1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics season

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 runners-up in the 1996 NBA Finals, having lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Jim McIlvaine,[2][3][4] Craig Ehlo,[5][6][7] and Larry Stewart,[8][9] and then later on signed former All-Star forward Terry Cummings in January.[10][11][12] 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. They later on posted a nine-game winning streak in January, then won seven straight games in February, and held a 32–15 record at the All-Star break.[13] The Sonics 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.[14] The SuperSonics had the sixth best team defensive rating in the NBA.[15]

1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics season
Division champions
Head coachGeorge Karl
General managerWally Walker
ArenaKeyArena at Seattle Center
Results
Record57–25 (.695)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishWest Semi-finals
(lost to Rockets 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKSTW
Fox Sports Northwest
RadioKJR

Three members of the team, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf, were all selected for the 1997 NBA All-Star Game.[16][17][18][19] Payton averaged 21.8 points, 7.1 assists and 2.4 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Kemp averaged 18.7 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and Schrempf provided the team with 16.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, but only played 61 games due to a foot injury.[20][21][22] In addition, Hersey Hawkins contributed 13.9 points and 1.9 steals per game, while off the bench, sixth man Sam Perkins provided with 11.0 points per game, Cummings averaged 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 45 games, and McIlvaine led the team with 2.0 blocks per game.[23] Defensive guard Nate McMillan only played just 37 games this season due to a torn right abductor muscle.[24][25][26] Payton also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting,[27][28][29] and in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[30][28][29] while Perkins finished tied in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.[31][28][29]

In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Sonics trailed 2–1 to the 7th-seeded Phoenix Suns,[32][33][34] but won the series in five games.[35][36][37][38] In the Western Conference Semi-finals, they faced the Houston Rockets, who had home-court advantage in the series, and took a 3–1 series lead.[39][40][41] The Sonics won the next two games to even the series,[42][43][44] but lost Game 7 to the Rockets.[45][46][47][48]

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.[49][50][51][52][53] Also following the season, Cummings signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers,[54][55][56] while Stewart was released to free agency, and Ehlo retired.

Draft picks
Main article: 1996 NBA draft
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
1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
F 34 Cummings, Terry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–03–15 DePaul
G 3 Ehlo, Craig 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–08–11 Washington State
G 21 Graham, Greg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1970–11–26 Indiana
C 24 Harvey, Antonio 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1970–07–06 Pfeiffer
G 33 Hawkins, Hersey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley
F 40 Kemp, Shawn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC
C 22 McIlvaine, Jim 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1972–07–30 Marquette
G 10 McMillan, Nate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 NC State
G 20 Payton, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State
C 14 Perkins, Sam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–06–14 North Carolina
C 55 Scheffler, Steve 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1967–09–03 Purdue
F 11 Schrempf, Detlef 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1963–01–21 Washington
G 13 Snow, Eric 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1973–04–24 Michigan State
F 23 Stewart, Larry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–09–21 Coppin State
G 25 Wingate, David 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
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-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
1996–97 NBA West standings
#
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—

Game log

Playoffs
1997 playoff game log
First round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 25 Phoenix L 101–106 Gary Payton (23) Shawn Kemp (15) Gary Payton (9) KeyArena
17,072		 0–1
2 April 27 Phoenix W 122–78 Payton, Kemp (23) Shawn Kemp (15) Gary Payton (6) KeyArena
17,072		 1–1
3 April 29 @ Phoenix L 103–110 Gary Payton (34) Shawn Kemp (11) Gary Payton (6) America West Arena
19,023		 1–2
4 May 1 @ Phoenix W 122–115 (OT) Gary Payton (28) Shawn Kemp (20) Gary Payton (14) America West Arena
19,023		 2–2
5 May 3 Phoenix W 116–92 Detlef Schrempf (24) Shawn Kemp (11) Gary Payton (10) KeyArena
17,072		 3–2
Conference Semi-finals: 3–4 (home: 1–2; road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 5 @ Houston L 102–112 Shawn Kemp (24) Shawn Kemp (11) Eric Snow (7) The Summit
16,285		 0–1
2 May 7 @ Houston W 106–101 Shawn Kemp (22) Shawn Kemp (15) Gary Payton (9) The Summit
16,285		 1–1
3 May 9 Houston L 93–97 Payton, Kemp (28) Shawn Kemp (10) Payton, Kemp (5) KeyArena
17,072		 1–2
4 May 11 Houston L 106–110 (OT) Gary Payton (27) Kemp, Cummings (9) Gary Payton (11) KeyArena
17,072		 1–3
5 May 13 @ Houston W 100–94 Hersey Hawkins (23) Shawn Kemp (10) Gary Payton (11) The Summit
16,285		 2–3
6 May 15 Houston W 99–96 Shawn Kemp (22) Shawn Kemp (11) Gary Payton (13) KeyArena
17,072		 3–3
7 May 17 @ Houston L 91–96 Gary Payton (27) Shawn Kemp (10) Gary Payton (7) The Summit
16,285		 3–4
1997 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

