The Seattle SuperSonics, also known the Sonics, are a former professional basketball team based from Seattle, Washington, United States, that played from 1967 to 2008. [1] They were members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1970 onward; the team played in the conference's Pacific Division from 1970 to 2004 and the Northwest Division from 2004 to 2008. [2] [a] The Sonics joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1967 and were named for the supersonic airliner under development by Boeing, which was later cancelled. [4] They played for their first eleven seasons at the Seattle Center Coliseum, which was built for the 1962 World's Fair and had a seating capacity of 12,595. [5] The team moved in 1978 to the Kingdome, a multipurpose stadium shared with other sports teams, and set NBA attendance records there during a seven-season stay. [6] The Sonics hosted twenty Kingdome games with crowds larger than 30,000 and drew a league-record 40,172 spectators at a 1980 playoffs game. [5] [6]
The team returned to the Seattle Center Coliseum in 1985 as attendance at the Kingdome declined and the stadium's scheduling and layout caused issues for fans. [6] [7] A major renovation of the Coliseum began in 1994 and displaced the Sonics, who played for two seasons at the Tacoma Dome, a suburban arena that was expanded to 16,296 seats. [8] The renovated Coliseum, renamed to KeyArena, had the NBA's smallest seating capacity at 17,072 and hosted its first regular season game on November 4, 1995. [5] [9] The team played their final home game at KeyArena on April 13, 2008. [10] After the end of the 2007–08 season, the Sonics were relocated by its new ownership group to Oklahoma City. A lawsuit to halt the relocation and enforce the team's 15-year lease at KeyArena was filed by the Seattle city government but dropped as part of a settlement in July 2008. [11] [12] The team has played since the 2008–09 season as the Oklahoma City Thunder; [13] as part of the settlement, the SuperSonics name and history was left with the city for use by a future team. [11]
In their 41 seasons as an NBA team, the SuperSonics had an all-time regular season record of 1,745 wins and 1,585 losses; in the playoffs, they had 107 wins and 110 losses. [14] They reached the postseason 22 times and played in three NBA Finals, winning one league championship in 1979. [14] The Sonics were the first team from Washington state to win a major professional sports championship since the Seattle Metropolitans in the 1917 Stanley Cup. [15] Their .524 winning percentage was also historically the best among professional teams in the Seattle area, surpassing the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners. [16] The team's all-time points leader is Gary Payton with 18,207 points; he also holds the most assists in Sonics history at 7,384. [17]
The Sonics had a 23–59 record during their inaugural season and finished with the NBA's second-worst record, narrowly ahead of fellow expansion team San Diego Rockets. [18] The team were below .500 for their first four seasons and had their first winning season in 1971–72, where they earned a 47–35 record. [19] The Sonics clinched their first playoff berth in the 1974–75 season, [20] which was followed by consecutive NBA Finals in 1978 and 1979 against the Washington Bullets. [21] Seattle lost the first final, but defeated Washington in the rematch after finishing first in the Western Conference. [22] Lenny Wilkens, who led the team to both finals appearances, was replaced as head coach in 1985 after missing the playoffs by finishing with a 31–51 record, which his successor Bernie Bickerstaff equaled the following season. [23] The Sonics made an unexpected run to the Western Conference final in the 1987 playoffs, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers. [24]
