1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics season
| 1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Lenny Wilkens |
| General manager | Bob Houbregs |
| Arena | Seattle Center Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 47–35 (.573) |
| Place |
Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | DNQ |
|
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com | |
The 1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 5th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In their third season with Lenny Wilkens as head coach, the Sonics finished the regular season in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 47–35 record, their first winning record in franchise history. Wilkens quit as head coach at the end of the season [1] and was replaced by former Dallas Chaparrals coach Tom Nissalke.[2]
Offseason
With the sixth overall pick in the 1971 NBA draft, Seattle selected Fred Brown from the University of Iowa. After months of negotiation (the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association also selected him in the 1971 ABA Draft), the Sonics signed him to a multi-year contract [3] Brown would go on to have a career spanning 13 seasons with the SuperSonics.
The Buffalo Braves selected Spencer Haywood with the 30th overall pick and intended to claim rights to the player from the SuperSonics. Matters were taken to court, with the judge ruling in favor of the Seattle franchise.[4] Tensions prior to the trial rose to the point that Buffalo decided to pay expansion fees to every team in the league with the exception of the Sonics.[5]
Draft picks
Note: only draft picks who participated in at least one game in the NBA are listed.
The Seattle SuperSonics signed their second round pick Jim McDaniels on February.[6] Since McDaniels was under contract with the Carolina Cougars from the American Basketball Association, both teams began a legal battle over the player's contract,[7] with a judge in the King County Superior Court granting permission to McDaniels to play for the Sonics.[8] The Cougars appealed to the Washington Supreme Court [9] but McDaniels stayed in Seattle.[10]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Fred Brown | Guard |  United States |
Iowa |
| 2 | 23 | Jim McDaniels | Forward / Center | United States |
Western Kentucky |
| 8 | 125 | Charlie Lowery | Guard | United States |
Puget Sound |
Roster
| 1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season
Season standings
| Pacific Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 | – | 36–5 | 31–7 | 2–1 | 21–3 |
| x-Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 | 18 | 27–8 | 21–20 | 3–3 | 14–10 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 22 | 28–12 | 18–22 | 1–1 | 12–12 |
| Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 35 | 15–20 | 14–23 | 5–5 | 9–15 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 | 51 | 14–26 | 4–35 | 0–3 | 4–20 |
| # | Western Conference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | |
| 1 | z-Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 63 | 19 | .768 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Bulls | 57 | 25 | .695 |
| 4 | x-Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 |
| 5 | Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 |
| 6 | Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 |
| 7 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | 26 | 56 | .317 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 |
- z – clinched division title
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
| 1971–72 NBA records | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | BAL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CIN | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | LAL | MIL | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA |
| Atlanta | — | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–5 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–4 |
| Baltimore | 4–2 | — | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 |
| Boston | 4–0 | 2–2 | — | 6–0 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 |
| Buffalo | 2–4 | 3–3 | 0–6 | — | 1–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 0–4 |
| Chicago | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 2–3 |
| Cincinnati | 3–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 | — | 6–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 |
| Cleveland | 2–4 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 2–6 | — | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–4 |
| Detroit | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–5 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–4 |
