Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Western Division, and later as a member of the Western Conference's Pacific and Northwest divisions. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where it now plays as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Sam Schulman owned the team from its 1967 inception until 1983. It was then owned by Barry Ackerley until 2001, when it came under ownership of Basketball Club of Seattle, headed by Starbucks chairman emeritus, former president and CEO Howard Schultz. On July 18, 2006, Basketball Club of Seattle sold the SuperSonics and its Women's National Basketball Association sister franchise, the Seattle Storm to Professional Basketball Club LLC, headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. The NBA Board of Governors approved the sale on October 24, 2006, and finalized it seven days later, at which point the new ownership group took control. After failing to find public funding to construct a new arena in the Seattle area, the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City before the 2008–09 season, following a $45 million settlement with the city of Seattle to pay off their existing lease at the KeyArena at Seattle Center before it expired in 2010.
The SuperSonics played their home games at KeyArena for 33 of the franchise's 41 seasons in Seattle. In 1978, the team moved to the Kingdome, which they shared with Major League Baseball team Seattle Mariners and National Football League team Seattle Seahawks. The team returned to the Coliseum in 1985, and temporarily moved to the Tacoma Dome for the 1994–95 season while the Coliseum was renovated and renamed KeyArena.
The SuperSonics won the NBA championship in 1979. The franchise won Western Conference titles in 1978, 1979 and 1996; and six divisional titles—their last being in 2005—five in the Pacific Division and one in the Northwest Division. The franchise attained a 1,745–1,585 regular season win–loss record, as well as a 107–110 playoff win–loss record during its time in Seattle. Both marks would rank in the top half of the NBA's all-time standings. Settlement terms of a lawsuit between the city of Seattle and Clay Bennett's ownership group stipulated SuperSonics' banners, trophies and retired jerseys remain in Seattle; the nickname, logo and color scheme are available to any subsequent NBA team that plays in Seattle subject to NBA approval.
Franchise history
1966–1968: Team creation
In the early 1960s, security analyst Dick Vertlieb and script writer Don Richman talked to each other about their mutual dreams of running a professional franchise. The two set their eye on the National Basketball Association with its low entry fee, then set out finding a city with a quality arena and willing investors. Seattle was their third city of focus after Cleveland and Pittsburgh fizzled out. Having heard of the recent purchase of the San Diego Chargers by a consortium that had Gene Klein and Sam Schulman, the group called them up. They later met face-to-face. Despite hearing that neither Klein or Schulman had all the money needed for the team, the two guided them to merely serve as the front men by paying the $100,000 performance bond while Vertlieb and Richman would raise money to help cover the $1.75 million. On December 20, 1966, Los Angeles businessmen Sam Schulman and Eugene V. Klein, both of whom owned the AFL side San Diego Chargers, and a group of minority partners were awarded an NBA franchise for Seattle, the first major-league sports franchise in the city. The name of SuperSonics came on January 11, 1967, as an expansion team for the NBA, with Richman as their general manager and Vertlieb as business manager. It was Richman who hired Al Bianchi as the first head coach. The two left Seattle by 1969, while Schulman served as the active partner and head of team operations named the team SuperSonics as a nod to the city's ties to the aviation industry, with Boeing's having recently been awarded a contract for an SST project.The Seattle SuperSonics began play on October 13, 1967; they were coached by Al Bianchi, and included All-Star guard Walt Hazzard and All-Rookie Team members Bob Rule and Al Tucker. The expansion team debuted in San Francisco with a 144–116 loss in their first game against the San Francisco Warriors. On October 21, the Seattle team's first win came against the San Diego Rockets in overtime 117–110, and the SuperSonics finished the season with a 23–59 record.
1968–1974: The Lenny Wilkens era
Before the start of the next season, Hazzard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Lenny Wilkens, who brought a strong, all-around game to the SuperSonics, averaging 22.4 points, 8.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game for the SuperSonics in the 1968–69 season. Rule improved on his rookie statistics with 24.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. SuperSonics won only 30 games and Bianchi was replaced by Wilkens as player/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. In June 1970, the NBA owners voted 13–4 to work toward a merger with the ABA; Schulman, a member of the ABA–NBA merger committee in 1970, was eager to merge the leagues and he publicly announced if the NBA did not accept the merger agreement, he would move the SuperSonics to the ABA; he also threatened to move his soon-to-be ABA team to Los Angeles to compete with the Lakers. The Oscar Robertson suit delayed the merger and the SuperSonics remained in Seattle. Early in the 1970–71 season, Rule tore his left Achilles' tendon and was injured for the rest of the season.
Arrival of Spencer Haywood
Wilkens was named the 1971 All-Star Game MVP. Schulman was awarded American Basketball Association Rookie of the Year and MVP Spencer Haywood following a lengthy court battle. The following season, the SuperSonics had their first winning season at 47–35. On March 3, 1972, the team, which was led by player-coach Wilkens and First Team forward Haywood, held a 46–27 mark but late-season injuries to starters Haywood, Dick Snyder and Don Smith led to the team losing eight of its final nine games.For the 1972–73 season, Wilkens was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in an unpopular move; without his leadership, the SuperSonics fell to a 26–56 record. One of the highlights of the season was Haywood's second-consecutive All-NBA First Team selection; he averaged a SuperSonics record 29.2 points per game and collected 12.9 rebounds per game.
1974–1983: Postseason success and championship season
was hired as the head coach in 1974, and he led the SuperSonics to the playoffs for the first time. The team, which featured Haywood, guards Fred Brown and Slick Watts, and rookie center Tommy Burleson, defeated the Detroit Pistons in a three-game mini-series before losing to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in six games. The next season, the SuperSonics traded Haywood to the New York Knicks, 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 as Watts led the NBA in 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 Brown and Burleson.Russell left the SuperSonics after the 1976–77 season, and the team started the season at 5–17 under new coach Bob Hopkins. Lenny Wilkens was brought back to replace Hopkins, and the team's performance immediately improved. The SuperSonics won 11 of their first 12 games under Wilkens, finished the season at 47–35, won the Western Conference title, and led the Washington Bullets three games to two before losing in seven games in the 1978 NBA Finals. Center Marvin Webster went to New York but the SuperSonics' roster stayed largely intact during the off-season, and they won their first division title in 1979. In the playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Phoenix Suns in a seven-game conference final series to set up a rematch with the Washington Bullets in the finals, in which the Bullets lost to the SuperSonics in five games to give the SuperSonics their first-and-only NBA title. The championship team roster included Gus Williams and Finals MVP Dennis Johnson, second-year All-Star center Jack Sikma, forwards John Johnson and Lonnie Shelton, and key reserves Fred Brown and Paul Silas.
The 1979–80 season saw the SuperSonics finish second in the Pacific Division to the Los Angeles Lakers with a strong 56–26 record. That season, the SuperSonics set an NBA record with a regular season average attendance of 21,725 fans per game, a record that has since broken. 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 the SuperSonics, Gus Williams and Dennis Johnson were 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 consecutive season but lost to the Lakers in five games.
It was the last time the backcourt of Williams and Johnson played together on the SuperSonics; Johnson was traded to Phoenix Suns before the start of the 1980–81 season and Williams missed 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, the only time they finished in last place. Williams returned for the 1981–82 season and the SuperSonics scored 52–30 and 48–34 records during the next two years.
In 1981, the SuperSonics created the Sonics SuperChannel, the first sports subscription cable service; subscriptions were available for $120 but the service shut down after the 1984–85 season.