1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 20th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Bernie Bickerstaff returned for his second season as head coach of the franchise and, despite a modest improvement over their previous season's 31–51 record, managed to clinch a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in four games in the First Round, and then the Houston Rockets in six games in the Semi-finals, reaching the Western Conference Finals, only to be swept in four games to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The 39-43 Sonics remain the last team to date in the NBA to win a playoff series with a losing regular season record.

1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coachBernie Bickerstaff
General managerBob Whitsitt
Owner(s)Barry Ackerley
ArenaSeattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record39–43 (.476)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Pacific)
Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finishWestern Conference finals
(lost to Lakers 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKIRO-TV
RadioKING

It is also their first year without team captain Jack Sikma as he was traded in the offseason.

Draft picks
Main article: 1986 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
230Nate McMillanSG / SF United StatesNorth Carolina State
238Lemone Lampley United StatesDePaul
353Tod MurphyPF / C United StatesUC Irvine
476Michael Graham United StatesGeorgetown
599Dominic Pressley United StatesBoston College
6122Curtis KitchenPF United StatesSouth Florida

Roster
1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
PF 24 Chambers, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1959–06–21 Utah
G/F 3 Ellis, Dale 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1960–08–06 Tennessee
C 45 Johnson, Clemon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1956–09–12 Florida A&M
G 15 Johnson, Eddie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–02–24 Auburn
PF 42 Kitchen, Curtis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1964–01–30 South Florida
C 53 Lister, Alton 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–10–01 Arizona State
PF/C 20 Lucas, Maurice 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952–02–18 Marquette
F 34 McDaniel, Xavier 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1963–06–04 Wichita State
G 10 McMillan, Nate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 NC State
G 25 Phelps, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–10–03 Alcorn State
PF/C 40 Schoene, Russ 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1960–04–16 Chattanooga
G 44 Stansbury, Terence 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1961–02–27 Temple
G 30 Williams, Kevin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1961–09–11 St. John's
PG 22 Young, Danny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1962–07–26 Wake Forest
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 6517.793–37–428–1324–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4933.5981634–715–2617–13
x-Golden State Warriors 4240.5122325–1617–2417–13
x-Seattle SuperSonics 3943.4762625–1614–2715–15
Phoenix Suns 3646.4392926–1510–3114–16
Los Angeles Clippers 1270.146539–323–383–27
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers6517.793–
2 y-Dallas Mavericks5527.67110
3 x-Portland Trail Blazers4933.59816
4 x-Utah Jazz4438.53721
5 x-Golden State Warriors4240.51223
6 x-Houston Rockets4240.51223
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics3943.47626
8 x-Denver Nuggets3745.45128
9 Phoenix Suns3646.43929
10 Sacramento Kings2953.35436
11 San Antonio Spurs2854.34137
12 Los Angeles Clippers1270.14653