| Golden State | 2–3 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 5–0 | — | 5–1 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Houston | 4–1 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–5 | — | 1–5 | 0–5 | 0–5 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 |
| Los Angeles | 5–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 | — | 4–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 5–1 |
| Milwaukee | 3–2 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | — | 2–3 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 6–0 |
| New York | 1–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 3–2 | — | 3–3 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 3–2 |
| Philadelphia | 3–3 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 1–4 | 3–3 | — | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–1 |
| Phoenix | 2–3 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 4–1 | — | 6–0 | 3–2 |
| Portland | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–6 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 0–6 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–6 | — | 0–6 |
| Seattle | 4–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 6–0 | — |
Game log
| 1971–72 game log Total: 47–35 (Home: 28–12; Road: 18–22; Neutral: 1–1) | |
|---|---|
October
: 7–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–1)
| |
November
: 8–7 (Home: 5–3; Road: 3–4)
| |
December
: 7–9 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–6)
| |
January
: 9–5 (Home: 7–2; Road: 2–3)
| |
February
: 12–3 (Home: 8–0; Road: 4–3)
| |
March
: 4–9 (Home: 2–3; Road: 2–6)
| |
| 1971–72 season schedule | |
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 | ||
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown, FredFred Brown | 33 | – | 10.9 | .328 | – | .759 | 1.1 | 1.8 | – | – | 4.2 |
| Clemens, BarryBarry Clemens | 82 | – | 17.6 | .521 | – | .844 | 3.5 | .8 | – | – | 7.1 |
| Cross, PetePete Cross | 74 | – | 19.2 | .428 | – | .736 | 6.9 | .9 | – | – | 5.5 |
| Ford, JakeJake Ford | 26 | – | 7.0 | .500 | – | .788 | .4 | 1.0 | – | – | 3.5 |
| Haywood, SpencerSpencer Haywood | 73 | – | 43.4 | .461 | – | .819 | 12.7 | 2.0 | – | – | 26.2 |
| Heard, GarGar Heard | 58 | – | 25.8 | .401 | – | .617 | 7.6 | .9 | – | – | 7.9 |
| Kojis, DonDon Kojis | 73 | – | 25.4 | .469 | – | .793 | 4.6 | 1.1 | – | – | 11.4 |
| McDaniels, JimJim McDaniels | 12 | – | 19.6 | .415 | – | .611 | 6.8 | .8 | – | – | 9.4 |
| Rule, BobBob Rule | 16 | – | 15.2 | .363 | – | .535 | 3.4 | .4 | – | – | 7.1 |
| Smith, DonDon Smith | 58 | – | 30.7 | .429 | – | .720 | 11.3 | 2.1 | – | – | 13.8 |
| Snyder, DickDick Snyder | 73 | – | 34.7 | .529 | – | .842 | 3.1 | 3.9 | – | – | 16.6 |
| Wilkens, LennyLenny Wilkens | 80 | – | 37.4 | .466 | – | .774 | 4.2 | 9.6 | – | – | 18.0 |
| Winfield, LeeLee Winfield | 81 | – | 25.2 | .496 | – | .668 | 2.7 | 3.6 | – | – | 10.6 |
Awards and records
- Spencer Haywood was selected to the All-NBA First Team and made his first All-Star appearance at the 1972 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.
Injuries
- Spencer Haywood suffered a leg injury at the beginning of March and was out for the season.[11]
Transactions
Overview
| Players Added Via draft |
Players Lost Via trade Retired |
Trades
| November 25, 1971 | To Seattle SuperSonics 1972 second round pick Future second round pick |
To Philadelphia 76ers Bob Rule |
References
- ↑ Wilkens Quits as Seattle Coach, The Rock Hill Herald. March 27, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ Nissalke Selected Supersonics' Coach, Nashua Telegraph. April 21, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ Iowa Hoop Star Fred Brown Signs SuperSonics Contract, The Press-Courier. July 7, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ↑ Haywood Stays With Seattle, The Modesto Bee. July 7, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ↑ Braves Not Paying Fee to Seattle, Spartanburg Herald-Journal. May 12, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ↑ Jim McDaniels: No Longer No. 1 Theft! Sonics Sign McDaniels, The Palm Beach Post. February 18, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ Sonics Swap Court Writs With Cougs, The Spokesman-Review. February 19, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ McDaniels Gets OK, The Milwaukee Sentinel. February 29, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ Carolina Gets Full Hearing, The Spokesman-Review. March 10, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ Cougars Give Up McDaniels, The Milwaukee Sentinel. September 6, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ Haywood Out for Season, Star-News. March 10, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
- ↑ Meschery to Teach, Tri-City Herald. April 1, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.