SuperSonics

The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference Pacific and Northwest divisions from 1967 until 2008. After the 2007–08 season ended, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, where they now play as 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 SuperSonics and its Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) sister franchise 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, 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.

Seattle SuperSonics played their home games at KeyArena (originally the Seattle Center Coliseum) 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 (MLB) team Seattle Mariners and National Football League (NFL) team Seattle Seahawks. SuperSonics returned to the Coliseum in 1985, and temporarily moved to Tacoma Dome for the 1994–95 season while the Coliseum was renovated and renamed KeyArena.

Seattle 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 at KeyArena subject to NBA approval. The SuperSonics' franchise history, however, would be shared with Thunder.

Franchise history

1966–1968: Team creation

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. Schulman served as the active partner and head of team operations, and named the team SuperSonics after Boeing's recently awarded contract for the SST project.

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 Golden State Warriors. On October 21, the Seattle team's first win came against the San Diego Rockets in overtime 117–110, and 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 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 SuperSonics to the ABA; he also threatened to move his soon-to-be ABA team to Los Angeles to compete with Lakers. The Oscar Robertson suit delayed the merger and 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, SuperSonics had their first winning season at 47–35. On March 3, 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 Cleveland Cavaliers in an unpopular move; without his leadership, 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: Post-season success and championship season

Bill Russell 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 Detroit Pistons in a three-game mini-series before losing to the eventual champion Golden State Warriors in six games. The next season, SuperSonics traded Haywood to 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. SuperSonics again made the playoffs but lost to Phoenix Suns in six games, in spite of strong performances from Brown (28.5 ppg) and Burleson (20.8 ppg).

Russell left 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. SuperSonics won 11 of their first 12 games under Wilkens, finished the season at 47–35, won the Western Conference title, and led Washington Bullets three games to two before losing in seven games in the 1978 NBA Finals. Center Marvin Webster went to New York but SuperSonics' roster stayed largely intact during the off-season, and they won their first division title in 1979. In the playoffs, SuperSonics defeated Phoenix Suns in a seven-game conference final series to set up a rematch with Washington Bullets in the finals, in which Bullets lost to SuperSonics in five games to give 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 SuperSonics finish second in the Pacific Division to Los Angeles Lakers with a strong 56–26 record. That season, 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 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. SuperSonics made it to the Western Conference Finals for the third consecutive season but lost to Lakers in five games.

It was the last time the backcourt of Williams and Johnson played together 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, 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 SuperSonics scored 52–30 and 48–34 records during the next two years.

In 1981, SuperSonics created Sonics SuperChannel, the first sports subscription cable service; subscriptions were available for $120 ($1.33 a game) but the service shut down after the 1984–85 season.

1983–1989: A period of decline

In October 1983, original team owner Sam Schulman sold SuperSonics to Barry Ackerley. In 1984, Fred Brown retired after playing 13 productive seasons with SuperSonics; during this time, he had been on the same team roster as Rule and Wilkens during his rookie season, playing a key role on Seattle's first playoff teams, and being the team's important sixth man during the championship series years. In recognition of his contributions to the team, Brown's number was retired in 1986. Lenny Wilkens left the organization following the 1984–85 season and Jack Sikma, the last-remaining member of the SuperSonics' championship team aside from trainer Frank Furtado, was traded after the 1985–86 season.

Among the few SuperSonics highlights in the latter half of the 1980s were Tom Chambers' 1987 All-Star Game MVP award, SuperSonics' appearance in the 1987 Western Conference Finals, despite posting a 39–43 regular-season record during the 1986–87 season, and the performances of Chambers, Xavier McDaniel and Dale Ellis. In 1987–88, the three players each averaged over 20 points per game with Ellis at 25.8 ppg, McDaniel at 21.4, and Chambers at 20.4. In the 1988–89 season, Chambers had signed with Phoenix, Ellis improved his scoring average to 27.5 points per game and finished second in the league in three-point percentage. SuperSonics finished with a 47–35 record and qualified for the second round of the 1989 playoffs.

1989–1998: The Payton–Kemp era

The SuperSonics began setting a new foundation with the drafting of forward Shawn Kemp in 1989 and guard Gary Payton in 1990, and the trading of Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel to other teams during the 1990–91 season. It was George Karl's arrival as head coach in 1992, however, that marked a return to regular season and playoff competitiveness for the SuperSonics. With the continued improvement of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, the SuperSonics posted a 55–27 record in the 1992–93 season and took the Phoenix Suns to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.

In the 1993–94 season, the SuperSonics had the best record in the NBA at 63–19, but suffered a first round loss to the Denver Nuggets, becoming the first number one seed to lose a playoff series to an eighth seed. The Sonics moved to the Tacoma Dome for the 1994–95 season while the Coliseum underwent renovations and went on to earn a second place 57–25 record. Again, the Sonics were eliminated in the first round, this time to the Los Angeles Lakers in four games. The team returned to the rebuilt Coliseum, now the KeyArena, for the 1995–96 season.

