1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics season

1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics season
Division champions
Head coach George Karl
General manager Wally Walker
Arena KeyArena at Seattle Center
Results
Record 57–25 (.695)
Place Division: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish West Semifinals
(Lost to Rockets 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television KING-TV
KSTW
Fox Sports Northwest
Radio KJR

The 1996–97 NBA season was the 29th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.[1] The SuperSonics entered the season as runner-ups in the 1996 NBA Finals, having lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. During the offseason, the Sonics signed free agents Jim McIlvaine and Craig Ehlo, and later on signed Terry Cummings in January. Coming off their trip to the NBA Finals, the Sonics remained as one of the elite teams in the Western Conference posting an 11-game winning streak after losing two of their first three games. The team won their third Division title in four years with a 57–25 record, and entered the playoffs as the #2 seed in the Western Conference. Three members of the team, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf were all selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game.

In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the 7th-seeded Phoenix Suns after trailing 2–1. In the semifinals, they faced the Houston Rockets, who had home court advantage in the series and defeated the Sonics in seven games. This season was Kemp's final season with the SuperSonics, as he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three-team trade the following year.[2] Also following the season, Cummings signed with the Philadelphia 76ers and Ehlo retired.


Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
235Joseph BlairC United StatesArizona
245Joe VogelC United StatesColorado State
247Ron RileySG/SF United StatesArizona State
257Drew BarryPG United StatesGeorgia Tech

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PF 34 United States Cummings, Terry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–03–15 DePaul
SG 3 United States Ehlo, Craig 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–08–11 Washington State
PG 21 United States Graham, Greg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1970–11–26 Indiana
SG 33 United States Hawkins, Hersey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley
PF 40 United States Kemp, Shawn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC
C 22 United States McIlvaine, Jim 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1972–07–30 Marquette
PG 10 United States McMillan, Nate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 North Carolina State
PG 20 United States Payton, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State
PF 14 United States Perkins, Sam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–06–14 North Carolina
C 55 United States Scheffler, Steve 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1967–09–03 Purdue
SF 11 Germany Schrempf, Detlef 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1963–01–21 Washington
PG 13 United States Snow, Eric 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1973–04–04 Michigan State
SF 23 United States Stewart, Larry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–09–21 Coppin State
SG 25 United States Wingate, David 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 5725.695–31–1026–1516–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers 5626.683131–1025–1618–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4933.598829–1220–2115–9
x-Phoenix Suns 4042.4881725–1615–2613–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers 3646.4392121–2015–2610–14
Sacramento Kings 3448.4152322–1912–298–16
Golden State Warriors 3052.3662718–2312–294–20
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Utah Jazz6418.780–
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics5725.6957
3 x-Houston Rockets5725.6957
4 x-Los Angeles Lakers5626.6838
5 x-Portland Trail Blazers4933.59815
6 x-Minnesota Timberwolves4042.48824
7 x-Phoenix Suns4042.48824
8 x-Los Angeles Clippers3646.43928
9 Sacramento Kings3448.41530
10 Golden State Warriors3052.36634
11 Dallas Mavericks2458.29340
12 Denver Nuggets2161.25643
13 San Antonio Spurs2062.24444
14 Vancouver Grizzlies1468.17150

