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 (eliminated 3-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Northwest, KOMO-TV
Radio	KOMO-AM and FM

The 1996–97 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 29th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] After finishing the regular season with a 57–25 record, the Sonics entered the playoffs as the number two 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 playoffs, they defeated the Phoenix Suns in the first round and lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games in the Conference Semifinals. It was also Kemp's last season with the SuperSonics, as he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers the following year.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	35	Joseph Blair	C	United States	Arizona
2	45	Joe Vogel	C	United States	Colorado State
2	47	Ron Riley	SG/SF	United States	Arizona State
2	57	Drew Barry	PG	United States	Georgia Tech

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PF 34 Cummings, Terry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1961–03–15 DePaul SG 3 Ehlo, Craig 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–08–11 Washington State SG 21 Graham, Greg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1970–11–26 Indiana SG 33 Hawkins, Hersey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley PF 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 SG 10 McMillan, Nate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 North Carolina State PG 20 Payton, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State PF 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 SF 11 Schrempf, Detlef 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1963–01–21 Washington PG 13 Snow, Eric 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1973–04–04 Michigan State SF 23 Stewart, Larry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–09–21 Coppin State SF 25 Wingate, David 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown	Head coach George Karl (North Carolina) 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	57	25	.695	–	31–10	26–15	16–8
x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	1	31–10	25–16	18–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	8	29–12	20–21	15–9
x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	17	25–16	15–26	13–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	21	21–20	15–26	10–14
Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	23	22–19	12–29	8–16
Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	27	18–23	12–29	4–20

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Utah Jazz	64	18	.780	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	57	25	.695	7
3	x-Houston Rockets	57	25	.695	7
4	x-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	8
5	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	15
6	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	40	42	.488	24
7	x-Phoenix Suns	40	42	.488	24
8	x-Los Angeles Clippers	36	46	.439	28
9	Sacramento Kings	34	48	.415	30
10	Golden State Warriors	30	52	.366	34
11	Dallas Mavericks	24	58	.293	40
12	Denver Nuggets	21	61	.256	43
13	San Antonio Spurs	20	62	.244	44
14	Vancouver Grizzlies	14	68	.171	50

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, Washington	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, Texas	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, Washington	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

• Gary Payton, All-NBA Second Team
• Gary Payton, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Transactions

Free Agents

Additions Player Signed Former team

Subtractions Player Left New team

References

1. 1996-97 Seattle SuperSonics

See also

• 1996-97 NBA season