1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics season

1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics season
Division champions
Head coach George Karl
General manager Wally Walker
Arena KeyArena at Seattle Center
Results
Record 61–21 (.744)
Place Division: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish West Semifinals
(Lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television KING-TV
KSTW
Fox Sports Northwest
Radio KJR

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 30th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.[1] In the offseason, the Sonics acquired All-Star forward Vin Baker from the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade. Other offseason acquisitions included re-acquiring former Sonics star Dale Ellis from the Denver Nuggets, and signing free agents Jerome Kersey and Greg Anthony. The Sonics got off to a fast start winning 37 of 47 games before the All-Star break, as they finished first place in the Pacific Division with a 61–21 record. Baker and Gary Payton were both selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, with head coach George Karl coaching the Western Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, the Sonics struggled as they trailed 2–1 to the 7th-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, but managed to win the series in five games. However, they would lose in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals after taking Game 1.

Following the season, Karl left to coach the Milwaukee Bucks as his "favorite player" Nate McMillan retired.[2] Also following the season, Sam Perkins signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers, Kersey signed with the San Antonio Spurs, Anthony signed with the Portland Trail Blazers, and Jim McIlvaine was traded to the New Jersey Nets.

For the season, the Sonics added maroon alternate road uniforms which lasted until 2001.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
123Bobby JacksonPG/SG United StatesMinnesota
241Ed ElismaF United StatesGeorgia Tech
255Mark BlountC United StatesPittsburgh

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 2 United States Anthony, Greg 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) UNLV
PF 42 United States Baker, Vin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Hartford
SG 4 United States Cotton, James 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Long Beach State
SG 3 United States Ellis, Dale 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Tennessee
SG 33 United States Hawkins, Hersey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Bradley
PF 44 United States Howard, Stephen  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) DePaul
SF 7 United States Kersey, Jerome 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Longwood
C 22 United States McIlvaine, Jim 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Marquette
SG 10 United States McMillan, Nate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) North Carolina State
PG 20 United States Payton, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oregon State
C 14 United States Perkins, Sam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) North Carolina
SF 11 Germany Schrempf, Detlef 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Washington
PF 15 United States Williams, Aaron 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier
SF 25 United States Wingate, David 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 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 6121.744–35–626–1519–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers 6121.744 –33–828–1316–8
x-Phoenix Suns 5626.683530–1126–1517–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4636.5611526–1520–2114–10
Sacramento Kings 2755.3293421–206–356–18
Golden State Warriors 1963.2324212–297–346–18
Los Angeles Clippers 1765.2074411–306–356–18
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Utah Jazz6220.756–
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics6121.7441
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers6121.7441
4 x-Phoenix Suns5626.6836
5 x-San Antonio Spurs5626.6836
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4636.56116
7 x-Minnesota Timberwolves4537.54917
8 x-Houston Rockets4141.50021
9 Sacramento Kings2755.32935
10 Dallas Mavericks2062.24442
11 Vancouver Grizzlies1963.23243
11 Golden State Warriors1963.23243
13 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745
14 Denver Nuggets1171.13451

