A man walked into a ticket broker's office on Mercer Island this past summer to purchase concert tickets and nonchalantly asked about the interest level in Seattle SuperSonics tickets.

"It's the worst I've seen it in 10 years," the ticket agent told the man. "It's so bad, we don't even stock extra tickets anymore. Nobody wants them."

Little did that agent know how prescient her comments would be, given the scene at Key-Arena for Sonics games this season.

You could call it the Departing of the Red Sea.

Go to any Sonics game these days and there is a virtual sea of empty red seats. The vacant seats illustrate a trend that goes beyond Seattle to most of the NBA, where overpriced seats, uninspired play and disenchantment with players leave many thinking the league has lost touch with its supporters.

"It is that way everywhere," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "All arenas. I've gone in (Key-Arena) and said, 'Wow.'"