1977-80: Back-To-Back Finals

The club underwent major restructuring during the offseason. Assistant Coach Bob Hopkins replaced Bill Russell as head coach for the 1977-78 campaign. New faces included veteran 6-7 rebounding specialist Paul Silas, 6-11 rookie Jack Sikma, 7-1 shotblocker Marvin Webster, volatile 6-2 guard Gus Williams, and dependable 6-7 "point-forward" John Johnson. Brown and Dennis Johnson were the key holdovers from the previous year.

Coach Hopkins lasted only 22 games. After the team got off to a 5-17 start, owner Sam Schulman brought back Lenny Wilkens, who had guided the Sonics for three earlier seasons as a player-coach. Under Wilkens, who took over on November 30, the Sonics made a terrific run, posting a 42-18 record to close out the year. Seattle finished at 47-35 for third place in the Pacific Division. Then the real fun began.

Seattle upset Los Angeles, two games to one, in a best-of-three series to start the playoffs. The Sonics then dispatched Portland and Denver to reach the NBA Finals against the Washington Bullets and Wes Unseld. Like the Sonics, the Bullets had put together a modest regular season before gaining late-season momentum that catapulted them into the Finals. In the championship series the teams traded victories through the first six games, but Washington prevailed, 105-99, in Game 7 to claim the title.

The Sonics' defense was the key to their success in 1977-78. They allowed opponents only 102.9 points per game, second best in the NBA. Gus Williams finished second in the league in steals with 2.34 per game, and Marvin Webster ranked ninth in blocks with 1.98 per contest. Webster was also ninth in rebounding with a 12.6 average.

Six Seattle players posted double-figure scoring averages: Williams (18.1 ppg), Fred Brown (16.6), Webster (14.0), Dennis Johnson (12.7), Sikma (10.7), and John Johnson (10.7). Sikma was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team at season's end.

The 1978-79 season was an epic campaign for Seattle, as Wilkens guided the Sonics to the NBA Championship. The club posted a 52-30 record, the first 50-win season in franchise history. The team also captured its first-ever Pacific Division title, finishing two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns.

Seattle started Williams and Dennis Johnson at guard, Sikma at center, and Lonnie Shelton and John Johnson at forward. Rebounding ace Paul Silas and long-range threat Brown were the key reserves. Also on the bench, Wally Walker, who would later return to Seattle as the Sonics' general manager.

For the second straight season six Sonics averaged in double figures, led by Williams's 19.2 points per game. The Sonics' stingy defense yielded a league-low 103.9 points per game. Dennis Johnson was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and Williams finished the season ranked eighth in the league in steals with 2.08 per contest. Sikma was relentless on the boards and ranked fifth in the league in rebounding (12.4 rpg), while Brown was third in the NBA in free-throw percentage (.888). Dennis Johnson and Sikma played for the West All-Stars, who were coached by Lenny Wilkens.

Seattle defeated the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals, then needed seven games to oust Phoenix in the conference finals. That set up a rematch of the previous season's NBA Finals with the Washington Bullets. After Washington took Game 1, Seattle won four straight to claim the title.

The NBA-champion Sonics featured no big-name superstars. Dennis Johnson would go on to greater fame with the Boston Celtics, and Sikma would become a perennial All-Star. But this year the Sonics were composed of small parts that added up to something big.

Seattle followed its championship season with a 56-26 record in 1979-80, including a 33-8 mark at home. The Sonics finished in second place in the Pacific Division behind a Los Angeles Lakers team that had been bolstered by the arrival of rookie Magic Johnson.

Seattle finished third in the NBA in defense, allowing only 103.8 points per game. Dennis Johnson scored 19.0 points per game and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the second consecutive season. Other individual laurels went to Gus Williams, who led the team in scoring (22.1 ppg), and to Jack Sikma, who ranked fifth in the league in rebounding with 11.1 boards per game. For the second straight year Wilkens coached Sikma and Dennis Johnson in the NBA All-Star Game.

The 1979-80 season marked the advent of the three-point shot in the NBA, and Downtown Freddie Brown capitalized on the new rule, hitting at a .443 clip on long-range attempts to become the league's first-ever three-point percentage leader.