Record vs. opponents
1986-87 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta –3–34–24–22–02–03–31–11–13–32–01–13–35–05–13–31–11–12–02–02–02–05–0
Boston 3–3–6–03–22–02–03–22–02–05–12–00–23–34–24–23–32–02–02–02–02–01–14–2
Chicago 2–40–6–5–11–11–13–30–20–23–22–00–24–23–24–23–31–11–11–11–12–00–23–3
Cleveland 2–42–31–5–0–21–11–51–10–23–32–00–21–54–24–12–41–11–11–11–11–10–22–4
Dallas 0–20–21–12–0–4–21–15–03–30–25–03–22–02–02–02–03–22–35–14–25–03–31–1
Denver 0–20–21–11–12–4–0–24–13–31–12–30–51–12–02–00–23–23–22–45–12–32–41–1
Detroit 3–32–33–35–11–12–0–1–11–13–32–01–13–35–16–05–01–10–21–11–12–01–13–3
Golden State 1–10–22–01–10–51–41–1–4–10–26–02–40–22–02–01–11–54–24–14–14–22–30–2
Houston 1–10–22–02–03–33–31–11–4–2–04–11–40–21–11–10–23–22–35–15–11–43–31–1
Indiana 3–31–52–33–32–01–13–32–00–2–2–00–22–45–13–22–41–10–21–12–01–11–14–2
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–20–20–53–20–20–61–40–2–0–60–21–10–20–21–50–61–41–42–42–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–12–02–02–02–35–01–14–24–12–06–0–1–12–02–02–05–15–15–04–14–23–21–1
Milwaukee 3–33–32–45–10–21–13–32–02–04–22–01–1–4–24–22–32–00–22–01–12–01–14–1
New Jersey 0–52–42–32–40–20–21–50–21–11–51–10–22–4–5–13–31–10–20–20–20–21–12–4
New York 1–52–42–41–40–20–20–60–21–12–32–00–22–41–5–3–31–10–22–01–10–21–12–4
Philadelphia 3–33–33–34–20–22–00–51–12–04–22–00–23–23–33–3–1–12–02–01–12–01–13–3
Phoenix 1–10–21–11–12–32–31–15–12–31–15–11–50–21–11–11–1–2–42–32–31–54–10–2
Portland 1–10–21–11–13–22–32–02–43–22–06–01–52–02–02–00–24–2–3–24–14–23–21–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–11–11–54–21–11–41–51–14–10–50–22–00–20–23–22–3–3–32–31–51–1
San Antonio 0–20–21–11–12–41–51–11–41–50–24–11–41–12–01–11–13–21–43–3–1–42–40–2
Seattle 0–20–20–21–10–53–20–22–44–11–14–22–40–22–02–00–25–12–43–24–1–3–21–1
Utah 0–21–12–02–03–34–21–13–23–31–13–22–31–11–11–11–11–42–35–14–22–3–1–1
Washington 0–52–43–34–21–11–13–32–01–12–42–01–11–44–24–23–32–01–11–12–01–11–1—