The 1990s brought more consistent success, including eight consecutive playoff appearances, with head coach George Karl and new players Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, both acquired in the draft. [25] The Sonics finished as the top seed in the 1993–94 season with a 63–19 record, but lost in a major upset to the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets in the opening round of the playoffs. [26] The team reached the 1996 NBA Finals—their third and final appearance—after clinching first in the Western Conference standings but lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. [27] The Sonics were eliminated in the conference semifinals two more times under Karl before he left the team along with Kemp by 1998. [25] The team, now under coach Paul Westphal, missed the playoffs in the shortened 1998–99 season, but returned the following year as a seventh-seed. [28] [29] Westphal was replaced early in the 2000–01 season by assistant coach and former Sonics player Nate McMillan, who led the team through rebuilds and to their two final playoff appearances: in 2002–03 and 2004–05 as the Northwest Division champions with 52 wins. [30] [31] The team's final three seasons in Seattle all finished with losing records and no playoff berths under the three different head coaches. [32] The Sonics had 20 wins and 62 losses during their 2007–08 season, their worst record in franchise history, shortly before moving to Oklahoma City. [16]
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Year | Season | Conference | Fin. | Division | Fin. | Regular season [32] | Playoff results [33] | Awards | Head coach [32] | Ref. | |||
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W | L | Pct. | GB | ||||||||||
1967–68 | 1967–68 | — | — | Western [a] | 5th | 23 | 59 | .280 | 33 | Did not qualify | — | Al Bianchi | [34] |
1968–69 | 1968–69 | — | — | Western [a] | 6th | 30 | 52 | .366 | 25 | Did not qualify | — | [35] | |
1969–70 | 1969–70 | — | — | Western [a] | 5th | 36 | 46 | .439 | 12 | Did not qualify | — | Lenny Wilkens [c] | [36] |
1970–71 | 1970–71 | Western | 8th | Pacific | 4th | 38 | 44 | .463 | 10 | Did not qualify | Lenny Wilkens (AMVP) [37] | [38] | |
1971–72 | 1971–72 | Western | 6th | Pacific | 3rd | 47 | 35 | .573 | 22 | Did not qualify | — | [39] | |
1972–73 | 1972–73 | Western | 8th | Pacific | 4th | 26 | 56 | .317 | 34 | Did not qualify | — | Tom Nissalke (13–32) Bucky Buckwalter (13–24) | [40] |
1973–74 | 1973–74 | Western | 6th | Pacific | 3rd | 36 | 46 | .439 | 11 | Did not qualify | — | Bill Russell | [41] |
1974–75 | 1974–75 | Western | 4th ¤ | Pacific | 2nd | 43 | 39 | .524 | 5 | Won first round vs. Detroit, 2–1 Lost conference semifinals vs. Golden State, 2–4 | — | [42] | |
1975–76 | 1975–76 | Western | 2nd ¤ | Pacific | 2nd | 43 | 39 | .524 | 16 | Lost conference semifinals vs. Phoenix, 2–4 | Slick Watts (JWKC) [43] | [44] | |
1976–77 | 1976–77 | Western | 8th | Pacific | 4th | 40 | 42 | .488 | 13 | Did not qualify | — | [45] | |
1977–78 | 1977–78 * | Western * | 4th ¤ | Pacific | 3rd | 47 | 35 | .514 | 11 | Won first round vs. LA Lakers, 2–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Portland, 4–2 Won conference finals vs. Denver, 4–2 Lost NBA Finals vs. Washington, 3–4 * | — | Bob Hopkins (5–17) Lenny Wilkens (42–18) | [46] |
1978–79 | 1978–79 † | Western * | 1st ¤ | Pacific | 1st ^ | 52 | 30 | .634 | — | Won conference semifinals vs. LA Lakers, 4–1 Won conference finals vs. Phoenix, 4–3 Won NBA Finals vs. Washington, 4–1 † | Dennis Johnson (FMVP) [47] | Lenny Wilkens | [48] |
1979–80 | 1979–80 | Western | 2nd ¤ | Pacific | 2nd | 56 | 26 | .683 | 4 | Won first round vs. Portland, 2–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Milwaukee, 4–3 Lost conference finals vs. LA Lakers, 1–4 | — | [49] | |
1980–81 | 1980–81 | Western | 10th | Pacific | 6th | 34 | 48 | .415 | 23 | Did not qualify | — | [50] | |
1981–82 | 1981–82 | Western | 2nd ¤ | Pacific | 2nd | 52 | 30 | .634 | 5 | Won first round vs. Houston, 2–1 Lost conference semifinals vs. San Antonio, 1–4 | Gus Williams (CPOY) [51] | [52] | |
1982–83 | 1982–83 | Western | 4th ¤ | Pacific | 3rd | 48 | 34 | .585 | 10 | Lost first round vs. Portland, 0–2 | Zollie Volchok (EOY) [53] | [54] | |
1983–84 | 1983–84 | Western | 5th ¤ | Pacific | 3rd | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 | Lost first round vs. Dallas, 2–3 | — | [55] | |