After a stellar regular season the Sonics dumped Portland in the opening round of the 1980 NBA Playoffs. Seattle then needed all seven games to edge Midwest Division-champion Milwaukee in the conference semifinals, escaping with a 98-94 victory in Game 7 at Seattle. The Sonics met the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and took Game 1 by the slimmest of margins, 108-107. But the Lakers swept the next four games, sending Seattle home for the summer.

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1980-81: Changing Times

The team chemistry that had been the catalyst for Seattle's success was scrambled in the 1980-81 season. The Sonics nose-dived to a 34-48 record, 22 games worse than the year before, coming to rest at the bottom of the Pacific Division.

Guard Gus Williams did not sign a contract and sat out the entire season while backcourtmate Dennis Johnson went to Phoenix in a trade for Paul Westphal. Steadying influence Paul Silas retired and became coach of the San Diego Clippers.

Sikma was still around, and the All-Star center led the squad in scoring with 18.7 points per game. He also grabbed 10.4 rebounds per contest, fifth best in the NBA. Westphal, who missed the second half of the season because of injuries, added 16.7 points per game in 36 appearances and joined Sikma in the 1981 NBA All-Star Game. More modest contributions came from Fred Brown (15.5 ppg), James Bailey (14.0), Vinnie Johnson (13.0), and John Johnson (11.5).

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1981-83: "The Wizard" Returns

Gus Williams returned for the 1981-82 season and made an 18-game difference as the Sonics bounced back to 52-30, their third 50-win campaign in four years. Seattle was 11-8 on December 9 when they caught fire. During the next two months they reeled off winning strings of six, eight, and seven games while compiling a 23-5 record. Williams, Sikma, and Lonnie Shelton, who averaged 14.9 points, made up the Sonics' delegation to the All-Star Game. Stellar play by Williams and Sikma helped the club to second place in the Pacific Division, five games behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

Seattle bumped Houston from the first round of the playoffs but was then blown off the court in five games by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Williams was selected to the All-NBA First Team at season's end. He finished seventh in the league in both scoring (23.4 ppg) and steals (2.15 per game). Sikma ranked second in rebounding (12.7 rpg) and 10th in free-throw percentage (.855). As usual, the Sonics were stingy on defense, finishing fifth in the league by allowing 103.1 points per game.

Seattle slipped a bit in 1982-83, finishing at 48-34 and in third place in the Pacific Division. The team started the season on a roll, winning its first 12 games to set a club record. The Sonics stood at 23-7 on December 30 but then returned to reality with an eight-game losing streak. Sikma, Williams, and the newly acquired David Thompson represented the Sonics at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game.

Williams (20.0 ppg), Sikma (18.2), and Thompson (15.9) led the team in scoring. Sikma grabbed 11.4 rebounds per game, good for fifth in the league, while Williams ranked sixth in assists (8.0 apg) and seventh in steals (2.28 per game).

The club sputtered until early March, then reignited for a 15-2 run. That hoisted the Sonics into the playoffs, but two straight losses to Portland in a best-of-three first-round series made Seattle's postseason stay a short one.

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1983-85: Ackerley Purchases Team

The franchise changed hands before the 1983-84 season when Sam Schulman sold the team to Barry Ackerley. On the court the year was unremarkable, as the club managed a 42-40 record, including a solid 32-9 mark at home. In the postseason Seattle made a first-round exit courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks.

At the top of the team's scoring charts were Sikma (19.1 ppg), Williams (18.7), and newcomer Tom Chambers (18.1), who had been acquired from the San Diego Clippers in a preseason trade. Sikma, an All-Star for the sixth time, finished sixth in the league in rebounding (11.1 rpg). Williams ranked seventh in assists (8.4 apg) and third in steals (2.36 per game).

At the end of the 1983-84 campaign Fred Brown retired after 13 seasons with the Sonics. He left as the team's career leader in games played (963), scoring (14,018 points), field goals (6,006), and steals (1,149). Brown had captained Seattle's 1978-79 NBA Championship team. His uniform No. 32 was retired in 1986.

The 1984-85 version of the Sonics fell all the way to 31-51, the fewest wins the team had earned since 1972-73. For most of the season the squad was not as bad as their final record suggested. With three weeks left in the season the Sonics stood at 30-39 and had a chance to finish with a respectable record. Instead they rolled over and went 1-12 the rest of the way.

