Need a view? Nick Collison’s Queen Anne home “without rival”

If a view is important in your next home, few can match the extraordinary vistas from the Queen Anne residence of former Seattle SuperSonic Nick Collison.

Elinor Smith, a long-time Puget Sound real estate salesperson specializing in view and waterfront properties, calls the Collison setting overlooking downtown Seattle “a view without rival” stretching from Mount Rainier to the Olympic Mountains.

The five-bedroom, 5.25-bath residence on a quiet, dead-end street is on the market for $2,868,000 – not including Collison’s framed Kansas University jersey prominently perched in the living room. The house contains 7,090 square feet on four levels with three suspended decks, dark paneled elevator, top floor “top of the world” master suite and a kids play room straight out of the Jungle Book. Property taxes for 2011 are $21,373.

Collison was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 12th pick of the 2003 NBA draft but missed the 2003-2004 season with injuries to both shoulders. He still plays for the same franchise, now the Oklahoma City Thunder, since the team moved there in 2008.

Collison and Kevin Durant are the only two Thunder players remaining from the Sonic era and both players still have homes on the market in the Seattle area – as does former Sonic sharpshooter Ray Allen, now with the Boston Celtics.

Durant’s Mercer Island home features a state-of-the-art theatre while Allen’s home is known for its comfortable pool area and kitchen.