Game log
1986–87 game log
October
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
Attendance		Record
1October 31vs Portland Trail Blazers110-127Tom Chambers (27)Memorial Coliseum
12,666		1–0
November
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
Attendance		Record
2November 1Sacramento Kings103-114Xavier McDaniel (27)Seattle Center Coliseum
6,296		2–0
3November 4Los Angeles Lakers110-96Tom Chambers (21)Seattle Center Coliseum
10,426		2–1
4November 6Dallas Mavericks147-124Xavier McDaniel (28)Seattle Center Coliseum
8,363		2–2
5November 8New York Knicks102-105Dale Ellis (29)Seattle Center Coliseum
9,280		3–2
6November 11Philadelphia 76ers121-114Tom Chambers (33)Seattle Center Coliseum
12,600		3–3
7November 12vs Los Angeles Lakers122-97Xavier McDaniel (17)The Forum
13,694		3–4
8November 15vs Golden State Warriors121-127Tom Chambers (38)Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
7,655		4–4
9November 18Sacramento Kings105-119Dale Ellis (28)Seattle Center Coliseum
5,411		5–4
10November 20Milwaukee Bucks116-105Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
8,790		5–5
11November 22Indiana Pacers111-121Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
6,399		6–5
12November 25Los Angeles Clippers103-113Dale Ellis (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
4,702		7–5
13November 26vs Utah Jazz127-91Tom Chambers (22)Salt Palace
10,512		7–6
14November 28vs Phoenix Suns104-117Dale Ellis (34)Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
10,462		8–6
December
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
Attendance		Record
15December 2Chicago Bulls115-109 (OT)Xavier McDaniel
Tom Chambers
(29)		Seattle Center Coliseum
13,438		8–7
16December 4vs San Antonio Spurs102-109Tom Chambers (36)HemisFair Arena
5,893		9–7
17December 6vs Houston Rockets80-136Tom Chambers (29)The Summit
16,016		10–7
18December 10vs Los Angeles Clippers101-94Tom Chambers (28)Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
5,573		10–8
19December 11San Antonio Spurs107-113Xavier McDaniel (33)Seattle Center Coliseum
5,056		11–8
20December 13Dallas Mavericks126-109Tom Chambers
Dale Ellis
(24)		Seattle Center Coliseum
9,789		11–9
21December 16vs Portland Trail Blazers126-118Dale Ellis (34)Memorial Coliseum
12,666		11–10
22December 18Houston Rockets100-114Dale Ellis (33)Seattle Center Coliseum
7,696		12–10
23December 19vs Phoenix Suns106-108Dale Ellis (28)Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
10,433		13–10
24December 21Golden State Warriors121-112Tom Chambers (25)Seattle Center Coliseum
5,228		13–11
25December 23Denver Nuggets116-127Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
7,459		14–11
26December 26Los Angeles Clippers107-113Tom Chambers (27)Seattle Center Coliseum
6,353		15–11
27December 28Portland Trail Blazers127-118Xavier McDaniel (30)Seattle Center Coliseum
9,365		15–12
28December 30Boston Celtics104-102Xavier McDaniel (25)Seattle Center Coliseum
14,600		15–13
January
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
Attendance		Record
29January 2vs Dallas Mavericks117-107Dale Ellis (28)Reunion Arena
17,007		15–14
30January 3vs Houston Rockets138-114Xavier McDaniel
Dale Ellis
(21)		The Summit
16,016		15–15
31January 6Phoenix Suns108-138Tom Chambers (29)Seattle Center Coliseum
5,764		16–15
32January 8vs Golden State Warriors108-115Dale Ellis (35)Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
7,790		17–15
33January 11Utah Jazz111-127Tom Chambers (31)Seattle Center Coliseum
7,594		18–15
34January 13vs Denver Nuggets117-109Tom Chambers (30)McNichols Sports Arena
8,981		18–16
35January 14San Antonio Spurs104-130Dale Ellis (32)Seattle Center Coliseum
5,068		19–16
36January 16Denver Nuggets100-134Xavier McDaniel (30)Seattle Center Coliseum
8,544		20–16
37January 17vs Sacramento Kings125-115Xavier McDaniel (37)ARCO Arena (I)
10,333		20–17
38January 21vs Philadelphia 76ers129-123 (OT)Dale Ellis (40)The Spectrum
11,891		20–18
39January 23vs New Jersey Nets120-125Xavier McDaniel (32)Brendan Byrne Arena
9,182		21–18
40January 24vs Atlanta Hawks97-87Dale Ellis (27)Omni Coliseum
13,842		21–19
41January 26vs Utah Jazz95-108Dale Ellis (34)Salt Palace
12,212		22–19
42January 28Los Angeles Lakers101-125Tom Chambers (37)Seattle Center Coliseum
14,634		23–19
43January 30vs Golden State Warriors127-119Tom Chambers (36)Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
9,276		23–20
44January 31Phoenix Suns112-118 (OT)Dale Ellis (24)Seattle Center Coliseum
9,344		24–20
February
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
Attendance		Record
45February 2New Jersey Nets100-108Xavier McDaniel (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
6,132		25–20
46February 4vs Dallas Mavericks124-94Tom Chambers (19)Reunion Arena
17,007		25–21
47February 5vs San Antonio Spurs117-111Xavier McDaniel (26)HemisFair Arena
7,548		25–22
48February 10Atlanta Hawks125-113Tom Chambers (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
12,004		25–23
49February 12vs Milwaukee Bucks106-104Tom Chambers (32)MECCA Arena
11,052		25–24
50February 13vs Chicago Bulls106-98Xavier McDaniel (27)Chicago Stadium
16,251		25–25
51February 16vs Cleveland Cavaliers105-94Dale Ellis (17)Coliseum at Richfield
12,163		25–26
52February 18vs Indiana Pacers105-88Dale Ellis (24)Market Square Arena
9,077		25–27
53February 19vs Detroit Pistons117-105Dale Ellis (31)Pontiac Silverdome
14,482		25–28
54February 21Washington Bullets93-110Tom Chambers (31)Seattle Center Coliseum
11,637		26–28
55February 23Los Angeles Clippers112-124Dale Ellis (29)Seattle Center Coliseum
5,528		27–28
56February 24vs Utah Jazz133-103Dale Ellis (26)Salt Palace
12,212		27–29
57February 26Denver Nuggets100-106Xavier McDaniel (30)Seattle Center Coliseum
7,691		28–29
58February 28vs Phoenix Suns105-112Dale Ellis (40)Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
13,338		29–29
March
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
Attendance		Record
59March 2Cleveland Cavaliers107-123Tom Chambers (36)Seattle Center Coliseum
6,488		30–29
60March 4vs Los Angeles Lakers138-124Dale Ellis (32)The Forum
17,505		30–30
61March 5Portland Trail Blazers122-127Dale Ellis (38)Seattle Center Coliseum
10,205		31–30
62March 7Houston Rockets115-118Tom Chambers (29)Seattle Center Coliseum
14,474		32–30
63March 10vs Houston Rockets127-136 (2OT)Tom Chambers (42)The Summit
16,279		33–30
64March 11vs Dallas Mavericks130-117Tom Chambers
Dale Ellis
Xavier McDaniel
(21)		Reunion Arena
17,007		33–31
65March 13vs Los Angeles Clippers108-104Tom Chambers (31)Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
6,522		33–32
66March 15vs Sacramento Kings107-106Dale Ellis (40)ARCO Arena (I)
10,333		33–33
67March 16San Antonio Spurs111-122Dale Ellis (33)Seattle Center Coliseum
5,934		34–33
68March 19vs Washington Bullets110-106Xavier McDaniel (20)Capital Centre
5,987		34–34
69March 20vs Boston Celtics112-108Dale Ellis (31)Boston Garden
14,890		34–35
70March 23vs New York Knicks121-126 (OT)Xavier McDaniel (40)Madison Square Garden (IV)
9,038		35–35
71March 26vs Denver Nuggets123-113Xavier McDaniel (33)McNichols Sports Arena
10,183		35–36
72March 27Golden State Warriors106-105Xavier McDaniel (31)Seattle Center Coliseum
9,091		35–37
73March 29Detroit Pistons108-107Xavier McDaniel (27)Seattle Center Coliseum
8,717		35–38
74March 31Sacramento Kings129-132Tom Chambers (36)Seattle Center Coliseum
6,095		36–38
April
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocation
Attendance		Record
75April 2Los Angeles Lakers117-114Xavier McDaniel (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
14,739		36–39
76April 4Portland Trail Blazers126-123Tom Chambers (34)Seattle Center Coliseum
12,227		36–40
77April 7Phoenix Suns127-125 (OT)Dale Ellis (35)Seattle Center Coliseum
6,585		36–41
78April 10vs Portland Trail Blazers121-115Tom Chambers (27)Memorial Coliseum
12,666		36–42
79April 14Utah Jazz102-103Tom Chambers (30)Seattle Center Coliseum
7,178		37–42
80April 16vs Los Angeles Clippers87-118Dale Ellis (41)Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
6,517		38–42
81April 18Golden State Warriors132-127Tom Chambers (31)Seattle Center Coliseum
9,428		38–43
82April 19vs Los Angeles Lakers104-110Xavier McDaniel (39)The Forum
17,505		39–43
1986–87 season schedule
  • Green background indicates win.
  • Red background indicates loss.