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1985-86: Wilkens Era Comes To An End

Coach Lenny Wilkens was bumped up to the front office after the season. He would go on to coach Cleveland and then Atlanta, becoming the winningest coach in NBA history. He had directed the Sonics twice, first as player-coach when he led the team to its first winning season in 1971-72. In his second tour of duty he had taken the team to two NBA Finals, winning the title in 1978-79. Wilkens had compiled a 478-402 record as coach of the Sonics.

Bernie Bickerstaff replaced Wilkens as head coach for the 1985-86 campaign. The results were the same-a 31-51 record and a sideline view of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. But there were a few signs of hope.

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1986-88: Seattle's "Big Three" Make NBA History

The main cause for optimism was ferocious 6-7 rookie Xavier McDaniel, who had led the NCAA in both scoring and rebounding in his senior season at Wichita State. McDaniel scored 17.1 points per game for the Sonics, grabbed 655 boards, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Sikma matched McDaniel's 17.1 scoring average, while Chambers led the team with 18.5 points per game.

In 1986-87 Seattle put an entertaining team on the floor, scoring like crazy and unexpectedly running all the way to the Western Conference Finals. The Sonics had retooled during the offseason, sending longtime center Jack Sikma to Milwaukee for Alton Lister. That move signaled a change from a stolid half-court offense to a looser, up-tempo approach that featured pressure defense and a bombs-away attack.

When Sikma left the Sonics he had accumulated more rebounds (7,729), blocked shots (705), and free throws made (3,044) than any player in team history. His uniform No. 43 was raised to the Seattle Center Coliseum rafters in 1992.

The team had also acquired Dale Ellis from Dallas in exchange for Al Wood. Ellis, rescued from the purgatory of the Mavericks' bench, turned out to be one of the most prolific three-point shooters in NBA history. For the season, he led Seattle in scoring with 24.9 points per game and was named the NBA's Most Improved Player. Tom Chambers, the All-Star Game MVP, added 23.3 points per game, and Xavier McDaniel threw in 23.0 points per contest. It marked the first time in league history that a team had three players average 23 points or better, and all three ranked among the league's top 15 scorers.

McDaniel also hauled in 705 rebounds and finished second on the team in rebounds per game (8.6) to Lister (9.4). Lister ranked fifth in the NBA in blocked shots with 2.4 per game. Newcomer Nate McMillan also showed flashes of brilliance. On February 23, 1987, in a game against the Clippers, he set a franchise mark by handing out 25 assists.

Despite finishing below .500 at 39-43, Seattle made the playoffs. The Sonics met the heavily favored Dallas Mavericks in the first round, got whacked in the first game, 151-129, then shocked the Mavericks by running away with the next three contests. The conference semifinals matched Seattle with Houston, and that series went six games. The decisive contest was an epic struggle, as Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon made a Herculean effort, including 49 points and 25 rebounds, that nevertheless fell just short. The Sonics won Game 6, 128-125, in double overtime.

Seattle took its Cinderella story to Los Angeles for the Western Conference Finals, but the Lakers weren't playing along. They smashed the Sonics in four straight games.

In 1987-88 the Sonics continued to show gradual improvement, bumping their record up to 44-38. Once again the "Big Three" of Ellis (25.8 ppg), McDaniel (21.4), and Chambers (20.4) provided most of the scoring. Ellis had the season's biggest scoring night when he tallied 47 points against San Antonio on January 9, a single point better than the total Chambers had put up against Houston the night before. McDaniel represented the Sonics at the 1988 NBA All-Star Game.

Guard Nate McMillan finished sixth in the league in assists (8.6 apg) and eighth in steals (2.06 per game). Alabama product Derrick McKey, a 6-10 forward who possessed a host of subtle skills, was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team.

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1988-90: Chambers Leaves, But Ellis Steps Up His Game

The 1988-89 Sonics improved slightly, to 47-35, but had a somewhat different look. Figuring that there weren't enough basketballs to go around among Chambers, Ellis, and McDaniel, management let Chambers go to Phoenix via free agency and brought in rugged rebounding champ Michael Cage from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Seattle still had plenty of firepower, however. Ellis averaged 27.5 points per game, third in the NBA and second in team history to Spencer Haywood's 29.2 clip in 1972-73. Ellis scored 46 points on opening night against Utah and hit for 49 on January 5 against Sacramento, en route to setting team single-season records for total points (2,253) and three-point field goals (162). Ellis also finished second in the NBA with a .478 three-point field-goal percentage, and he represented Seattle at the 1989 NBA All-Star Game.

