1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 20th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Bernie Bickerstaff returned for his second season as head coach of the franchise and, despite a modest improvement over their previous season's 31–51 record, managed to clinch a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in four games in the First Round, and then the Houston Rockets in six games in the Semi-finals, reaching the Western Conference Finals, only to be swept in four games to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The 39-43 Sonics remain the last team to date in the NBA to win a playoff series with a losing regular season record.

1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coach	Bernie Bickerstaff
General manager	Bob Whitsitt
Owner(s)	Barry Ackerley
Arena	Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record	39–43 (.476)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finish	Western Conference finals (lost to Lakers 0–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KIRO-TV
Radio	KING
< 1985–86 1987–88 >

It is also their first year without team captain Jack Sikma as he was traded in the offseason.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1986 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	30	Nate McMillan	SG / SF	United States	North Carolina State
2	38	Lemone Lampley		United States	DePaul
3	53	Tod Murphy	PF / C	United States	UC Irvine
4	76	Michael Graham		United States	Georgetown
5	99	Dominic Pressley		United States	Boston College
6	122	Curtis Kitchen	PF	United States	South Florida

Roster

1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From PF 24 Tom Chambers 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1959–06–21 Utah G/F 3 Dale Ellis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1960–08–06 Tennessee C 45 Clemon Johnson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1956–09–12 Florida A&M G 15 Eddie Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1955–02–24 Auburn PF 42 Curtis Kitchen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1964–01–30 South Florida C 53 Alton Lister 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–10–01 Arizona State PF/C 20 Maurice Lucas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952–02–18 Marquette F 34 Xavier McDaniel 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1963–06–04 Wichita State G 10 Nate McMillan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 NC State G 25 Mike Phelps 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–10–03 Alcorn State PF/C 40 Russ Schoene 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1960–04–16 Chattanooga G 44 Terence Stansbury 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1961–02–27 Temple G 30 Kevin Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1961–09–11 St. John's PG 22 Danny Young 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1962–07–26 Wake Forest

Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff (San Diego) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Season standings

Division

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	65	17	.793	–	37–4	28–13	24–6
x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	16	34–7	15–26	17–13
x-Golden State Warriors	42	40	.512	23	25–16	17–24	17–13
x-Seattle SuperSonics	39	43	.476	26	25–16	14–27	15–15
Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	29	26–15	10–31	14–16
Los Angeles Clippers	12	70	.146	53	9–32	3–38	3–27

Conference

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	65	17	.793	–
2	y-Dallas Mavericks	55	27	.671	10
3	x-Portland Trail Blazers	49	33	.598	16
4	x-Utah Jazz	44	38	.537	21
5	x-Golden State Warriors	42	40	.512	23
6	x-Houston Rockets	42	40	.512	23
7	x-Seattle SuperSonics	39	43	.476	26
8	x-Denver Nuggets	37	45	.451	28
9	Phoenix Suns	36	46	.439	29
10	Sacramento Kings	29	53	.354	36
11	San Antonio Spurs	28	54	.341	37
12	Los Angeles Clippers	12	70	.146	53

