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The 29th annual NBA draft was held on May 29th, 1975 from New York City, New York. Future Hall of Famer David Thompson was the first overall selection in the draft, he was taken by the Atlanta Hawks.
This wasn't a very deep or very memorable draft. Future Memphis Grizzlies coach, Lionel Hollins was selected sixth overall by the Portland Trailblazers and World B. Free was selected 23rd overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The draft pick that had the most lasting impact for the Sonics was actually the 20th overall pick that the Golden State Warriors made. They selected a 6'2" point guard from the University of Southern California. His name was Gus Williams.
There were 10 rounds and 174 players selected.
Name: Frank Oleynick
School: Seattle University
Pick: First round, 12th overall
Breakdown: Oleynick was a 6'2" guard from local Seattle University. He had the nickname of "Magic" and had a swag about him that was almost unmatched. He averaged 27.3 points a game his junior year and entered the draft early.
|
Season |
G |
MP |
FG |
FGA |
FG% |
FT |
FTA |
FT% |
TRB |
AST |
STL |
PPG |
|
1975-76 |
52 |
12.5 |
2.4 |
6.1 |
.402 |
1.0 |
1.5 |
.688 |
0.9 |
1.0 |
0.4 |
5.9 |
|
1976-77 |
50 |
10.3 |
1.6 |
4.5 |
.363 |
0.8 |
1.1 |
.736 |
0.9 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
4.0 |
|
Sonics Career |
102 |
11.4 |
2.0 |
5.3 |
.386 |
0.9 |
1.3 |
.708 |
0.9 |
1.1 |
0.3 |
5.0 |
He wasn't bad all that great with the Sonics and could not live up to his nickname. Slick Watts was very offended that the team would draft a player so high at his position, so he kicked his workouts out to overdrive to make sure he didn't lose time to a rookie. The Seattle Times did a great story on Oleynick in 2001, you can read the story here.
Grade: D+
Name: Bruce Seals
ABA Team: Utah Stars
Pick: Second round, 21st overall
Breakdown: Seals was a first round selection in 1973 by the Utah Stars. While with the Stars he averaged about six points and three rebounds per game over two seasons with them.
|
Season |
G |
MP |
FG |
FGA |
FG% |
FT |
FTA |
FT% |
TRB |
AST |
STL |
PPG |
|
1975-76 |
81 |
30.1 |
4.8 |
11.0 |
.436 |
2.2 |
3.3 |
.678 |
6.3 |
1.5 |
0.8 |
11.8 |
|
1976-77 |
81 |
24.4 |
4.7 |
10.5 |
.444 |
1.7 |
2.4 |
.708 |
4.4 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
11.0 |
|
1977-78 |
73 |
18.1 |
3.2 |
7.5 |
.417 |
1.5 |
2.4 |
.634 |
3.1 |
1.1 |
0.6 |
7.8 |
|
Sonics Career |
235 |
24.4 |
4.2 |
9.7 |
.435 |
1.8 |
2.7 |
.675 |
4.6 |
1.2 |
0.7 |
10.3 |
|
Sonics Playoffs |
15 |
18.2 |
2.8 |
7.0 |
.400 |
1.4 |
2.2 |
.636 |
3.7 |
0.7 |
0.5 |
7.0 |
Over his time with the Sonics he was a very serviceable player. He wasn't a star, but did some solid things and was reliable.
After his career ended with the Sonics, Seals played with various teams in the Italian leagues. Currently he's an assistant coach at Emerson College in Boston. He is also working with inner youth in Boston via the Boys and Girls Club of America. His main message is that basketball is more powerful than violence.
Grade: C-
The following players were drafted by the Sonics but they never played a game for the Sonics, nor did they ever play in the NBA: Jim Moore (66th overall, Utah State), Dwain Govan (84th overall, Bishop College), Larry Smith (102nd overall, North Carolina A&T), Hollis Miller (120th overall, Drury University), Ken McKenzie (138th overall, University of Montana), Rich Haws (155th overall, Utah State) and Jerry Beliotti (170th overall, Santa Clara University).