1988–89 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1988–89 NBA season was the 22nd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The SuperSonics had the fifteenth overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected point guard Gary Grant from the University of Michigan, but soon traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Michael Cage.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agent John Lucas.^[5][6]

1988–89 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coach	Bernie Bickerstaff
General manager	Bob Whitsitt
Owner(s)	Barry Ackerley
Arena	Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record	47–35 (.573)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference Semi-finals (lost to Lakers 0–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KIRO-TV KTZZ-TV Northwest Cable Sports
Radio	KJR (Kevin Calabro)
< 1987–88 1989–90 >

The SuperSonics won their first three games of the regular season, and held a 28–18 record at the All-Star break.^[7] However, the team lost seven straight games between March and April, but then posted an 8-game winning streak afterwards, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 47–35 record, earning the fourth seed in the Western Conference.^[8]

Dale Ellis averaged 27.5 points and 1.3 steals per game, led the SuperSonics with 162 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Xavier McDaniel played a sixth man role off the bench,^[9][10][11] averaging 20.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and second-year forward Derrick McKey became the team's starting small forward, averaging 15.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. In addition, Cage provided the team with 10.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, while Sedale Threatt contributed 8.6 points and 3.8 assists per game off the bench, Nate McMillan contributed 7.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and Alton Lister provided with 8.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.^[12]

During the NBA All-Star weekend in Houston, Texas, Ellis was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, which was his only All-Star appearance,^[13][14][15] and also won the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[16][14][17] McDaniel finished in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[18][19] and McKey finished tied in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting.^[20][19]

In the 1989 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics defeated the Houston Rockets in four games in the Western Conference First Round,^[21][22][23] before being swept by Magic Johnson, and the 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games in the Western Conference Semi-finals.^[24][25][26] The Lakers would reach the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year, but would lose to the Detroit Pistons in four straight games.^[27][28][29]

Following the season, Lister was traded to the Golden State Warriors,^[30][31][32] and Lucas signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets.^[33]

Draft picks

Main article: 1988 NBA draft

At the 1988 Draft, the SuperSonics got the fifteenth overall pick behind the Phoenix Suns. With their first-round pick, the SuperSonics selected Gary Grant, but he would be traded on draft night along with a first-round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for Michael Cage. In the third round, they selected guard Corey Gaines.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	15	Gary Grant (traded to L.A. Clippers)	PG	United States	Michigan
3	65	Corey Gaines	G	United States	Loyola Marymount

Roster

1988–89 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 42 Greg Ballard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1955–01–29 Oregon F 44 Michael Cage 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1962–01–28 San Diego State F 41 Mike Champion 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–04–05 Gonzaga F 3 Dale Ellis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1960–08–06 Tennessee G 15 Avery Johnson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1965–03–25 Southern C 53 Alton Lister 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958–10–01 Arizona State G 20 John Lucas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953–10–31 Maryland F 34 Xavier McDaniel 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1963–06–04 Wichita State F 31 Derrick McKey 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1966–10–10 Alabama G 10 Nate McMillan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 NC State C 23 Olden Polynice 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1964–11–21 Virginia G 35 Jerry Reynolds 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1962–12–23 LSU F 40 Russ Schoene 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1960–04–16 Chattanooga G 4 Sedale Threatt 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1961–09–10 West Virginia Tech

Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff Assistant(s) Bob Kloppenburg Tom Newell Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–	35–6	22–19	25–9
x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	2	35–6	20–21	23–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	10	31–10	16–25	20–14
x-Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	14	29–12	14–27	15–19
x-Portland Trail Blazers	39	43	.476	18	28–13	11–30	17–17
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	30	21–20	6–35	12–22
Los Angeles Clippers	21	61	.256	36	17–24	4–37	7–27

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Los Angeles Lakers	57	25	.695	–
2	y-Utah Jazz	51	31	.622	6
3	x-Phoenix Suns	55	27	.671	2
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	10
5	x-Houston Rockets	45	37	.549	12
6	x-Denver Nuggets	44	38	.537	13
7	x-Golden State Warriors	43	39	.524	14
8	x-Portland Trail Blazers	39	43	.476	18
9	Dallas Mavericks	38	44	.463	19
10	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	30
11	San Antonio Spurs	21	61	.256	36
12	Los Angeles Clippers	21	61	.256	36
13	Miami Heat	15	67	.183	42