McDaniel added 20.5 points per game, and McKey chipped in 15.9 points per contest. McMillan was developing into a solid player and finished fifth in the league in assists with 9.3 per game.

After a third-place finish in the Pacific Division, Seattle drew Houston in the first round of the 1989 NBA Playoffs. The Sonics bumped the Rockets, three games to one, then ran into the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Lakers made quick work of the series, winning in four straight.

In Bernie Bickerstaff's last year as head coach, the team dipped to 41-41 in 1989-90 and missed the playoffs. Ellis (23.5 ppg) and McDaniel (21.3) occupied their usual spots at the top of the Sonics' scoring charts, even though Ellis missed 27 games because of injuries suffered in a late January auto accident. Michael Cage finished ninth in the NBA in rebounding, pulling down 10.0 boards per game.

On November 9 the Sonics tangled with Milwaukee in a seemingly endless five-overtime game. The contest finally went to the Bucks by a single point, 155-154; the Sonics' total matched their all-time high. In that game Ellis scored 53 points, the second-highest total in club history to Fred Brown's 58 in 1974. On April 20 Ellis set a team mark by making 9 three-pointers in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The most intriguing player on the Sonics' roster was 6-10 rookie Shawn Kemp. He had never played a college game, and for this reason he was an unknown quantity. The handful of past players drafted straight out of high school had included Moses Malone, Bill Willoughby, and Darryl Dawkins. Kemp played few minutes but got into 81 games, averaging 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds while blocking 70 shots.

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1990-91: K. C. Can't Repeat Celtics Magic

In 1990-91 K. C. Jones, who had coached the Boston Celtics to two championships in the 1980s (and had won eight as a player), was brought in to guide the Sonics. But Seattle remained mired in mediocrity, finishing at 41-41 and grabbing the last Western Conference Playoff spot. On November 18 the Sonics, normally a high-scoring team, turned in the weakest offensive performance in franchise history, scoring only 65 points in a loss to the Clippers.

By midseason Seattle's front office had begun restructuring the squad. First, Xavier McDaniel was sent to the Phoenix Suns on December 7 in exchange for long-distance threat Eddie Johnson and a couple of draft picks. Next, Dale Ellis departed for Milwaukee on February 15 in a trade for Ricky Pierce, another scoring threat. Finally, on February 20, the Sonics sent young center Olden Polynice to the Los Angeles Clippers for big Benoit Benjamin.

Of the players who were on hand for the entire season, Derrick McKey (15.3 ppg) and Shawn Kemp (15.0) topped the team in scoring. Kemp also grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game and set the Sonics' single-game record for blocked shots by snuffing 10 Lakers attempts on January 18. First-round draft pick Gary Payton, who had been Sports Illustrated's College Player of the Year at Oregon State, took over the point guard duties from Nate McMillan and led the team with 6.4 assists per game.

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1991-92: By George! Karl Engineers Turnaround

Seattle was still in transition during 1991-92, but the Sonics headed in a positive direction during the second half of the season. After a 7-3 start the team seemed to lose focus and, with their record at 18-18, Coach K. C. Jones was fired on January 15. On January 23 the Sonics hired George Karl, and the team immediately began to heat up, playing 27-15 ball the rest of the way. Their 47-35 regular-season record was good for fourth in the Pacific Division.

Karl was an interesting character. After playing five years with the San Antonio Spurs in the mid-1970s he had embarked on a coaching career that included two-year stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. In each case the teams improved, but Karl began to acquire a reputation as an "egotistical genius." Cut loose from the NBA, he coached Albany of the Continental Basketball Association (his 1990-91 team was 50-6) and then Real Madrid in Europe. That's where Seattle President Bob Whitsitt tracked him down.

