1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season
1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season | |
---|---|
Pacific Division Champions Western Conference Champions |
|
Head coach | George Karl |
General manager | Wally Walker |
Arena | KeyArena at Seattle Center |
Results | |
Record | 64–18 (.780) |
Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
Playoff finish | NBA Finals (eliminated 2–4) |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
|
Local media | |
Television | Prime Sports Northwest, KOMO-TV |
Radio | KJR-AM |
The 1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 28th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] After two consecutive playoffs appearances losing in the first round, the Sonics finished the regular with a franchise best 64–18 record, surpassing the record from the 1993–94 season, and earned their third number one seed in the Western Conference in franchise history.
Led by Shawn Kemp and Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton, the SuperSonics defeated the Sacramento Kings in the first round, swept the reigning champions Houston Rockets and got past the Utah Jazz in seven games in the Conference Finals to reach their first NBA Finals since 1979, where they would face the Chicago Bulls. After an 0–3 start in the series, Seattle managed to win their next two home games, but eventually lost the series in game six in Chicago.
For the season, the Sonics sported new uniforms, a new logo, and adding red to their color scheme. The logo and uniforms would remain until 2001.
Contents
Draft picks
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Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 26 | Sherell Ford | SF | United States | Illinois |
2 | 54 | Eurelijus Žukauskas | C | Lithuania | Neptūnas Klaipėda |
Roster
Seattle SuperSonics roster
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Depth chart
Pos. | Starter | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
---|---|---|---|---|
C | Ervin Johnson | Frank Brickowski | Steve Scheffler | |
PF | Shawn Kemp | Sam Perkins | ||
SF | Detlef Schrempf | Vincent Askew | Sherell Ford | |
SG | Hersey Hawkins | David Wingate | ||
PG | Gary Payton | Nate McMillan | Eric Snow |
Regular season
Season standings
Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y-Seattle SuperSonics | 64 | 18 | .780 | – | 38–3 | 26–15 | 21–3 |
x-Los Angeles Lakers | 53 | 29 | .646 | 11 | 30–11 | 23–18 | 17–7 |
x-Portland Trail Blazers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 20 | 26–15 | 18–23 | 11–13 |
x-Phoenix Suns | 41 | 41 | .500 | 23 | 25–16 | 16–25 | 9–15 |
x-Sacramento Kings | 39 | 43 | .476 | 25 | 26–15 | 13–28 | 11–13 |
Golden State Warriors | 36 | 46 | .439 | 28 | 23–18 | 13–28 | 7–17 |
Los Angeles Clippers | 29 | 53 | .354 | 35 | 19–22 | 10–31 | 7–17 |
Western Conference | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
1 | c-Seattle SuperSonics | 64 | 18 | .780 | – |
2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 59 | 23 | .720 | 5 |
3 | x-Utah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 9 |
4 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 53 | 29 | .646 | 11 |
5 | x-Houston Rockets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 16 |
6 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 20 |
7 | x-Phoenix Suns | 41 | 41 | .500 | 23 |
8 | x-Sacramento Kings | 39 | 43 | .476 | 25 |
9 | Golden State Warriors | 36 | 46 | .439 | 28 |
10 | Denver Nuggets | 35 | 47 | .427 | 29 |
11 | Los Angeles Clippers | 29 | 53 | .354 | 35 |
12 | Dallas Mavericks | 26 | 56 | .317 | 38 |
13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 26 | 56 | .317 | 38 |
14 | Vancouver Grizzlies | 15 | 67 | .183 | 49 |
Game log
Playoffs
West First Round
(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (8) Sacramento Kings Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the SuperSonics and Kings.
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(SEA-SAC) |
Venue | Recap | Television |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | April 26 | Seattle | 97 | Sacramento | 85 | 1-0 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 1 | TNT 10:30et |
2 | April 28 | Seattle | 81 | Sacramento | 90 | 1-1 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 2 | TNT 9:00et |
3 | April 30 | Sacramento | 89 | Seattle | 96 | 2-1 | ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California | 3 | TNT 10:30et |
4 | May 2 | Sacramento | 87 | Seattle | 101 | 3-1 | ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California | 4 | TBS 10:30et |
Seattle wins series 3–1 |
West Conference Semifinals
(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference Semifinals (Seattle won 4-3)
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(SEA-HOU) |
Venue | Recap | Television |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 4 | Seattle | 108 | Houston | 75 | 1-0 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 1 | NBC 3:30et |
2 | May 6 | Seattle | 105 | Houston | 101 | 2-0 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 2 | TNT 9:00et |
3 | May 10 | Houston | 112 | Seattle | 115 | 3-0 | The Summit, Houston, Texas | 3 | TNT 9:30et |
4* | May 12 | Houston | 107 | Seattle | 114 | 4-0 | The Summit, Houston, Texas | 4 | NBC 3:00et |
Seattle wins series 4–0 |
*Required overtime
West Conference Finals
(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Utah Jazz Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference First Round (Seattle won 3-2)