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

1988–89 game log
November Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 1 November 4 at Utah Jazz 104–97 Dale Ellis (46) Salt Palace 12,444 1–0 2 November 5 Denver Nuggets 142–141 (OT) Xavier McDaniel (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,269 2–0 3 November 8 at Sacramento Kings 97–75 Dale Ellis (28) ARCO Arena (II) 16,517 3–0 4 November 9 Golden State Warriors 108–113 John Lucas (25) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 3–1 5 November 11 at Los Angeles Lakers 103–114 Xavier McDaniel (20) Great Western Forum 17,505 3–2 6 November 12 at Denver Nuggets 129–141 Dale Ellis (29) McNichols Sports Arena 12,401 3–3 7 November 17 Los Angeles Lakers 101–98 Dale Ellis (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,576 4–3 8 November 19 Dallas Mavericks 106–112 Xavier McDaniel (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,608 4–4 9 November 22 Portland Trail Blazers 104–125 Dale Ellis (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,956 4–5 10 November 23 at Golden State Warriors 93–85 Dale Ellis (36) Oakland—Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,770 5–5 11 November 25 at Phoenix Suns 105–110 Dale Ellis (28) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,710 5–6 12 November 29 Utah Jazz 109–102 Dale Ellis (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,336 6–6 13 November 30 at Los Angeles Lakers 106–110 Dale Ellis (36) Great Western Forum 17,505 6–7
December Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 14 December 2 Los Angeles Clippers 154–104 Dale Ellis Xavier McDaniel (27) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 7–7 15 December 3 Golden State Warriors 136–106 Dale Ellis (36) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,571 8–7 16 December 6 at San Antonio Spurs 112–107 Dale Ellis (28) HemisFair Arena Not announced 9–7 17 December 7 at Dallas Mavericks 98–102 Dale Ellis (26) Reunion Arena 17,007 9–8 18 December 10 at Houston Rockets 91–110 Dale Ellis (26) The Summit 16,611 9–9 19 December 13 Phoenix Suns 126–116 Dale Ellis (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,500 10–9 20 December 15 San Antonio Spurs 122–107 Dale Ellis (28) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 11–9 21 December 17 Sacramento Kings 141–111 Dale Ellis (27) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 12–9 22 December 20 at Atlanta Hawks 118–121 Dale Ellis (30) Omni Coliseum 14,808 12–10 23 December 21 at Miami Heat 109–101 Xavier McDaniel (23) Miami Arena 15,008 13–10 24 December 23 at Cleveland Cavaliers 107–119 (OT) Dale Ellis (32) Coliseum at Richfield 15,857 13–11 25 December 27 at Los Angeles Clippers 100–104 Dale Ellis (24) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 11,505 13–12 26 December 29 Miami Heat 129–99 Dale Ellis Xavier McDaniel (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,794 14–12
January Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 27 January 3 Los Angeles Lakers 116–106 Dale Ellis (42) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,645 15–12 28 January 5 Sacramento Kings 120–106 Dale Ellis (49) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 16–12 29 January 7 Portland Trail Blazers 129–123 Xavier McDaniel (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,726 17–12 30 January 9 Cleveland Cavaliers 105–103 Derrick McKey (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,119 18–12 31 January 10 at Portland Trail Blazers 109–125 Michael Cage (24) Memorial Coliseum 12,848 18–13 32 January 12 Dallas Mavericks 130–95 Dale Ellis (36) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,290 19–13 33 January 14 at Sacramento Kings 102–93 Dale Ellis (31) ARCO Arena (II) 16,517 20–13 34 January 16 at Golden State Warriors 117–146 Dale Ellis (26) Oakland—Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,340 20–14 35 January 17 Los Angeles Clippers 130–107 Dale Ellis (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,402 21–14 36 January 19 Houston Rockets 124–108 Xavier McDaniel (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,146 22–14 37 January 21 New York Knicks 121–119 Xavier McDaniel (36) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,810 23–14 38 January 24 at Portland Trail Blazers 103–100 Derrick McKey (34) Memorial Coliseum 12,848 24–14 39 January 27 Atlanta Hawks 119–112 Derrick McKey (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 23,362 25–14 40 January 29 Milwaukee Bucks 112–106 Derrick McKey (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 20,009 26–14 41 January 31 New Jersey Nets 112–118 Dale Ellis (33) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 26–15
February Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 42 February 2 at Miami Heat 100–93 Dale Ellis (30) Miami Arena 14,798 27–15 43 February 3 at Charlotte Hornets 106–108 Dale Ellis (27) Charlotte Coliseum 23,388 27–16 44 February 5 at Boston Celtics 89–87 Dale Ellis (30) Boston Garden 14,890 28–16 45 February 7 at New Jersey Nets 99–109 Dale Ellis (34) Brendan Byrne Arena Not announced 28–17 46 February 8 at Philadelphia 76ers 102–109 Dale Ellis (30) The Spectrum 11,224 28–18 47 February 14 San Antonio Spurs 129–113 Xavier McDaniel (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,506 29–18 48 February 15 at Phoenix Suns 112–135 Dale Ellis (21) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 12,800 29–19 49 February 17 Washington Bullets 126–112 Derrick McKey (26) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,570 30–19 50 February 18 at Portland Trail Blazers 116–115 Xavier McDaniel (37) Memorial Coliseum 12,848 31–19 51 February 21 Boston Celtics 96–91 Dale Ellis (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,546 32–19 52 February 25 Sacramento Kings 94–97 Xavier McDaniel (26) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,780 32–20 53 February 27 at Sacramento Kings 116–107 Dale Ellis Derrick McKey (27) ARCO Arena (II) 16,517 33–20 54 February 28 Indiana Pacers 106–108 Dale Ellis (30) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 33–21
March Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 55 March 3 Houston Rockets 118–108 Dale Ellis (39) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,415 34–21 56 March 4 Philadelphia 76ers 118–104 Xavier McDaniel (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,688 35–21 57 March 7 at Indiana Pacers 110–92 Dale Ellis (27) Market Square Arena Not announced 36–21 58 March 8 at Detroit Pistons 96–112 Derrick McKey (21) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 36–22 59 March 10 at Milwaukee Bucks 90–102 Russ Schoene (18) Bradley Center 18,633 36–23 60 March 11 at Chicago Bulls 88–105 Dale Ellis (26) Chicago Stadium 18,291 36–24 61 March 13 at Washington Bullets 101–106 Dale Ellis (28) Capital Centre Not announced 36–25 62 March 14 at New York Knicks 110–116 Xavier McDaniel (34) Madison Square Garden (IV) 18,759 36–26 63 March 16 Charlotte Hornets 108–88 Dale Ellis (32) Seattle Center Coliseum Not announced 37–26 64 March 18 at Phoenix Suns 104–122 Dale Ellis (29) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,471 37–27 65 March 21 Utah Jazz 101–96 Dale Ellis (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,500 38–27 66 March 23 Los Angeles Clippers 115–112 Dale Ellis (39) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,349 39–27 67 March 25 Chicago Bulls 110–111 Dale Ellis (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,810 39–28 68 March 27 at Utah Jazz 105–124 Dale Ellis Xavier McDaniel (16) Salt Palace 12,444 39–29 69 March 28 at Houston Rockets 117–120 Dale Ellis (36) The Summit 16,611 39–30 70 March 30 at Denver Nuggets 116–123 Dale Ellis (26) McNichols Sports Arena 14,851 39–31 71 March 31 Detroit Pistons 108–111 Dale Ellis (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,810 39–32
April Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Record 72 April 4 Los Angeles Lakers 97–115 Dale Ellis Derrick McKey (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,810 39–33 73 April 6 Phoenix Suns 119–126 Xavier McDaniel (37) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,457 39–34 74 April 8 at Dallas Mavericks 114–90 Dale Ellis (34) Reunion Arena 17,007 40–34 75 April 10 at San Antonio Spurs 102–89 Dale Ellis (28) HemisFair Arena 12,448 41–34 76 April 13 Miami Heat 116–111 Xavier McDaniel (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,267 42–34 77 April 15 Denver Nuggets 125–92 Dale Ellis (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,250 43–34 78 April 17 at Golden State Warriors 116–109 (OT) Derrick McKey (28) Oakland—Alameda County Coliseum Arena 15,025 44–34 79 April 18 Golden State Warriors 122–118 Xavier McDaniel Dale Ellis (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,568 45–34 80 April 20 Portland Trail Blazers 124–118 Dale Ellis Xavier McDaniel (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,320 46–34 81 April 21 at Los Angeles Clippers 139–136 (OT) Xavier McDaniel (30) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 11,280 47–34 82 April 23 at Los Angeles Lakers 117–121 Xavier McDaniel (39) Great Western Forum 17,505 47–35
1988–89 season schedule