Perhaps the strongest roster the SuperSonics ever had was the 1995–96 team, which had a franchise best 64–18 record. With a deep roster of All-NBA Second Team selections Kemp and Payton, forward Detlef Schrempf, forward Sam Perkins, guard Hersey Hawkins, and guard Nate McMillan, the team reached the 1996 NBA Finals, but lost to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in six games. Seattle continued to be a Western Conference powerhouse during the next two seasons, winning 57 games in 1996–97 and 61 games in 1997–98 for their second and third straight Pacific Division titles. At the end of the 1997–98 season, longtime Sonic and defensive specialist McMillan retired, and disagreements with management led Karl to end his tenure as head coach. He was replaced by former Sonic Paul Westphal for the 1998–99 season.

1998–2008: A decade of struggles

The 1998–99 season saw SuperSonics struggle. Westphal was dismissed after the team started the 2000–01 season 6–9, and replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Nate McMillan, who was appointed permanent head coach in February 2001. In the 2002–03 season, All-Star Payton was traded to Milwaukee Bucks; that season marked the end to the SuperSonics' 11-year run of seasons with a winning percentage of at least .500, then the second-longest current run in the NBA.

The 2004–05 team won the organization's sixth-division title under the leadership of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, winning 52 games and defeating Sacramento Kings to advance to the 2005 Western Conference Semifinals. SuperSonics lost in six games to the established trio of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginóbili of San Antonio Spurs, who subsequently defeated Detroit Pistons in the 2005 NBA Finals. This was also the last time this SuperSonics team would make the playoffs. During the 2005 off-season, head coach McMillan left SuperSonics to accept a high-paying position to coach Portland Trail Blazers. The season after his departure, the team regressed with a 35–47 record.

On May 22, 2007, SuperSonics were awarded the second pick in the 2007 NBA draft, equaling the highest draft position the team ever held, selecting Kevin Durant from the University of Texas. On June 28, SuperSonics traded Ray Allen and the 35th pick of the second-round Glen Davis in the 2007 NBA draft to Boston Celtics for rights to the fifth pick; Jeff Green, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. On July 11, SuperSonics and Orlando Magic agreed to a sign and trade for Rashard Lewis. SuperSonics received a future second-round draft pick and a $9.5 million trade exception from Magic. On July 20, SuperSonics used the trade exception and a second-round draft pick to acquire Kurt Thomas and two first-round draft picks from Phoenix Suns.

In 2008, morale was low at the beginning of SuperSonics season as talks with the city of Seattle for a new arena had broken down. SuperSonics had received a franchise player with second-overall pick in the NBA draft with Durant. With the Ray Allen trade, however, SuperSonics had little talent with which to surround their rookie forward and lost their first eight games under coach P. J. Carlesimo to achieve a 3–14 record in the first month of the season. Durant led all rookies in scoring at 20.3 ppg and won the Rookie of the Year award. SuperSonics, however, posted a franchise-worst record of 20–62. It was their final season in Seattle because Bennett got the right to move the team after settling all legal issues with the city. Seattle SuperSonics played their last home game on April 13, 2008, winning 99–95 against Dallas Mavericks. Throughout the game, the crowd chanted "Save our Sonics" and Durant waved his hands at the crowd. The last game they played was against Durant's future team, the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena three days later. KD scored 42 points.

Relocation to Oklahoma City

From 2001 to 2006, Starbucks chairman emeritus, former president and CEO Howard Schultz was the majority owner of the team, along with 58 partners or minor owners as part of Basketball Club of Seattle LLP. On July 18, 2006, after unsuccessful efforts to persuade Washington State government officials to provide funding to update KeyArena, Schultz and Basketball Club of Seattle LLP sold SuperSonics and their sister team the Women's National Basketball Association's Seattle Storm for $350 million to Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), an investment group that was headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett. Schultz sold the franchise to Bennett's group because they thought Bennett would keep the franchise in Seattle rather than move it to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said:

I think it's presumptuous to assume that Clay Bennett and his ownership group won't own that Seattle team for a long, long time in Seattle or somewhere else. It's presumptuous to assume they're going to move that franchise to Oklahoma City. I understand that people are going to say that seems to be a likely scenario, but that's just speculation.

After failing to persuade local governments to fund a $500-million arena complex in the Seattle suburb Renton, Bennett's group notified the NBA it intended to move the team to Oklahoma City and requested arbitration with the city of Seattle to be released from SuperSonics' lease of KeyArena.
The judge rejected the request and Seattle sued Bennett's group to enforce the lease that required the team to play at KeyArena until 2010.

On April 18, 2008, NBA owners approved a potential SuperSonics' relocation to Oklahoma City in a 28–2 vote by the league's Board of Governors; only Mark Cuban of Dallas Mavericks and Paul Allen of Portland Trail Blazers voted against the move. The approval meant SuperSonics would be allowed to move to Oklahoma City's Ford Center for the 2008–09 season after reaching a settlement with the city of Seattle.

On July 2, 2008, a settlement that allowed the team to move under certain conditions, including the ownership group's payment of $45 million to Seattle and the possibility of an additional $30 million by 2013 if a new team had not been awarded to the city, was reached. It was agreed the Oklahoma City team would not use the name "SuperSonics", and that the team's history would be shared between Oklahoma City and any future NBA team in Seattle. The relocated team began play as Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2008–09 season, becoming the third NBA franchise to relocate in the past decade, following Vancouver Grizzlies, who moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and were renamed Memphis Grizzlies for the 2001–02 season; and Charlotte Hornets, who moved to New Orleans

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