Playoffs
1987 playoff game log
First round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 23 @ Dallas L 129–151 Tom Chambers (35) Xavier McDaniel (13) Xavier McDaniel (7) Reunion Arena
17,007		 0–1
2 April 25 @ Dallas W 112–110 Dale Ellis (32) Xavier McDaniel (9) Nate McMillan (8) Reunion Arena
17,007		 1–1
3 April 28 Dallas W 117–107 Dale Ellis (43) Dale Ellis (14) Nate McMillan (9) Hec Edmundson Pavilion
8,150		 2–1
4 April 30 Dallas W 124–98 Tom Chambers (31) Chambers, Ellis (9) Nate McMillan (9) Hec Edmundson Pavilion
8,150		 3–1
Conference Semi-finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 2 @ Houston W 111–106 (OT) Dale Ellis (34) Tom Chambers (9) Nate McMillan (8) The Summit
16,279		 1–0
2 May 5 @ Houston W 99–97 Dale Ellis (30) Dale Ellis (9) Eddie Johnson (8) The Summit
16,279		 2–0
3 May 7 Houston L 84–102 Tom Chambers (24) Dale Ellis (10) McMillan, Young (4) Seattle Center Coliseum
14,587		 2–1
4 May 9 Houston W 117–102 Tom Chambers (38) Alton Lister (17) Nate McMillan (10) Seattle Center Coliseum
14,559		 3–1
5 May 12 @ Houston L 107–112 Dale Ellis (27) Tom Chambers (9) Eddie Johnson (6) The Summit
16,279		 3–2
6 May 14 Houston W 128–125 (2OT) Tom Chambers (37) Xavier McDaniel (12) Nate McMillan (16) Seattle Center Coliseum
14,751		 4–2
Conference finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 16 @ L.A. Lakers L 82–87 Tom Chambers (28) McDaniel, Lister (10) Nate McMillan (8) The Forum
17,505		 0–1
2 May 19 @ L.A. Lakers L 104–112 Dale Ellis (22) Xavier McDaniel (8) Nate McMillan (7) The Forum
17,505		 0–2
3 May 23 L.A. Lakers L 121–122 Xavier McDaniel (42) Xavier McDaniel (10) Nate McMillan (15) Seattle Center Coliseum
14,657		 0–3
4 May 25 L.A. Lakers L 102–133 Tom Chambers (20) Alton Lister (20) Kevin Williams (5) Seattle Center Coliseum
14,477		 0–4
1987 schedule