The Sonics drew a powerhouse Golden State team in the first round of the 1992 playoffs, but Seattle stunned the Warriors by winning the series, three games to one. The key was Shawn Kemp, who dominated the Warriors inside despite being six months shy of his 23rd birthday. After averaging 15.5 points and 10.4 rebounds during the regular season, Kemp exploded against Golden State with averages of 22.0 points and 16.3 rebounds per game. The Sonics advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals but lost, four games to one, to the Utah Jazz.

For the season, Ricky Pierce led the club in scoring with 21.7 points per game, and he finished third in the NBA with a .916 free-throw percentage. Cage ranked fifth in the league with a .566 field-goal percentage. Dana Barros, who had been selected one pick before Shawn Kemp in the 1989 NBA Draft, won the NBA three-point field-goal percentage title with a .446 clip from long range.

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1992-93: One Win Away From The Finals

Everything fell into place for the 1992-93 Sonics, who played an exciting, unconventional brand of basketball. Seattle fashioned a 55-27 record, second best in club history and good for second place in the Pacific Division behind the Phoenix Suns.

The team consisted of a potent mix of talent, masterfully molded by Coach George Karl. Power forward Shawn Kemp, who had always been capable of spectacular offensive moves and dramatic slam dunks, began to acquire a mature focus. Vociferous point guard Gary Payton developed a jump shot to augment his offensive repertoire and also gained a reputation as a tenacious on-the-ball defender. In fact, the entire Sonics team relied on an innovative defensive strategy devised by Assistant Coach Bob Kloppenburg to disrupt opponents with relentless pressing, trapping, and double-teaming.

Ricky Pierce led the squad in scoring with 18.2 points per game, followed by Kemp at 17.8. Kemp finished 12th in the league in rebounding (10.7 rpg) and blocked shots (1.87 per game) and played in his first NBA All-Star Game. Veteran Eddie Johnson finished third in the league with a .911 free-throw percentage. Steady Nate McMillan was fourth in the NBA in steals with 2.37 per game, while Payton was ninth with 2.16.

At midseason Seattle dealt center Benoit Benjamin and unsigned draft choice Doug Christie to the Los Angeles Lakers for Sam Perkins. The veteran Perkins provided a crafty inside game but also contributed an unexpected long-distance shooting touch, which would emerge as a secret weapon in the postseason.

The playoffs were an exhilarating ride for Seattle fans. The Sonics defeated nemesis Utah, three games to two, in the first round, then prevailed in overtime of the seventh game in their conference semifinal series against Houston. The Western Conference Finals pitted Seattle against the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns. The series went seven games before the Suns finally vanquished the Sonics, 123-110, in Game 7.

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1993-94: Sonics Cruise In Regular Season, Fall Short In Playoffs

The 1993-94 Sonics had a roller-coaster year. Seattle went from being the NBA's best team in the regular season to becoming the first No. 1 seed ever to lose to a No. 8 seed in NBA Playoff history. As the campaign opened, those in the Sonics' camp had visions of an NBA Championship. The club had picked up Detlef Schrempf and Kendall Gill in preseason trades and sprang out of the gate with a 20-2 record.

With an offense fired by a scrambling, disruptive defense, Seattle outscored opponents by a league-high 9.2 points per game. The Sonics won 25 games by at least 20 points. Although the team had no players in the top 10 in scoring, three Sonics players were among the NBA's top 14 in steals-Nate McMillan (first), Gary Payton (seventh), and Gill (14th). Payton improved his scoring to 16.5 points per game and made the NBA All-Defensive First Team and the All-NBA Third Team. Shawn Kemp (18.1 ppg, 10.8 rpg) made the All-NBA Second Team. Both Payton and Kemp represented the Sonics at the 1994 NBA All-Star Game.

But the house collapsed during and after the playoffs. Seattle finished with the NBA's best regular-season record (63-19) and sprinted to a two-game lead over Denver in the first round of the postseason. But the Nuggets took the next three games, including an overtime contest in Seattle in Game 5, and the Sonics found themselves on the wrong end of history.

After the playoff fiasco General Manager Bob Whitsitt, who had won NBA Executive of the Year honors for building the team, resigned in an apparent dispute with ownership. During the summer Wally Walker, a former NBA player who had most recently been the Sonics' part-time broadcast analyst, was hired to fill the general manager spot. One of Walker's first moves was to trade Ricky Pierce and the draft rights to Carlos Rogers to the Golden State Warriors for Sarunas Marciulionis and Byron Houston.