Record vs. opponents

1996–97 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA VAN WAS
Atlanta —3–11–31–33–12–01–11–32–01–13–12–01–11–24–02–03–11–33–14–01–12–02–02–01–14–01–12–02–1
Boston 1–3—0–40–41–21–11–10–41–10–21–20–21–10–41–30–20–40–40–41–31–11–10–21–10–23–10–20–20–4
Charlotte 3–14–0—0–43–11–12–02–22–02–02–21–11–11–22–22–04–03–11–24–01–10–22–02–02–02–20–22–03–1
Chicago 3–14–04–0—3–12–02–03–12–01–14–02–01–12–24–02–03–12–23–04–02–02–02–02–02–03–11–12–02–1
Cleveland 1–32–11–31–3—2–01–12–21–10–23–12–01–10–42–22–04–01–32–23–01–11–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–3
Dallas 0–21–11–10–20–2—3–10–20–40–41–12–20–40–20–21–31–11–11–12–01–31–32–21–31–30–21–33–10–2
Denver 1–11–10–20–21–11–3—0–21–31–30–21–30–40–21–10–41–10–20–21–12–20–42–22–20–41–10–43–11–1
Detroit 3–14–02–21–32–22–02–0—2–01–13–12–01–10–43–12–04–01–22–22–10–21–11–12–01–13–11–12–04–0
Golden State 0–21–10–20–21–14–03–10–2—0–41–11–30–40–21–11–32–00–21–12–00–42–21–34–00–42–00–43–10–2
Houston 1–12–00–21–12–04–03–11–14–0—1–13–13–10–21–14–02–01–10–22–02–22–24–03–13–11–12–23–12–0
Indiana 1–32–12–20–41–31–12–01–31–11–1—2–01–11–32–22–02–21–31–33–01–11–11–11–11–14–00–22–01–3
L.A. Clippers 0–22–01–10–20–22–23–10–23–11–30–2—2–20–22–01–31–10–21–11–12–20–42–24–01–32–01–34–00–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–11–11–14–04–01–14–01–31–12–2—1–12–03–12–01–11–12–04–01–34–02–23–11–11–34–02–0
Miami 2–14–02–12–24–02–02–04–02–02–03–12–01–1—4–01–13–11–32–23–12–01–12–02–00–23–10–22–03–1
Milwaukee 0–43–12–20–42–22–01–11–31–11–12–20–20–20–4—0–22–11–22–23–11–10–20–21–11–13–11–12–01–3
Minnesota 0–22–00–20–20–23–14–00–23–10–40–23–11–31–12–0—2–01–11–11–13–12–20–44–00–41–11–34–01–1
New Jersey 1–34–00–41–30–41–11–10–40–20–22–21–10–21–31–20–2—2–21–32–21–10–21–12–01–10–30–22–01–3
New York 3–14–01–32–23–11–12–02–12–01–13–12–01–13–12–11–12–2—3–13–21–11–12–02–00–23–01–12–04–0
Orlando 1–34–02–10–32–21–12–02–21–12–03–11–11–12–22–21–13–11–3—2–21–12–01–11–11–14–00–21–11–3
Philadelphia 0–43–10–40–40–30–21–11–20–20–20–31–10–21–31–31–12–22–32–2—1–11–10–21–10–21–30–22–01–3
Phoenix 1–11–11–10–21–13–12–22–04–02–21–12–20–40–21–11–31–11–11–11–1—1–34–03–12–20–21–32–21–1
Portland 0–21–12–00–21–13–14–01–12–22–21–14–03–11–12–02–22–01–10–21–13–1—2–24–01–30–22–24–00–2
Sacramento 0–22–00–20–20–22–22–21–13–10–41–12–20–40–22–04–01–10–21–12–00–42–2—3–11–31–10–44–00–2
San Antonio 0–21–10–20–22–03–12–20–20–41–31–10–42–20–21–10–40–20–21–11–11–30–41–3—0–41–11–31–30–2
Seattle 1–12–00–20–22–03–14–01–14–01–31–13–11–32–01–14–01–12–01–12–02–23–13–14–0—2–01–34–02–0
Toronto 0–41–32–21–31–32–01–11–30–21–10–40–21–11–31–31–13–00–30–43–12–02–01–11–10–2—1–11–12–2
Utah 1–12–02–01–11–13–14–01–14–02–22–03–13–12–01–13–12–01–12–02–03–12–24–03–13–11–1—4–02–0
Vancouver 0–22–00–20–20–21–31–30–21–31–30–20–40–40–20–20–40–20–21–10–22–20–40–43–10–41–10–4—1–1
Washington 1–24–01–31–23–12–01–10–42–00–23–12–00–21–33–11–13–10–43–13–11–12–02–02–00–22–20–21–1—

Playoffs

Western Conference Quarterfinals

(2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (7) Phoenix Suns Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference Finals (Phoenix won 4–3)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(SEA-PHO)

 Venue Recap Television
1 April 25 Seattle 101 Phoenix 106 0-1 KeyArena, Seattle 1
2 April 27 Seattle 122 Phoenix 78 1-1 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 2
3 April 29 Phoenix 110 Seattle 103 1-2 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 3
4 May 1 Phoenix 115 Seattle 122 2-2 America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 4 TNT
5 May 3 Seattle 116 Phoenix 92 3-2 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 5 NBC
Seattle wins series 3–2

Western Conference Semifinals

(2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference Semifinals (Seattle won 4-0)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(HOU-SEA)

 Venue Recap Television
1 May 5 Houston 112 Seattle 102 1-0 The Summit, Houston 1
2 May 7 Houston 101 Seattle 106 1-1 The Summit, Houston, Texas 2
3 May 9 Seattle 93 Houston 97 2-1 KeyArena, Seattle 3
4 May 11 Seattle 106 Houston 110 3-1 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 4 NBC
5 May 13 Houston 94 Seattle 100 3-2 The Summit, Houston, Texas 5
6 May 15 Seattle 99 Houston 96 3-3 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 6 TNT
7 May 17 Houston 96 Seattle 91 4-3 The Summit, Houston, Texas 7 NBC
Houston wins series 4–3

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
Terry Cummings
Craig Ehlo
Greg Graham
Antonio Harvey
Hersey Hawkins
Shawn Kemp
Jim McIlvaine
Nate McMillan
Gary Payton
Sam Perkins
Steve Scheffler
Detlef Schrempf
Eric Snow
Elmore Spencer
Larry Stewart
David Wingate

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Terry Cummings
Greg Graham
Hersey Hawkins
Shawn Kemp
Jim McIlvaine
Nate McMillan
Gary Payton
Sam Perkins
Detlef Schrempf
Eric Snow
Larry Stewart
David Wingate

Awards and records

Awards

Transactions

Free agents

References

  1. ↑ 1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics
  2. ↑ "PRO BASKETBALL; Sonics' Kemp Gets Wish And Is Traded, to Cavs". New York Times. September 26, 1997. Retrieved February 28, 2017.

See also

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