Record vs. opponents

1997–98 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 —2–14–01–34–02–02–02–22–01–11–32–00–21–33–10–21–22–22–23–10–21–12–01–11–14–00–22–04–0
Boston 1–2—1–21–31–31–11–12–21–11–10–42–01–10–42–21–12–22–22–23–10–21–11–10–21–13–00–22–03–2
Charlotte 0–42–1—1–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–01–13–13–11–12–21–33–12–11–12–01–11–11–14–01–12–02–2
Chicago 3–13–13–1—2–21–12–03–12–02–02–22–01–12–14–01–14–04–03–12–11–11–12–02–01–14–00–22–03–1
Cleveland 0–43–12–22–2—1–12–03–12–01–12–22–01–11–32–22–03–11–22–23–12–01–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–2
Dallas 0–21–10–21–11–1—3–10–21–30–41–11–30–40–20–22–20–21–10–20–20–40–40–40–42–21–10–44–01–1
Denver 0–21–10–20–20–21–3—0–21–30–40–22–20–40–20–21–30–20–20–20–20–42–21–30–40–40–20–41–31–1
Detroit 2–22–21–31–31–32–02–0—2–01–11–32–00–21–22–20–22–22–21–23–11–10–21–11–10–24–00–20–22–2
Golden State 0–21–11–10–20–23–13–10–2—1–30–21–31–30–20–20–40–21–11–10–20–41–32–21–31–30–20–41–30–2
Houston 1–11–10–20–21–14–04–01–13–1—1–14–01–30–21–11–31–11–10–21–11–31–34–02–21–32–00–43–11–1
Indiana 3–14–01–32–22–21–12–03–12–01–1—2–00–23–14–02–02–12–13–14–01–11–12–00–20–24–01–12–04–0
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–20–20–23–12–20–23–10–40–2—0–40–20–20–41–10–20–21–10–40–43–11–30–41–11–31–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–11–11–11–14–04–02–03–13–12–04–0—1–12–04–01–11–11–10–22–22–24–04–01–32–03–14–01–1
Miami 3–14–01–31–23–12–02–02–12–02–01–32–01–1—3–11–13–12–23–14–00–22–02–00–20–24–01–12–02–2
Milwaukee 1–32–21–30–42–22–02–02–22–01–10–42–00–21–3—1–10–43–12–12–20–22–02–00–21–13–10–21–11–2
Minnesota 2–01–11–11–10–22–23–12–04–03–10–24–00–41–11–1—2–01–10–22–03–11–33–11–31–31–11–34–00–2
New Jersey 2–12–22–20–41–32–02–02–22–01–11–21–11–11–34–00–2—2–23–13–11–11–12–01–10–23–10–22–01–3
New York 2–22–23–10–42–11–12–02–21–11–11–22–01–12–21–31–12–2—4–02–22–01–11–10–21–13–10–22–01–3
Orlando 2–22–21–31–32–22–02–02–11–12–01–32–01–11–31–22–01–30–4—4–00–22–00–20–21–13–10–22–03–1
Philadelphia 1–31–31–21–21–32–02–01–32–01–10–41–12–00–42–20–21–32–20–4—1–11–11–10–20–22–20–22–03–1
Phoenix 2–02–01–11–10–24–04–01–14–03–11–14–02–22–02–01–31–10–22–01–1—2–23–13–12–22–01–34–01–1
Portland 1–11–10–21–11–14–02–22–03–13–11–14–02–20–20–23–11–11–10–21–12–2—3–12–20–42–03–12–21–1
Sacramento 0–21–11–10–20–24–03–11–12–20–40–21–30–40–20–21–30–21–12–01–11–31–3—0–41–31–12–22–21–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–10–22–04–04–01–13–12–22–03–10–42–02–03–11–12–02–02–01–32–24–0—2–22–01–34–01–1
Seattle 1–11–11–11–12–02–24–02–03–13–12–04–03–12–01–13–12–01–11–12–02–24–03–12–2—2–02–24–01–1
Toronto 0–40–30–40–41–31–12–00–42–00–20–41–10–20–41–31–11–31–31–32–20–20–21–10–20–2—0–21–10–3
Utah 2–02–01–12–01–14–04–02–04–04–01–13–11–31–12–03–12–02–02–02–03–11–32–23–12–22–0—4–00–2
Vancouver 0–20–20–20–20–20–43–12–03–11–30–23–10–40–21–10–40–20–20–20–20–42–22–20–40–41–10–4—1–1
Washington 0–42–32–21–32–11–11–12–22–01–10–42–01–12–22–12–03–13–11–31–31–11–11–11–11–13–02–01–1—

Playoffs

West First Round

(2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (7) Minnesota Timberwolves Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the SuperSonics and Timberwolves.

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(SEA-MIN)

 Venue Box score Television
1 April 24 Seattle 108 Minnesota 83 1-0 KeyArena, Seattle 1 TBS 9:30et
2 April 26 Seattle 93 Minnesota 98 1-1 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 2 TNT 9:00et
3 April 28 Minnesota 98 Seattle 90 1-2 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 3 TBS 9:30et
4 April 30 Minnesota 88 Seattle 92 2-2 Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota 4 TBS 9:30et
5 May 2 Seattle 97 Minnesota 84 3-2 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 5 NBC 3:30et
Seattle wins series 3–2

West Conference Semifinals

(2) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers Last Playoff Meeting: 1995 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-1)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(SEA-LAL)

 Venue Box score Television
1 May 4 Seattle 106 Los Angeles 92 1-0 KeyArena, Seattle 1 TNT 9:00et
2 May 6 Seattle 68 Los Angeles 92 1-1 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 2 TNT 10:30et
3 May 8 Los Angeles 119 Seattle 103 1-2 Great Western Forum, Los Angeles 3 TNT 10:30et
4 May 10 Los Angeles 112 Seattle 100 1-3 Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California 4 NBC 3:00et
5 May 12 Seattle 95 Los Angeles 110 1-4 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington 5 TNT 10:30et
Los Angeles wins series 4–1

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
Greg Anthony
Vin Baker
James Cotton
Dale Ellis
Hersey Hawkins
Stephen Howard
Jerome Kersey
Jim McIlvaine
Nate McMillan
Gary Payton
Sam Perkins
Detlef Schrempf
Eric Snow
Aaron Williams
David Wingate
George Zidek

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Greg Anthony
Vin Baker
Dale Ellis
Hersey Hawkins
Jerome Kersey
Jim McIlvaine
Nate McMillan
Gary Payton
Sam Perkins
Detlef Schrempf
Eric Snow
Aaron Williams
David Wingate

Awards and records

Awards

Transactions

Free agents

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics
  2. ↑ "N.B.A.: PLAYOFFS; Karl's Days In Seattle Are Over". New York Times. May 27, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
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