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1994-95: D?j? Vu

Despite some changes, the Seattle SuperSonics' 1994-95 season was reminiscent of the year before. The Sonics were again one of the league's best teams in the regular season; they tied for the fifth-best record in the NBA at 57-25 and had a chance to win the Pacific Division heading into the campaign's final few games. The 57 wins, which would have tied Seattle with the Orlando Magic for the best record in the NBA's Eastern Conference, were only good for a fourth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

In the first round of the playoffs the Sonics met the Los Angeles Lakers, who had given them trouble all season. The Sonics won Game 1 decisively but then fell in three straight to experience their second consecutive first-round upset. The talent-laden Seattle squad simply couldn't find the right chemistry in the postseason.

Individually, the 1994-95 season was one of the best for several Sonics players. Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, and Detlef Schrempf all made the All-Star Team, giving Seattle more representatives in the midseason classic than any other NBA club. They also earned All-NBA honors at season's end-Payton and Kemp on the Second Team, Schrempf on the Third Team. Payton repeated on the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

Kemp finished among the league leaders in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, and shotblocking. Payton increased his scoring average to a team-high 20.6 points per game. He also joined Nate McMillan and Kendall Gill among the league's top 12 in steals, as Seattle compiled more thefts than any other team for the third consecutive year. Schrempf took advantage of the newly shortened three-point arc to register a remarkable .514 three-point percentage. He lost the three-point shooting crown to the Chicago Bulls' Steve Kerr on the last day of the season.

Seattle's attack was much as it had been the previous season except for a few changes. Sarunas Marciulionis occasionally added spark, and second-year player Ervin Johnson showed improvement in the post and was a starter in 30 games. The Sonics signed veteran center Bill Cartwright in an effort to bring experience and defense, but he was seldom used and didn't appear in the playoffs.

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1995-96: Sonics Shake Monkey; Can't Stop Bulls

For the 1995-96 Sonics, victims of first-found upsets for consecutive seasons, not even a perfect 82-0 regular-season record would have swayed detractors, who said Seattle wouldn't win games when it counted - in the postseason.

For the fourth straight year under George Karl, Seattle piled up the wins in the regular season. Back-to-back losses at Indiana and Toronto dropped the Sonics to 6-5. It marked the last time in the regular season that the Sonics would lose two straight. In late November, they handed the Chicago Bulls one of only 10 losses they would suffer all season. In February/March, they posted a team-record 14-game winning streak. When all was said and done, the Sonics had posted a record of 64-18, the 10th best season in NBA history. In the wake of their past history and the record-setting 72-10 performance of the Chicago Bulls, no one seemed to notice.

When the playoffs started, it appeared the detractors may indeed get the last laugh. Seattle lost Game 2 at home to eighth-seeded Sacramento. The Sonics, with their backs against the wall for a third straight season, rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to win Game 3 and closed out the best-of-five series in four games.

Once the monkey was off their back, the Sonics seemed to respond. They swept through the two-time defending champion Houston Rockets, then survived a seven-game series with the Utah Jazz to advance to the Finals for the first time since their 1979 championship series.

The Bulls took a three games to none lead, and while talk of the "greatest team ever" began in Chicago, the Sonics responded with back-to-back wins in Games 4 and 5 before the Bulls ended Seattle's championship run in six games.

Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton and the Sonics coaching staff represented the team in the All-Star Game. Kemp would lead the team in scoring (19.6 ppg), Payton led the NBA and steals (2.85 spg) and was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. He was rewarded in the offseason with a berth on the U. S. Olympic basketball team.

Hersey Hawkins (15.6 ppg), Detlef Schrempf (17.1 ppg) provided additional offensive firepower for the Sonics, who finished second in total offense (104.5 ppg) behind Chicago. On the defensive end, the Sonics became the first team in NBA history to lead the league in steals for four straight seasons.

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1996-97: Sonics Still Super But No Finals Return

For the fifth straight season, the Sonics won at least 55 games. No other franchise can make that claim during that span. The Sonics tied a franchise record with 26 road wins, and became the first team ever to lead the NBA in steals for five consecutive seasons (11.02 per game).