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(SEA-UTAH) |
Venue | Recap | Television |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 18 | Seattle | 102 | Utah | 72 | 1-0 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 1 | NBC 3:30et |
2 | May 20 | Seattle | 91 | Utah | 87 | 2-0 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 2 | TNT 9:00et |
3 | May 24 | Utah | 96 | Seattle | 76 | 2-1 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 3 | NBC 9:00et |
4 | May 26 | Utah | 86 | Seattle | 88 | 3-1 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 4 | NBC 3:30et |
5* | May 28 | Seattle | 95 | Utah | 98 | 3-2 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 5 | NBC 9:00et |
6 | May 30 | Utah | 118 | Seattle | 83 | 3-3 | Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah | 6 | NBC 9:00et |
7 | June 2 | Seattle | 90 | Utah | 86 | 4-3 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 7 | NBC 7:30et |
Seattle wins series 4–3 |
*Required overtime
NBA Finals
Chicago Bulls vs. Seattle SuperSonics
Game | Date | Home | Score | Visitor | Score | Record
(CHI-SEA) |
Venue | Recap | Television |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | June 5 | Chicago | 107 | Seattle | 90 | 1-0 | United Center, Chicago, Illinois | 1 | NBC 9:00et |
2 | June 7 | Chicago | 92 | Seattle | 88 | 2-0 | United Center, Chicago, Illinois | 2 | NBC 9:00et |
3 | June 9 | Seattle | 86 | Chicago | 108 | 3-0 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 3 | NBC 7:30et |
4 | June 12 | Seattle | 107 | Chicago | 86 | 3-1 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 4 | NBC 9:00et |
5 | June 14 | Seattle | 89 | Chicago | 78 | 3-2 | KeyArena, Seattle, Washington | 5 | NBC 9:00et |
6 | June 16 | Chicago | 87 | Seattle | 75 | 4-2 | United Center, Chicago, Illinois | 6 | NBC 7:30et |
Chicago wins NBA Finals series 4–2 |
Player statistics
Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Season
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vincent Askew | 69 | 2 | 25.0 | .493 | .337 | .764 | 3.2 | 2.4 | .7 | .2 | 8.4 |
Frank Brickowski | 63 | 8 | 15.7 | .488 | .405 | .709 | 2.4 | .9 | .4 | .1 | 5.4 |
Sherell Ford | 28 | 1 | 5.0 | .375 | .160 | .765 | .9 | .2 | .3 | .0 | 3.2 |
Hersey Hawkins | 82 | 82 | 34.4 | .473 | .384 | .874 | 3.6 | 2.7 | 1.8 | .2 | 15.6 |
Ervin Johnson | 81 | 60 | 18.8 | .511 | .333 | .669 | 5.3 | .6 | .5 | 1.6 | 5.5 |
Shawn Kemp | 79 | 76 | 33.3 | .561 | .417 | .742 | 11.4 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 19.6 |
Nate McMillan | 55 | 14 | 22.9 | .420 | .380 | .707 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 1.7 | .3 | 5.0 |
Gary Payton | 81 | 81 | 39.0 | .484 | .328 | .748 | 4.2 | 7.5 | 2.9 | .2 | 19.3 |
Sam Perkins | 82 | 20 | 26.5 | .408 | .355 | .793 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .6 | 11.8 |
Steve Scheffler | 35 | 2 | 5.2 | .533 | .200 | .474 | .9 | .1 | .2 | .1 | 1.7 |
Detlef Schrempf | 63 | 60 | 34.9 | .486 | .408 | .776 | 5.2 | 4.4 | .9 | .1 | 17.1 |
Eric Snow | 43 | 1 | 9.0 | .420 | .200 | .592 | 1.0 | 1.7 | .7 | .0 | 2.7 |
David Wingate | 60 | 3 | 11.6 | .415 | .441 | .780 | .9 | 1.0 | .3 | .1 | 3.7 |
Playoffs
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vincent Askew | 19 | 0 | 18.2 | .343 | .261 | .607 | 2.2 | 1.4 | .7 | .4 | 3.7 |
Frank Brickowski | 21 | 3 | 9.8 | .421 | .273 | .750 | 1.4 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 2.0 |
Hersey Hawkins | 21 | 21 | 34.0 | .452 | .344 | .895 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 1.3 | .2 | 12.3 |
Ervin Johnson | 18 | 18 | 14.1 | .371 | .000 | .818 | 3.8 | .4 | .3 | .8 | 3.1 |
Shawn Kemp | 20 | 20 | 36.0 | .570 | .000 | .795 | 10.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 20.9 |
Nate McMillan | 19 | 0 | 20.3 | .406 | .475 | .643 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 1.2 | .3 | 4.4 |
Gary Payton | 21 | 21 | 43.4 | .485 | .410 | .633 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 1.8 | .3 | 20.7 |
Sam Perkins | 21 | 1 | 31.1 | .459 | .368 | .754 | 4.3 | 1.7 | .7 | .3 | 12.3 |
Steve Scheffler | 8 | 0 | 2.8 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .8 | .3 | .1 | .0 | .0 |
Detlef Schrempf | 21 | 21 | 37.6 | .475 | .368 | .750 | 5.0 | 3.2 | .7 | .2 | 16.0 |
Eric Snow | 10 | 0 | 2.4 | .143 | .000 | .000 | .4 | .6 | .2 | .0 | .2 |
David Wingate | 13 | 0 | 5.2 | .438 | .500 | 1.000 | .2 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.5 |
Awards and records
Awards
- Gary Payton was named the Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in total steals and steals per game.
- Shawn Kemp – All-NBA Second Team
- Gary Payton – All-NBA Second Team
- Gary Payton – All-Defensive First Team
- Shawn Kemp (fourth appearance, second start)
- Gary Payton (third appearance)
Records
Transactions
Overview
Players Added ----
Via draft Via trade |
Players Lost ----
Via trade Retired |
Trades
June 27, 1995 | To Seattle SuperSonics----Hersey Hawkins----David Wingate | To Charlotte Hornets----Kendall Gill |
June 28, 1994 | To Seattle SuperSonics----Eric Snow | To Milwaukee Bucks----Draft rights to Eurelijus Žukauskas----Conditional 1996 second round pick |
September 18, 1995 | To Seattle SuperSonics----Frank Brickowski | To Sacramento Kings----Byron Houston----Šarūnas Marčiulionis |
Free agents
Additions
Player | Signed | Former team |
Steve Scheffler | October 6, 1995 | Re-signed |