game six to send it back to Seattle. Oh, yes, I've forgotten one other important point about those first six games. During one of those first two games -- and I'm embarrassed to admit that, even though I was present, I've forgotten which one -- Eddie Johnson made a 75-foot prayer at the end of a close third-quarter. The crowd in the Coliseum was electrified, chanting throughout the quarter break, "Ed-die, Ed-die!" The game was over then and there; though the Sonics didn't exactly run away, the Rockets never really threatened.

So that all set up game seven, a classic old Saturday afternoon on NBC special. Is there anything better? Unfortunately, the details of that game are also kinda sketchy to me. Hakeem Olajuwon, of course, had a monster game; the media guide confirms that his 14 defensive rebounds rank amongst the finest playoff performances by any Sonic opponent. The game was close and tense throughout. I think the Sonics had a chance to win before overtime, but failed to convert. Once there, I think they led most of the way. With less than a minute less to go, Derrick McKey went to the free throw line to shoot two. Before he had that chance, future Sonic guard Vernon Maxwell came up to him and said something to distract him. Indeed, McKey clanked at least one of the two. Houston trailed by three with a final possession, and, as I remember it, Kenny Smith got a pretty good look at a tying three, but it rimmed out and the Sonics were off to the Western Conference Finals, where they would get to within 48 minutes of the NBA Finals.

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Of course, any discussion of a game seven for the right to go to the NBA Finals can't help but remind me of the one time the Sonics did advance to the Finals, in 1996 against Utah. This morning, I was reading a column on a website I frequent, Alleyoop.com, about Conference Finals where one team appeared to be the better team but still lost, as some might claim of this year's WCF. Amongst those was the Sonics and Utah in 1996, which makes little sense to me. I suppose it might be founded on the fact that the Sonics lost by 35 and 20 in games three and six, but then again they also won by 30 in games one.

As well, the Sonics were an overtime away from ending the series in five games. On Memorial Day, the Bulls made quick work of the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals to set one half of the NBA Finals. The Sonics, up 3-1 and coming home to play the next night, seemed set to join them. I remember distinctly listening to some national sports radio show that evening where they made game five seem like a foregone conclusion and feeling there was no way the Sonics could lose. Coincidentally, it would be the first Sonic playoff game I'd been to that season.

Instead, in a close game that nearly caused me a panic attack up in section 222, the Sonics squandered a number of opportunities in the final minutes of regulation and overtime and lost, 98-95. It was back to Utah, where a letdown was nearly inevitable. And the Sonics were beaten as badly as any team has ever been beaten in the playoffs, losing by 35 points. In some ways, I think that was better than a narrow loss, because the team was able to let it go and focus on game seven.

That game seven, played on a sunny Sunday afternoon on NBC, was yet another epic. It would be the last great battle between the duo of Karl Malone and John Stockton on one side and Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton on the other. In the end, in that confrontation, it seemed there was a passing of the proverbial torch. The game came down to free throws; Kemp and Malone both went to the line in the closing seconds. Kemp made both of his tries, while Malone, distracted by the series-long countdown of "10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . ." designed to highlight his lengthy pause before shooting to the referees, missed both attempts. Those free throws were the difference as the Sonics won by a 90-86 final.

Adding in Kemp's dominant NBA Finals, it could have been the turning point in his career as he emerged as one of the top five players in the game. Instead, he held out the next fall and seemed distracted the entire year; he would never regain that peak level of play he had for about two weeks during June of 1996.

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If I only looked to the past while thinking about game sevens in the playoffs, I'd be rather depressed. Regardless your opinion of Wally Walker or the Sonics' current roster, I maintain optimism that 10 years from now, I'll be able to write about at least one such game, maybe even one to determine who goes to the NBA Finals.

There's a certain school of thought in player evaluation that believes you should ask whether a certain player will be part of "the next great (in this case) Sonic team". I think this can be over-used -- you could say that any older player won't be -- but it does have its merits. In my opinion, it would be better phrased as, "Is this player good enough to be part of a great team?" (Of course, the Lakers winning with minimal contributions from anyone not named O'Neal, Bryant, or Horry during the first six games of their series might invalidate this question, but that's another column.)

So, what players on the Sonics could form part of the core of a great team?

Gary Payton, Desmond Mason, Brent Barry, Rashard Lewis, and Vladimir Radmanovic.

Those are the five names I could answer without hesitation. I doubt I'd get any argument on Payton or Lewis. I've made my feelings clear in the past on Barry's value, and even though I'm not as high on Mason as some are, his progress from year one to year two indicates he will grow into a good, if not very good, player. Radmanovic is, at this point, still a question mark. From what I saw of him this year, there is little question in my mind that he will become an unquestioned member of this list soon, perhaps even as soon as next season. His varied skills, rapid development during last season, and confident attitude make him a key part of my vision for the Sonics' future.

I'll be blunt on this: I don't think a team with Vin Baker playing heavy minutes will ever be able to be anything more than about what the Sonics were last season. 50 wins, maybe a #5 or #6 seed, but never true championship contention with even the Baker of the first half of the season around. That's one more reason in my opinion why to shed Baker as quickly as possible, even if not at the expense of another player.

The jury is surely still out on whether any of the Sonics' big men -- Jerome James, Peja Drobnjak, or Calvin Booth -- is a starting center on a very good team. Booth has the best case, since he was a starter for the Mavericks when they advanced to the second round in 2001. He was hardly watching on the sideline; his big fourth-quarter put Dallas in position to upset Utah, and he made it reality with the game-winning basket. But Booth was injured last season, and he has yet to prove that he can maintain a starting role over the course of an entire season. If he can do that, I'll move him on up.

So what might I be writing about the Sonics' best game of the current decade? Will it be about the gracefully aging Payton leading his team deep into the playoffs one more time before riding off into the sunset? Lewis and Radmanovic exploiting mismatches at both small forward positions to wreak havoc on an opponent? Mason alternating dunks and jumpers to frustrate an overmatched defender? Barry making a three-pointer at the end of a close game to clinch a Sonic win?

Writing that script . . . that's why they play the games, and why we watch so passionately.