Game log

1986–87 game log
October Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 1 October 31 vs Portland Trail Blazers 110-127 Tom Chambers (27) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 1–0
November Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 2 November 1 Sacramento Kings 103-114 Xavier McDaniel (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,296 2–0 3 November 4 Los Angeles Lakers 110-96 Tom Chambers (21) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,426 2–1 4 November 6 Dallas Mavericks 147-124 Xavier McDaniel (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,363 2–2 5 November 8 New York Knicks 102-105 Dale Ellis (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,280 3–2 6 November 11 Philadelphia 76ers 121-114 Tom Chambers (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,600 3–3 7 November 12 vs Los Angeles Lakers 122-97 Xavier McDaniel (17) The Forum 13,694 3–4 8 November 15 vs Golden State Warriors 121-127 Tom Chambers (38) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,655 4–4 9 November 18 Sacramento Kings 105-119 Dale Ellis (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,411 5–4 10 November 20 Milwaukee Bucks 116-105 Tom Chambers (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,790 5–5 11 November 22 Indiana Pacers 111-121 Tom Chambers (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,399 6–5 12 November 25 Los Angeles Clippers 103-113 Dale Ellis (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,702 7–5 13 November 26 vs Utah Jazz 127-91 Tom Chambers (22) Salt Palace 10,512 7–6 14 November 28 vs Phoenix Suns 104-117 Dale Ellis (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,462 8–6
December Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 15 December 2 Chicago Bulls 115-109 (OT) Xavier McDaniel Tom Chambers (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,438 8–7 16 December 4 vs San Antonio Spurs 102-109 Tom Chambers (36) HemisFair Arena 5,893 9–7 17 December 6 vs Houston Rockets 80-136 Tom Chambers (29) The Summit 16,016 10–7 18 December 10 vs Los Angeles Clippers 101-94 Tom Chambers (28) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 5,573 10–8 19 December 11 San Antonio Spurs 107-113 Xavier McDaniel (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,056 11–8 20 December 13 Dallas Mavericks 126-109 Tom Chambers Dale Ellis (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,789 11–9 21 December 16 vs Portland Trail Blazers 126-118 Dale Ellis (34) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 11–10 22 December 18 Houston Rockets 100-114 Dale Ellis (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,696 12–10 23 December 19 vs Phoenix Suns 106-108 Dale Ellis (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,433 13–10 24 December 21 Golden State Warriors 121-112 Tom Chambers (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,228 13–11 25 December 23 Denver Nuggets 116-127 Tom Chambers (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,459 14–11 26 December 26 Los Angeles Clippers 107-113 Tom Chambers (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,353 15–11 27 December 28 Portland Trail Blazers 127-118 Xavier McDaniel (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,365 15–12 28 December 30 Boston Celtics 104-102 Xavier McDaniel (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,600 15–13
January Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 29 January 2 vs Dallas Mavericks 117-107 Dale Ellis (28) Reunion Arena 17,007 15–14 30 January 3 vs Houston Rockets 138-114 Xavier McDaniel Dale Ellis (21) The Summit 16,016 15–15 31 January 6 Phoenix Suns 108-138 Tom Chambers (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,764 16–15 32 January 8 vs Golden State Warriors 108-115 Dale Ellis (35) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,790 17–15 33 January 11 Utah Jazz 111-127 Tom Chambers (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,594 18–15 34 January 13 vs Denver Nuggets 117-109 Tom Chambers (30) McNichols Sports Arena 8,981 18–16 35 January 14 San Antonio Spurs 104-130 Dale Ellis (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,068 19–16 36 January 16 Denver Nuggets 100-134 Xavier McDaniel (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,544 20–16 37 January 17 vs Sacramento Kings 125-115 Xavier McDaniel (37) ARCO Arena (I) 10,333 20–17 38 January 21 vs Philadelphia 76ers 129-123 (OT) Dale Ellis (40) The Spectrum 11,891 20–18 39 January 23 vs New Jersey Nets 120-125 Xavier McDaniel (32) Brendan Byrne Arena 9,182 21–18 40 January 24 vs Atlanta Hawks 97-87 Dale Ellis (27) Omni Coliseum 13,842 21–19 41 January 26 vs Utah Jazz 95-108 Dale Ellis (34) Salt Palace 12,212 22–19 42 January 28 Los Angeles Lakers 101-125 Tom Chambers (37) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,634 23–19 43 January 30 vs Golden State Warriors 127-119 Tom Chambers (36) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 9,276 23–20 44 January 31 Phoenix Suns 112-118 (OT) Dale Ellis (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,344 24–20
February Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 45 February 2 New Jersey Nets 100-108 Xavier McDaniel (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,132 25–20 46 February 4 vs Dallas Mavericks 124-94 Tom Chambers (19) Reunion Arena 17,007 25–21 47 February 5 vs San Antonio Spurs 117-111 Xavier McDaniel (26) HemisFair Arena 7,548 25–22 48 February 10 Atlanta Hawks 125-113 Tom Chambers (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,004 25–23 49 February 12 vs Milwaukee Bucks 106-104 Tom Chambers (32) MECCA Arena 11,052 25–24 50 February 13 vs Chicago Bulls 106-98 Xavier McDaniel (27) Chicago Stadium 16,251 25–25 51 February 16 vs Cleveland Cavaliers 105-94 Dale Ellis (17) Coliseum at Richfield 12,163 25–26 52 February 18 vs Indiana Pacers 105-88 Dale Ellis (24) Market Square Arena 9,077 25–27 53 February 19 vs Detroit Pistons 117-105 Dale Ellis (31) Pontiac Silverdome 14,482 25–28 54 February 21 Washington Bullets 93-110 Tom Chambers (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,637 26–28 55 February 23 Los Angeles Clippers 112-124 Dale Ellis (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,528 27–28 56 February 24 vs Utah Jazz 133-103 Dale Ellis (26) Salt Palace 12,212 27–29 57 February 26 Denver Nuggets 100-106 Xavier McDaniel (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,691 28–29 58 February 28 vs Phoenix Suns 105-112 Dale Ellis (40) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,338 29–29
March Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 59 March 2 Cleveland Cavaliers 107-123 Tom Chambers (36) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,488 30–29 60 March 4 vs Los Angeles Lakers 138-124 Dale Ellis (32) The Forum 17,505 30–30 61 March 5 Portland Trail Blazers 122-127 Dale Ellis (38) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,205 31–30 62 March 7 Houston Rockets 115-118 Tom Chambers (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,474 32–30 63 March 10 vs Houston Rockets 127-136 (2OT) Tom Chambers (42) The Summit 16,279 33–30 64 March 11 vs Dallas Mavericks 130-117 Tom Chambers Dale Ellis Xavier McDaniel (21) Reunion Arena 17,007 33–31 65 March 13 vs Los Angeles Clippers 108-104 Tom Chambers (31) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 6,522 33–32 66 March 15 vs Sacramento Kings 107-106 Dale Ellis (40) ARCO Arena (I) 10,333 33–33 67 March 16 San Antonio Spurs 111-122 Dale Ellis (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,934 34–33 68 March 19 vs Washington Bullets 110-106 Xavier McDaniel (20) Capital Centre 5,987 34–34 69 March 20 vs Boston Celtics 112-108 Dale Ellis (31) Boston Garden 14,890 34–35 70 March 23 vs New York Knicks 121-126 (OT) Xavier McDaniel (40) Madison Square Garden (IV) 9,038 35–35 71 March 26 vs Denver Nuggets 123-113 Xavier McDaniel (33) McNichols Sports Arena 10,183 35–36 72 March 27 Golden State Warriors 106-105 Xavier McDaniel (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,091 35–37 73 March 29 Detroit Pistons 108-107 Xavier McDaniel (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,717 35–38 74 March 31 Sacramento Kings 129-132 Tom Chambers (36) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,095 36–38
April Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 75 April 2 Los Angeles Lakers 117-114 Xavier McDaniel (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,739 36–39 76 April 4 Portland Trail Blazers 126-123 Tom Chambers (34) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,227 36–40 77 April 7 Phoenix Suns 127-125 (OT) Dale Ellis (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,585 36–41 78 April 10 vs Portland Trail Blazers 121-115 Tom Chambers (27) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 36–42 79 April 14 Utah Jazz 102-103 Tom Chambers (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,178 37–42 80 April 16 vs Los Angeles Clippers 87-118 Dale Ellis (41) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 6,517 38–42 81 April 18 Golden State Warriors 132-127 Tom Chambers (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,428 38–43 82 April 19 vs Los Angeles Lakers 104-110 Xavier McDaniel (39) The Forum 17,505 39–43
1986–87 season schedule