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

Playoffs

1989 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 28 Houston W 111–107 Dale Ellis (25) Xavier McDaniel (11) Nate McMillan (11) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,250 1–0 2 April 30 Houston W 109–97 McDaniel, Lister (20) Olden Polynice (10) Nate McMillan (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,887 2–0 3 May 3 @ Houston L 107–126 Dale Ellis (26) Michael Cage (10) Nate McMillan (10) The Summit 16,611 2–1 4 May 5 @ Houston W 98–96 Dale Ellis (26) Xavier McDaniel (10) Nate McMillan (10) The Summit 16,611 3–1
Conference Semi-finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 7 @ L.A. Lakers L 102–113 Derrick McKey (23) Olden Polynice (10) Nate McMillan (12) Great Western Forum 17,505 0–1 2 May 10 @ L.A. Lakers L 108–130 Xavier McDaniel (17) Xavier McDaniel (8) Sedale Threatt (9) Great Western Forum 17,505 0–2 3 May 12 L.A. Lakers L 86–91 Dale Ellis (30) Xavier McDaniel (12) Sedale Threatt (9) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,541 0–3 4 May 14 L.A. Lakers L 95–97 Xavier McDaniel (30) Xavier McDaniel (11) Nate McMillan (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,006 0–4
1989 schedule