This Sonics team played best with their backs to the wall. They won their final three games to edge the Lakers for their third Pacific Division title in four years. In the first round of the playoffs, Seattle fought back to beat Phoenix in five games, after trailing that series, 2-1. Seattle won Game 4 in Phoenix and the decisive Game 5 back in Seattle.

Against the Rockets, Seattle fell behind the Rockets, 3-1. But the Sonics won the ensuing two games to force a Game 7. In the deciding game, the Sonics rallied from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit to close to within two points in the final minute, but could not overcome the Rockets.

Kemp, Payton and Detlef Schrempf all represented Seattle in the All-Star Game. Payton averaged 21.8 points and 7.1 assists, and was third in the league in steals with 2.40 per game. Kemp averaged 18.7 points and 10.0 rebounds, and shot .510 from the field. As a team, Seattle led the NBA in steals-to-turnover ratio with a 0.73, and also forced more turnovers (18.7) than any other team.

Despite their achievements, the Sonics knew they were in a situation where, fair or unfair, they had to win the NBA title in order to improve on what they accomplished last season. Already, their minds are set on getting back to the Finals next year.

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1997-98: Sonics Reload; Recapture Pacific

Much of that talk subsided when Sonics President Wally Walker negotiated a three-way trade with Milwaukee and Cleveland that brought Vin Baker to Seattle. Baker, himself a three-time All-Star, immediately energized the franchise with his effusive personality and his knack for hitting the game-winning shot. Three times Baker delivered when the clock was winding down, endearing him to the city, his teammates and most importantly, his coach. Baker averaged 19.2 ppg and 8.0 rpg for the season, and finished fifth in the NBA in field goal percentage.

Though the acquisition of Baker was the most publicized offseason move, several smaller moves by Walker gave Karl his deepest team in years. Jerome Kersey, Greg Anthony, Aaron Williams and Dale Ellis each made significant contributions to Seattle's success.

Ellis, in particular, displayed the shooting touch reminiscent of his first tenure in Seattle. He finished fourth on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg), was third in NBA Sixth Man balloting, and was the NBA's leader in three-point percentage (46.4 percent).

Payton, who had a game-high 13 assists in the All-Star Game, continued his development under Karl into arguably the game's finest point guard. He had his best year passing the ball (8.3 apg, 6th in the NBA), finished among the league's top 20 in scoring (19.2 ppg, 19th in the NBA) and for the first time was a consistent three-point shooting threat, despite the longer distance. On the defensive end of the floor, he solidified his reputation as the league's best on-the-ball defender, and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year balloting.

During Seattle's first-round series with Minnesota, Payton also proved to be one of the NBA's best clutch performers. After Seattle had fallen behind 2-1 in the series against Minnesota, Payton averaged 26.5 ppg on 20-of-35 shooting to help Seattle advance. In the series-clincher, he played the entire 48 minutes.

In the second round, Seattle battled the LA Lakers, who had finished with an identical 61-21 record during the regular season. Seattle won the regular-season series, but was overwhelmed in the postseason by the phenomenal play of Shaquille O'Neal, for whom they had no answer. Los Angeles won the series in five games.

The season put a premature end to the final chapter in the 12-year career of Nate McMillan, Seattle's all-time steals and assists leader. McMillan, whom Karl often called his favorite player, had the rare ability to make his teammates better, and was a crowd favorite in Seattle.

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1998-99: Home for the Postseason

Despite another stellar year by point guard Gary Payton, the Seattle SuperSonics finished 25-25 for the lockout-shortened season and missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

Payton averaged 21.7 points and a career-high 8.7 assists while on his way to being named to the All-NBA Second Team. He also notched 2.18 steals per game and was on the All-Defensive First Team for the sixth consecutive year.

Seattle's other key player, power forward Vin Baker, had a frustrating season. The four-time All-Star missed 16 games with thumb and knee injuries, and he posted career-lows in scoring (13.8 ppg), rebounding (6.2), blocks (1.00), field goal percentage (.453) and free throw percentage (.450).

The season also marked a major change on the Seattle bench. For the first time since midway through the 1991-92 season, someone other than George Karl was the Sonics' head coach. On June 17, 1998, Paul Westphal was hired to replace Karl, who became Milwaukee's coach two months later.

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