• Green background indicates win.
• Red background indicates loss.

Playoffs

1987 playoff game log
First round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 23 @ Dallas L 129–151 Tom Chambers (35) Xavier McDaniel (13) Xavier McDaniel (7) Reunion Arena 17,007 0–1 2 April 25 @ Dallas W 112–110 Dale Ellis (32) Xavier McDaniel (9) Nate McMillan (8) Reunion Arena 17,007 1–1 3 April 28 Dallas W 117–107 Dale Ellis (43) Dale Ellis (14) Nate McMillan (9) Hec Edmundson Pavilion 8,150 2–1 4 April 30 Dallas W 124–98 Tom Chambers (31) Chambers, Ellis (9) Nate McMillan (9) Hec Edmundson Pavilion 8,150 3–1
Conference Semi-finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 2 @ Houston W 111–106 (OT) Dale Ellis (34) Tom Chambers (9) Nate McMillan (8) The Summit 16,279 1–0 2 May 5 @ Houston W 99–97 Dale Ellis (30) Dale Ellis (9) Eddie Johnson (8) The Summit 16,279 2–0 3 May 7 Houston L 84–102 Tom Chambers (24) Dale Ellis (10) McMillan, Young (4) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,587 2–1 4 May 9 Houston W 117–102 Tom Chambers (38) Alton Lister (17) Nate McMillan (10) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,559 3–1 5 May 12 @ Houston L 107–112 Dale Ellis (27) Tom Chambers (9) Eddie Johnson (6) The Summit 16,279 3–2 6 May 14 Houston W 128–125 (2OT) Tom Chambers (37) Xavier McDaniel (12) Nate McMillan (16) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,751 4–2
Conference finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 16 @ L.A. Lakers L 82–87 Tom Chambers (28) McDaniel, Lister (10) Nate McMillan (8) The Forum 17,505 0–1 2 May 19 @ L.A. Lakers L 104–112 Dale Ellis (22) Xavier McDaniel (8) Nate McMillan (7) The Forum 17,505 0–2 3 May 23 L.A. Lakers L 121–122 Xavier McDaniel (42) Xavier McDaniel (10) Nate McMillan (15) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,657 0–3 4 May 25 L.A. Lakers L 102–133 Tom Chambers (20) Alton Lister (20) Kevin Williams (5) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,477 0–4
1987 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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Tom Chambers	82	82	36.8	.456	.372	.849	6.6	3.0	1.0	.6	23.3
Dale Ellis	82	76	37.5	.516	.358	.787	5.5	2.9	1.3	.4	24.9
Gerald Henderson1	6	6	25.8	.500	.000	.944	1.5	5.3	1.0	.0	11.2
Clemon Johnson	78	7	13.5	.494	.000	.636	3.6	.3	.3	.5	3.2
Eddie Johnson	24	0	21.2	.457	.333	.764	1.9	4.8	.5	.0	9.0
Curtis Kitchen	6	0	5.2	.500	.000	.750	1.5	.2	.3	.5	1.5
Alton Lister	75	75	30.5	.504	.000	.675	9.4	1.5	.4	2.4	11.6
Maurice Lucas	63	0	17.8	.451	.000	.802	4.9	1.0	.5	.3	7.9
Xavier McDaniel	82	82	37.0	.509	.214	.696	8.6	2.5	1.4	.6	23.0
Nate McMillan	71	50	27.8	.475	.000	.617	4.7	8.2	1.8	.6	5.3
Mike Phelps	60	6	7.8	.426	.100	.705	.8	1.1	.4	.0	3.0
Russ Schoene	63	0	9.2	.374	.154	.630	1.9	.4	.3	.2	2.7
Terence Stansbury	44	0	8.5	.429	.379	.620	.5	1.3	.3	.0	4.0
Kevin Williams	65	0	10.8	.446	.000	.833	1.3	1.0	.7	.1	4.9
Danny Young	73	26	20.3	.458	.367	.831	1.5	4.8	1.0	.0	4.8

