This image shows Sonics announcer Bob Blackburn commentating on a game, with Bob Hopkins at left. Blackburn autographed the photo for the photographer Al Smith, who was an avid Sonics fan.

Bob Blackburn (1924-2010) was the first play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Supersonics and became known as "the Voice" of the Sonics. Blackburn began his broadcasting career with minor league and college basketball and baseball teams in California and Oregon, including almost 20 years with the Portland Beavers and Oregon State University teams. In 1967, he was hired as the Sonics' announcer, and stayed with the team until his retirement in 1992 after broadcasting more than 2300 games. Blackburn considered the highlight of his career to be announcing the Sonics' victory in the 1979 NBA Championship.

Bob Hopkins (1934-2015) was a professional basketball player and coach. Growing up in Jonesboro, Louisiana, Hopkins was a star player at Grambling State University and later played in the NBA from 1956-1960. He was hired by the Sonics as an assistant coach in 1974 and became head coach in 1977. Hopkins was demoted to director of scouting later in the 1977 season and left the Sonics in 1978, though his work contributed to the team's later success.

Caption information source: "Robert Blackburn obituary," retrieved from https://obituaries.seattletimes.com/obituary/robert-blackburn-1080149463
Caption information source: "Former Sonics coach Bob Hopkins dies," Seattle Times, retrieved from https://www.yakimaherald.com/former-sonics-coach-bob-hopkins-dies/article_83eaa7d3-26df-59ef-98bc-23604d32c0fc.html