Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (or simply Sonics) are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Their mascot's name is Squatch. Of the three current major professional sports teams in Seattle—the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Sonics—the Sonics are the only one to have won a championship (1979). (The Sonics' sister team, the WNBA's Seattle Storm also won one in 2004, and the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup in 1917).
The team has been owned by Sam Schulman (1967–1983), Barry Ackerley (1983–2001), the Basketball Group of Seattle headed by Howard Schultz (the chairman of Starbucks Coffee, 2001–2006) and, currently, Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett.
On December 20, 1966, Los Angeles businessmen Sam Schulman and Eugene V. Klein and a group of minority partners were awarded the NBA franchise for the city of Seattle. Schulman would serve as the active partner and head of team operations. Named the SuperSonics after Boeing's recently awarded contract for the SST project (later cancelled), they were Seattle's first professional sports franchise. Beginning play in October of 1967, the SuperSonics were coached by Al Bianchi and featured All-Star guard Walt Hazzard and All-Rookie Team members Bob Rule and Al Tucker. The expansion team stumbled to a 23–59 record, and Hazzard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks before the start of the next season for future Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens. Wilkens brought a strong all-around game to the SuperSonics, averaging 22.4 points per game, 8.2 assists per game, and 6.2 rebounds per game for Seattle in the 1968–69 season. Rule, meanwhile, improved on his rookie statistics with 24.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. The SuperSonics, however, only won 30 games and Bianchi was replaced by Wilkens as coach during the off-season.
Wilkens and Rule both represented Seattle in the 1970 NBA All-Star Game, and Wilkens led the NBA in assists during the 1969–70 season. Early in the 1970–71 season, however, Rule tore his achilles tendon and was lost for the rest of the year. Wilkens was named the 1971 All-Star Game MVP, but the big news of the season came when owner Sam Schulman managed to land ABA Rookie of the Year and ABA MVP Spencer Haywood following a lengthy court battle. The following season, the SuperSonics went on to record their first winning season at 47–35. The team, led by player-coach Wilkens and All-NBA forward Haywood, held a 46–27 mark on March 3, but late season injuries to starters Haywood, Dick Snyder, and Don Smith contributed to the team losing eight of its final nine games — otherwise, the 1971-72 team might very well have become the franchise's first playoff team. The following season, Wilkens was dealt to Cleveland in a highly unpopular trade, and without his leadership the Supersonics fell to a 26–56 record. One of the few bright spots of the season was Haywood's second consecutive All-NBA First Team selection, as he averaged a SuperSonics record 29.2 points per game and collected 12.9 rebounds per game.
The legendary Bill Russell was hired as the head coach in the following year, and in 1975 he coached the SuperSonics to the playoffs for the first time. The team, which starred Haywood, guards Fred Brown and Slick Watts, and rookie center Tommy Burleson, defeated the Detroit Pistons in a three game mini-series before falling to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in six games. The next season, the SuperSonics traded Haywood to New York forcing the remaining players to pick up the offensive slack. Guard Fred Brown, now in his fifth season, was selected to the 1976 NBA All-Star Game and finished fifth in the league in scoring average and free throw percentage. Burleson's game continued to strengthen, while Watts led the NBA in both assists and steals and was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team. The SuperSonics again made the playoffs, but lost to the Phoenix Suns in six games in spite of strong performances from both Brown (28.5 ppg) and Burleson (20.8 ppg) during the series.
The 1979–80 season saw the SuperSonics finish second in the Pacific Division to the Los Angeles Lakers with a strong 56–26 record. Fred Brown won the NBA's first three-point shooting percentage title, Jack Sikma played in the second of his seven career All-Star Games for Seattle, Gus Williams and Dennis Johnson were both named to the All-NBA Second Team, and Johnson was also named to the All-NBA First Defensive Team for the second consecutive year. The SuperSonics made it to the Western Conference Finals for the third straight season, but lost to the Lakers in five games. It was the last time that the backcourt of Williams and Johnson would play together in SuperSonics uniforms, as Johnson was traded to the Phoenix Suns before the start of the 1980–81 season and Williams sat out the year due to a contract dispute. As a result, the SuperSonics fell to last place in the Pacific Division with a 34–48 mark, so far the only time they have ever finished in last place. Williams returned for the 1981–82 season, and Seattle managed respectable 52–30 and 48–34 records during the next two years.
The SuperSonics began setting a new foundation with the drafting of forward Shawn Kemp in 1989 and guard Gary Payton in 1990, and the trading of Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel to other teams during the 1990–91 season. It was George Karl's arrival as head coach in 1992, however, that marked a return to regular season and playoff competitiveness for the SuperSonics. With the continued improvement of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, the SuperSonics posted a 55–27 record in the 1992-93 season and took the Phoenix Suns to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.
Disagreements with management led to Karl leaving Seattle after the 1997–98 season, and the SuperSonics again descended into an extended period of mediocrity. The 2002–03 season saw All-Star Gary Payton traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, and it also marked the end to the Sonics 11-year streak of having a season with a winning percentage of at least .500, the second longest current streak in the NBA at the time. The 2004–05 team surprised many when it won the organization's sixth division title under the leadership of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, winning 52 games. During the off-season in 2005, head coach Nate McMillan left the Sonics to accept a high-paying position to coach the Portland Trail Blazers. After his departure, the team regressed the following season with a 35–47 record, missing the playoffs.