1.^ Statistics with the SuperSonics.

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Tom Chambers	14		35.6	.449	.353	.808	6.4	2.3	.9	.9	23.0
Dale Ellis	14		37.9	.487	.361	.815	6.4	2.6	.7	.4	25.2
Clemon Johnson	14		18.7	.453	.000	.632	3.5	.3	1.1	.2	4.3
Eddie Johnson	14		12.9	.534	.400	.867	1.0	3.2	.6	.0	6.4
Curtis Kitchen	8		12.9	.500	.000	.000	.8	.0	.0	.4	.3
Alton Lister	9		22.9	.400	.000	.700	6.2	.8	.8	1.4	6.0
Maurice Lucas	14		18.9	.389	.000	.737	4.6	1.4	.9	.4	7.0
Xavier McDaniel	14		37.7	.488	.200	.607	8.4	3.0	1.5	.6	20.3
Nate McMillan	14		25.4	.435	.000	.708	3.9	8.0	1.0	.7	5.1
Russ Schoene	14		8.8	.357	.333	.750	1.9	.2	.1	.3	2.2
Kevin Williams	14		18.2	.479	.000	.750	2.4	2.1	1.1	.1	8.6
Danny Young	14		14.9	.404	.313	1.000	1.1	3.4	1.1	.0	4.1

Awards and records

Awards

• Dale Ellis won the Most Improved Player Award at the end of the season.
• Tom Chambers participated in the 1987 NBA All-Star Game and won the game's Most Valuable Player Award. He also was named Player of the Week between December 1 and December 7.

Records

Transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Nate McMillan Curtis Kitchen Dominic Pressley Via free agency Kevin Williams Maurice Lucas Eddie Johnson Curtis Kitchen Via trade Alton Lister Dale Ellis Clemon Johnson Russ Schoene Terence Stansbury Ronnie Lester John Long

Players Lost Via free agency John Schweitz Frank Brickowski Via trade Jack Sikma Al Wood Tim McCormick Danny Vranes John Long Via waiver Dominic Pressley

Trades

July 1, 1986	To Seattle SuperSonics Alton Lister Conditional 1987 and 1989 first-round picks	To Milwaukee Bucks Jack Sikma Conditional 1987 and 1989 second round picks
July 23, 1986	To Seattle SuperSonics Dale Ellis	To Dallas Mavericks Al Wood
September 29, 1986	To Seattle SuperSonics Clemon Johnson Conditional 1989 first-round pick	To Philadelphia 76ers Tim McCormick Danny Vranes
September 30, 1986	To Seattle SuperSonics John Long	To Detroit Pistons Conditional 1987 and 1991 second round picks
October 2, 1986	To Seattle SuperSonics Russ Schoene Terence Stansbury	To Indiana Pacers John Long Conditional 1993 second round pick
October 2, 1986	To Seattle SuperSonics Ronnie Lester	To Los Angeles Lakers Cash considerations
November 12, 1986	To Seattle SuperSonics Conditional 1987 first round and 1990 second round picks	To New York Knicks Gerald Henderson Conditional 1987 first-round pick

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Kevin Williams July 11, 1986 Cleveland Cavaliers Maurice Lucas September 30, 1986 Los Angeles Lakers Eddie Johnson March 23, 1987 Cleveland Cavaliers

Subtractions Player Left New team John Schweitz September 5, 1986 Golden State Warriors Frank Brickowski October 8, 1986 Los Angeles Lakers