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]
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.
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]
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.