NOTE: Please write the players statistics in alphabetical order by last name.

Season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Terry Cummings 45318.4.486.600.6954.10.90.70.28.2
Craig Ehlo 62013.7
Greg Graham 2807.0
Antonio Harvey 604.3
Hersey Hawkins 828233.6
Shawn Kemp 817534.0
Jim McIlvaine 827918.0
Nate McMillan 37221.6
Gary Payton 828239.2
Sam Perkins 81424.4
Steve Scheffler 704.1
Detlef Schrempf 616035.9
Eric Snow 67011.6
Elmore Spencer 105.0
Larry Stewart 702114.0
David Wingate 65214.3

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. Cour, Jim (July 22, 1996). "Sonics Get Their Center: Jim McIlvaine". Associated Press. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  3. Allen, Percy (July 23, 1996). "McIlvaine Solution in Middle?". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  4. "McIlvaine Signs with Sonics". The Spokesman-Review. Wire Reports. July 23, 1996. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  5. "Sonics Sign Free Agent Craig Ehlo". United Press International. July 23, 1996. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  6. Armour, Terry (October 11, 1996). "Bulls, Sonics Pick Up Where They Left Off--This Time for Fun". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  7. Blanchette, John (October 24, 1996). "Journeyman Ehlo Takes Career Turn for the Better". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  8. Smith, Theresa (October 4, 1996). "Stewart Sets Blurry Sights on Making Sonics' Roster; Competition Getting Physical Among Seattle's Free Agents". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  9. Underwood, Roger (November 24, 1996). "ROGER UNDERWOOD'S NBA NOTEBOOK: Injured McMillan Helps from the Sonics' Bench". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
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  14. "1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
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  16. Jorgensen, Loren (February 8, 1997). "No Offense, But Malone Would Rather Be Home". Deseret News. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  17. Fry, Darrell (February 8, 1997). "On to the Next Stage". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
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  33. "Suns Beat SuperSonics, Again". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 30, 1997. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
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  35. Friend, Tom (May 4, 1997). "Sonics Beat Suns, Dousing Lights on Johnson's Career". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
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  39. "Rockets Are Almost Home Free After Overtime Victory". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 12, 1997. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
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  42. Friend, Tom (May 16, 1997). "Fisticuffs Fever Spreads to Seattle". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  43. "It Gets Worse for Rockets". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 16, 1997. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
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  45. Howe Verhovek, Sam (May 18, 1997). "Barkley Closer to Goal as Rockets Move Ahead". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
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  49. Roberts, Selena (September 26, 1997). "PRO BASKETBALL; Sonics' Kemp Gets Wish and Is Traded, to Cavs". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  50. Baker, Chris (September 26, 1997). "Kemp Is Key Player in Three-Way Trade". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  51. Sherwin, Bob (September 26, 1997). "Shawn Kemp Moves On -- Reign Comes to an End -- Kemp Is a Cav, Baker Is a Sonic After 3-Way Deal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
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  54. "Two Free Agents Sign". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 5, 1997. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  55. Shapiro, Mark (September 5, 1997). "76ers Sign Cummings to 2-Year Deal". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  56. "NBA Referee Pleads Guilty to Filing False Tax Returns". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. September 5, 1997. Retrieved January 13, 2023.

See also
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