Player statistics

Note: PG= per game; M= Minutes; R= Rebounds; A= Assists; S = Steals; B = Blocks; P = Points; T = Turnovers; PF = Personal fouls

Season

Player	Age	Games played	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	PFPG	PPG
Greg Ballard	34	2	7.5	3.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.5	3.0
Michael Cage	27	80	31.7	9.6	1.6	1.2	0.7	1.6	2.3	10.3
Mike Champion	24	2	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.0	0.0
Dale Ellis	28	82	38.9	4.2	2.0	1.3	0.3	2.7	2.4	27.5
Avery Johnson	23	43	6.8	0.6	1.7	0.5	0.1	0.4	0.8	1.6
Alton Lister	30	82	22.0	6.6	0.7	0.3	2.2	1.4	3.8	8.0
John Lucas	35	74	11.4	1.1	3.5	0.8	0.0	0.9	0.7	4.2
Xavier McDaniel	25	82	29.1	5.3	1.6	1.0	0.5	2.6	2.8	20.5
Derrick McKey	22	82	34.2	5.7	2.7	1.3	0.9	2.3	3.2	15.9
Nate McMillan	24	75	31.2	5.2	9.3	2.1	0.6	2.8	3.1	7.1
Olden Polynice	24	80	10.4	2.6	0.3	0.5	0.4	0.6	2.1	2.9
Jerry Reynolds	26	56	13.2	1.8	1.1	0.9	0.5	1.0	1.0	7.6
Russ Schoene	28	69	11.2	2.4	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.7	2.0	5.2
Sedale Threatt	27	63	19.4	1.9	3.8	1.3	0.1	1.2	2.5	8.6

Playoffs

Player	Age	Games played	MPG	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TPG	PFPG	PPG
Michael Cage	27	8	21.9	5.8	0.6	0.9	0.4	1.0	1.8	7.1
Dale Ellis	28	8	38.0	4.0	1.3	1.4	0.1	2.6	2.4	22.9
Avery Johnson	23	6	5.2	0.7	0.8	0.7	0.0	0.0	0.2	1.8
Alton Lister	30	8	20.0	4.8	0.3	0.3	2.6	1.1	3.5	7.0
John Lucas	35	4	9.3	0.3	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.3	2.8
Xavier McDaniel	25	8	35.1	8.4	2.8	0.3	0.6	2.8	3.8	18.8
Derrick McKey	22	8	35.8	6.5	2.3	0.8	1.9	2.9	4.1	13.3
Nate McMillan	24	8	25.0	3.1	7.9	1.3	0.6	2.4	2.6	6.8
Olden Polynice	24	8	20.3	7.8	0.1	0.8	0.5	0.6	4.0	7.1
Jerry Reynolds	26	4	10.0	1.3	0.3	0.5	1.5	1.0	1.5	5.5
Russ Schoene	28	3	14.3	1.7	0.7	0.7	0.0	0.0	2.3	4.3
Sedale Threatt	27	8	25.1	1.6	6.1	2.1	0.0	1.4	2.8	12.0

Awards and records

1989 NBA All-Star Game selections (game played on February 12, 1989)

• Dale Ellis

Non All-Star Awards and records

• Dale Ellis, All-NBA Third Team
• Dale Ellis, January 8 Player of the Week
• Xavier McDaniel, April 23 Player of the Week

Transactions

Free agents

Additions

Date	Player	Signed	Former team
August 2, 1988	Avery Johnson	Free agent	Palm Beach Stingrays
September 19, 1988	John Lucas	Free agent	Milwaukee Bucks
October 4, 1988	Mike Champion	Free agent	N/A (Undrafted)
February 13, 1989	Greg Ballard	10-day contract	Golden State Warriors
February 26, 1989	Mike Champion	10-day contract	N/A

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason left	New team
October 25, 1988	Mike Champion	Waived	N/A
October 31, 1988	Danny Young	Waived	Portland Trail Blazers
October 31, 1988	Corey Gaines	Waived	New Jersey Nets

Trades

October 4, 1988	To Seattle SuperSonics---- Jerry Reynolds	To Milwaukee Bucks---- 1990 Second-Round Pick (Steve Henson)

Player Transactions Citation:^[34]

See also

• 1988–89 NBA season