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
Tom Chambers828236.8.456.372.8496.63.01.0.623.3
Dale Ellis827637.5.516.358.7875.52.91.3.424.9
Gerald Henderson16625.8.500.000.9441.55.31.0.011.2
Clemon Johnson78713.5.494.000.6363.6.3.3.53.2
Eddie Johnson24021.2.457.333.7641.94.8.5.09.0
Curtis Kitchen605.2.500.000.7501.5.2.3.51.5
Alton Lister757530.5.504.000.6759.41.5.42.411.6
Maurice Lucas63017.8.451.000.8024.91.0.5.37.9
Xavier McDaniel828237.0.509.214.6968.62.51.4.623.0
Nate McMillan715027.8.475.000.6174.78.21.8.65.3
Mike Phelps6067.8.426.100.705.81.1.4.03.0
Russ Schoene6309.2.374.154.6301.9.4.3.22.7
Terence Stansbury4408.5.429.379.620.51.3.3.04.0
Kevin Williams65010.8.446.000.8331.31.0.7.14.9
Danny Young732620.3.458.367.8311.54.81.0.04.8
1.^ Statistics with the SuperSonics.

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Tom Chambers1435.6.449.353.8086.42.3.9.923.0
Dale Ellis1437.9.487.361.8156.42.6.7.425.2
Clemon Johnson1418.7.453.000.6323.5.31.1.24.3
Eddie Johnson1412.9.534.400.8671.03.2.6.06.4
Curtis Kitchen812.9.500.000.000.8.0.0.4.3
Alton Lister922.9.400.000.7006.2.8.81.46.0
Maurice Lucas1418.9.389.000.7374.61.4.9.47.0
Xavier McDaniel1437.7.488.200.6078.43.01.5.620.3
Nate McMillan1425.4.435.000.7083.98.01.0.75.1
Russ Schoene148.8.357.333.7501.9.2.1.32.2
Kevin Williams1418.2.479.000.7502.42.11.1.18.6
Danny Young1414.9.404.3131.0001.13.41.1.04.1

Awards and records

Awards

Transactions

Overview
Players Added

Via draft

Via free agency

Via trade

 Players Lost

Via free agency

Via trade

Via waiver

Trades
July 1, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonics
Alton Lister
Conditional 1987 and 1989 first-round picks		 To Milwaukee Bucks
Jack Sikma
Conditional 1987 and 1989 second round picks
July 23, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonics
Dale Ellis		 To Dallas Mavericks
Al Wood
September 29, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonics
Clemon Johnson
Conditional 1989 first-round pick		 To Philadelphia 76ers
Tim McCormick
Danny Vranes
September 30, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonics
John Long		 To Detroit Pistons
Conditional 1987 and 1991 second round picks
October 2, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonics
Russ Schoene
Terence Stansbury		 To Indiana Pacers
John Long
Conditional 1993 second round pick
October 2, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonics
Ronnie Lester		 To Los Angeles Lakers
Cash considerations
November 12, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonics
Conditional 1987 first round and 1990 second round picks		 To New York Knicks
Gerald Henderson
Conditional 1987 first-round pick

Free agents

References

    See also
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