1984–85 | 1984–85 | Western | 10th | Pacific | 4th [d] | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 | Did not qualify | — | [56] | |
1985–86 | 1985–86 | Western | 11th | Pacific | 5th | 31 | 51 | .378 | 31 | Did not qualify | — | Bernie Bickerstaff | [57] |
1986–87 | 1986–87 | Western | 7th ¤ | Pacific | 4th | 39 | 43 | .476 | 26 | Won first round vs. Dallas, 3–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Houston, 4–2 Lost conference finals vs. LA Lakers, 0–4 | Tom Chambers (AMVP) [37] Dale Ellis (MIP) [58] | [59] | |
1987–88 | 1987–88 | Western | 7th ¤ | Pacific | 3rd | 44 | 38 | .537 | 18 | Lost first round vs. Denver, 2–3 | — | [60] | |
1988–89 | 1988–89 | Western | 4th ¤ | Pacific | 3rd | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10 | Won first round vs. Houston, 3–1 Lost conference semifinals vs. LA Lakers, 0–4 | — | [61] | |
1989–90 | 1989–90 | Western | 9th | Pacific | 4th | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 | Did not qualify | — | [62] | |
1990–91 | 1990–91 | Western | 8th ¤ | Pacific | 5th | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 | Lost first round vs. Portland, 2–3 | — | K. C. Jones | [63] |
1991–92 | 1991–92 | Western | 6th ¤ | Pacific | 4th | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10 | Won first round vs. Golden State, 3–1 Lost conference semifinals vs. Utah, 1–4 | — | K. C. Jones (18–18) Bob Kloppenburg (2–2) George Karl (27–15) | [64] |
1992–93 | 1992–93 | Western | 3rd ¤ | Pacific | 2nd | 55 | 27 | .671 | 7 | Won first round vs. Utah, 3–2 Won conference semifinals vs. Houston, 3–4 Lost conference finals vs. Phoenix, 3–4 | — | George Karl | [65] |
1993–94 | 1993–94 | Western | 1st ¤ | Pacific | 1st ^ | 63 | 19 | .768 | — | Lost first round vs. Denver, 2–3 | Bob Whitsitt (EOY) [53] | [66] | |
1994–95 | 1994–95 | Western | 4th ¤ | Pacific | 2nd | 57 | 25 | .695 | 2 | Lost first round vs. LA Lakers, 1–3 | — | [67] | |
1995–96 | 1995–96 * | Western * | 1st ¤ | Pacific | 1st ^ | 64 | 18 | .780 | — | Won first round vs. Sacramento, 3–1 Won conference semifinals vs. Rockets, 4–0 Won conference finals vs. Utah, 4–3 Lost NBA Finals vs. Chicago, 2–4 * | Gary Payton (DPOY) [68] | [69] | |
1996–97 | 1996–97 | Western | 3rd ¤ | Pacific | 1st ^ | 57 | 25 | .695 | — | Won first round vs. Phoenix, 3–2 Lost conference semifinals vs. Houston, 3–4 | — | [70] | |
1997–98 | 1997–98 | Western | 2nd ¤ | Pacific | 1st ^ [e] | 61 | 21 | .744 | — | Won first round vs. Minnesota, 3–2 Lost conference semifinals vs. LA Lakers, 1–4 | — | [72] | |
1998–99 [f] | 1998–99 | Western | 9th | Pacific | 5th | 25 | 25 | .500 | 10 | Did not qualify | Hersey Hawkins (SPOR) [74] | Paul Westphal | [75] |
1999–2000 | 1999–2000 | Western | 7th ¤ | Pacific | 4th | 45 | 37 | .549 | 22 | Lost first round vs. Utah, 2–3 | — | [76] | |
2000–01 | 2000–01 | Western | 10th | Pacific | 5th | 44 | 38 | .537 | 12 | Did not qualify | — | Paul Westphal (6–9) Nate McMillan (38–29) | [77] |
2001–02 | 2001–02 | Western | 7th ¤ | Pacific | 4th | 45 | 37 | .549 | 16 | Lost first round vs. San Antonio, 2–3 | — | Nate McMillan | [78] |
2002–03 | 2002–03 | Western | 10th | Pacific | 5th | 40 | 42 | .488 | 19 | Did not qualify | Ray Allen (SPOR) [74] | [79] | |
2003–04 | 2003–04 | Western | 12th | Pacific | 5th [g] | 37 | 45 | .451 | 19 | Did not qualify | — | [80] | |
2004–05 | 2004–05 | Western | 4th ¤ | Northwest | 1st ^ | 52 | 30 | .634 | — | Won first round vs. Sacramento, 4–1 Lost conference semifinals vs. San Antonio, 2–4 | — | [81] | |
2005–06 | 2005–06 | Western | 11th | Northwest | 3rd | 35 | 47 | .427 | 9 | Did not qualify | — | Bill Weiss (13–17) Bob Hill (22–30) | [82] |
2006–07 | 2006–07 | Western | 14th | Northwest | 5th | 31 | 51 | .378 | 20 | Did not qualify | — | Bob Hill | [83] |
2007–08 | 2007–08 | Western | 15th | Northwest | 5th | 20 | 62 | .244 | 34 | Did not qualify | Kevin Durant (ROY) [84] | P. J. Carlesimo | [85] |
Totals (41 seasons) | 1,745 | 1,585 | .524 | All-time regular season record (1967–2008) [17] | |||||||||
107 | 110 | .493 | All-time playoffs record (1967–2008) [14] | ||||||||||
1,852 | 1,695 | .522 | All-time overall record (1967–2008) [14] |