1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 28th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] After two consecutive playoffs appearances losing in the first round, the Sonics finished the regular with a franchise best 64–18 record, surpassing the record from the 1993–94 season, and earned their third number one seed in the Western Conference in franchise history.

Led by Shawn Kemp and Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton, the SuperSonics defeated the Sacramento Kings in the first round, swept the reigning champions Houston Rockets and got past the Utah Jazz in seven games in the Conference Finals to reach their first NBA Finals since 1979, where they would face the Chicago Bulls. After an 0–3 start in the series, Seattle managed to win their next two home games, but eventually lost the series in game six in Chicago.

For the season, the Sonics sported new uniforms, a new logo, and adding red to their color scheme. The logo and uniforms would remain until 2001.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	26	Sherell Ford	SF	United States	Illinois
2	54	Eurelijus Žukauskas	C	Lithuania	Neptūnas Klaipėda

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From 2.0 !SG 2 USA ! Askew, Vincent 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–02–28 Memphis 4.5 !PF 34 USA ! Brickowski, Frank 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1959–08–14 Penn State 3.0 !SF 1 USA ! Ford, Sherell 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1972–08–26 Illinois 2.0 !SG 33 USA ! Hawkins, Hersey 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley 6.0 !C 50 USA ! Johnson, Ervin 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1967–12–21 New Orleans 4.5 !PF 40 USA ! Kemp, Shawn 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC 2.0 !SG 10 USA ! McMillan, Nate 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 North Carolina State 1.0 !PG 20 USA ! Payton, Gary 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State 4.5 !PF 14 USA ! Perkins, Sam 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–06–14 North Carolina 6.0 !C 55 USA ! Scheffler, Steve 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1967–09–03 Purdue 3.0 !SF 11 GER ! Schrempf, Detlef 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1963–01–21 Washington 1.0 !PG 3 USA ! Snow, Eric 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1973–04–04 Michigan State 3.0 !SF 25 USA ! Wingate, David 7000195580000000000♠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

Depth chart

Regular season

Season standings

Playoffs

West First Round

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (8) Sacramento Kings Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the SuperSonics and Kings.

West Conference Semifinals

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (5) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference Semifinals (Seattle won 4-3)

*Required overtime

West Conference Finals

(1) Seattle SuperSonics vs. (3) Utah Jazz Last Playoff Meeting: 1993 Western Conference First Round (Seattle won 3-2)

*Required overtime

NBA Finals

Chicago Bulls vs. Seattle SuperSonics

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

• Gary Payton was named the Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in total steals and steals per game.

All-NBA Teams

• Shawn Kemp – All-NBA Second Team
• Gary Payton – All-NBA Second Team

NBA All-Defensive Teams

• Gary Payton – All-Defensive First Team

1996 NBA All-Star Game

• Shawn Kemp (fourth appearance, second start)
• Gary Payton (third appearance)

Transactions

Overview

Trades

Free agents

Additions

See also

• 1995-96 NBA season

References