1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics season

1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics season
Pacific 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 (eliminated 1-4) Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com Local media Television Fox Sports Northwest, KOMO-TV Radio KOMO-AM and FM < 1996–97 1998–99 >

The 1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 30th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] Seattle acquired Vin Baker from the Milwaukee Bucks in a three team trade during the offseason. The Sonics finished the season first place in the Pacific Division with a 61-21 record.

In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, but lost five games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals. This was also their final year with George Karl as head coach, as he left to coach the Bucks next season.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	23	Bobby Jackson	PG/SG	United States	Minnesota
2	41	Ed Elisma	F	United States	Georgia Tech
2	55	Mark Blount	C	United States	Pittsburgh

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics 1997-98 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 1.5 !G 2 USA ! Anthony, Greg style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) UNLV 4.0 !F 42 USA ! Baker, Vin style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Hartford 1.5 !G 4 USA ! Cotton, James style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Long Beach State 2.5 !G/F 3 USA ! Ellis, Dale style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Tennessee 1.5 !G 33 USA ! Hawkins, Hersey style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Bradley 4.0 !F 44 USA ! Howard, Stephen style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) DePaul 4.0 !F 7 USA ! Kersey, Jerome style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Longwood 6.0 !C 22 USA ! McIlvaine, Jim style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 85 !7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Marquette 2.5 !G/F 10 USA ! McMillan, Nate style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) North Carolina State 1.5 !G 20 USA ! Payton, Gary style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oregon State 5.5 !F/C 14 USA ! Perkins, Sam style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) North Carolina 5.5 !F/C 11 Germany ! Schrempf, Detlef style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Washington 1.5 !G 13 USA ! Snow, Eric style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Michigan State 5.5 !F/C 15 USA ! Williams, Aaron style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier 2.5 !G/F 25 USA ! Wingate, David style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 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	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	–	33–8	28–13	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	5	30–11	26–15	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	15	26–15	20–21	14–10
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34	21–20	6–35	6–18
Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	42	12–29	7–34	6–18
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	44	11–30	6–35	6–18

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

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

Playoffs

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

Awards and records

Awards

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

Transactions

Free Agents

Additions Player Signed Former team

Subtractions Player Left New team

See also

• 1997-98 NBA season

References

1997–98 NBA season by team 1997 NBA Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals Transactions Eastern Atlantic Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington Central Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Toronto Western Midwest Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver Pacific Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

Seattle SuperSonics seasons Franchise All-time roster 1960s 1967–68 1968–69 1970s 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1980s 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1990s 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 2000s 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 Bold indicates NBA Finals victory