1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the 30th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the SuperSonics acquired All-Star forward Vin Baker from the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade,^[2][3][4] re-acquired former Sonics guard Dale Ellis from the Denver Nuggets,^[5][6][7] and signed free agents Jerome Kersey,^[8][9] and Greg Anthony.^[10][11]

1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics season
Division champions
Head coach	George Karl
General manager	Wally Walker
Arena	KeyArena at Seattle Center
Results
Record	61–21 (.744)
Place	Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	West Semi-finals (lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KSTW Fox Sports Northwest
Radio	KJR
< 1996–97 1998–99 >

The SuperSonics got off to a fast start with a 13–3 record, after posting a 7-game winning streak in November, despite losing Kersey to a stress fracture in his left foot, as he only played just 37 games.^[12][13] The team posted an 8-game winning streak between December and January, winning 29 of their first 35 games of the regular season,^[14] then later on holding the league's best record before the All-Star break with a 37–10 record.^[15] The SuperSonics finished tied in first place in the Pacific Division along with the Los Angeles Lakers with a 61–21 record, and earned the second seed in the Western Conference;^[16] the team also qualified for the NBA playoffs for the eighth consecutive year.

Baker averaged 19.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Gary Payton averaged 19.2 points, 8.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game, led the SuperSonics with 134 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Detlef Schrempf provided the team with 15.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, while Ellis played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 11.8 points per game along 127 three-point field goals, while shooting .464 in three-point field goal percentage, and Hersey Hawkins contributed 10.5 points and 1.8 steals per game along with 125 three-point field goals. Sam Perkins contributed 7.2 points per game off the bench, and starting center Jim McIlvaine led the team with 1.8 blocks per game.^[17]

Baker and Payton were both selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game in New York City, New York, with head coach George Karl coaching the Western Conference.^[18][19][20] Payton finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Baker finished in eighth place;^[21][22] Payton also finished in second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[23][22] while Baker finished tied in eighth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[22] Ellis finished in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[24][22] and Karl finished tied in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[25][22]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1998 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics struggled as they trailed 2–1 to the 7th-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves,^[26][27][28] but managed to win the series in five games.^[29][30][31] In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the SuperSonics faced off against the 3rd-seeded Lakers, winning Game 1 at home, 106–92.^[32][33][34] However, they would lose the next four games to the Lakers, thus the series.^[35][36][37]

Two weeks after their elimination, Karl was fired as head coach in late May,^[38][39][40] then was hired three months later by the Milwaukee Bucks,^[41][42][43] while long-time Sonics guard Nate McMillan retired after only playing just 18 games this season due to knee surgery.^[44][45][46] Also following the season, Perkins signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers,^[47][48][49] while Kersey signed with the San Antonio Spurs,^[50] Anthony signed with the Portland Trail Blazers,^[51] McIlvaine was traded to the New Jersey Nets,^[52][53][54] and David Wingate signed with the New York Knicks.^[55]

Draft picks

Main article: 1997 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	23	Bobby Jackson	PG/SG	United States	Minnesota
2	41	Ed Elisma	F	United States	Georgia Tech
2	55	Mark Blount	C	United States	Pittsburgh

Roster

1997–98 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 2 Greg Anthony 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1967–11–15 UNLV F/C 42 Vin Baker 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1971–11–23 Hartford G 4 James Cotton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1975–12–14 Long Beach State G/F 3 Dale Ellis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1960–08–06 Tennessee G 33 Hersey Hawkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley F 44 Stephen Howard  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1970–07–15 DePaul F 7 Jerome Kersey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–06–26 Longwood C 22 Jim McIlvaine 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1972–07–30 Marquette G 10 Nate McMillan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 NC State G 20 Gary Payton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State F/C 14 Sam Perkins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–06–14 North Carolina F 11 Detlef Schrempf 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1963–01–21 Washington F 15 Aaron Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1971–10–02 Xavier G 25 David Wingate 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown

Head coach George Karl Assistant(s) Dwane Casey Tim Grgurich Terry Stotts Bob Weiss 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-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	19–5
x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	–	33–8	28–13	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	5	30–11	26–15	17–7
x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	15	26–15	20–21	14–10
Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	34	21–20	6–35	6–18
Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	42	12–29	7–34	6–18
Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	44	11–30	6–35	6–18

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Utah Jazz	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Seattle SuperSonics	61	21	.744	1
3	x-Los Angeles Lakers	61	21	.744	1
4	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	6
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	56	26	.683	6
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	46	36	.561	16
7	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	45	37	.549	17
8	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	21
9	Sacramento Kings	27	55	.329	35
10	Dallas Mavericks	20	62	.244	42
11	Vancouver Grizzlies	19	63	.232	43
11	Golden State Warriors	19	63	.232	43
13	Los Angeles Clippers	17	65	.207	45
14	Denver Nuggets	11	71	.134	51

Game log

Playoffs

1998 playoff game log
First round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 24 Minnesota W 108–83 Vin Baker (25) Vin Baker (12) Gary Payton (7) KeyArena 17,072 1–0 2 April 26 Minnesota L 93–98 Gary Payton (32) Detlef Schrempf (10) Nate McMillan (6) KeyArena 17,072 1–1 3 April 28 @ Minnesota L 90–98 Gary Payton (26) Vin Baker (12) three players tied (5) Target Center 19,006 1–2 4 April 30 @ Minnesota W 92–88 Payton, Hawkins (24) Vin Baker (12) Gary Payton (8) Target Center 19,006 2–2 5 May 2 Minnesota W 97–84 Gary Payton (29) Detlef Schrempf (11) three players tied (4) KeyArena 17,072 3–2
Conference Semi-finals: 1–4 (home: 1–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 4 L.A. Lakers W 106–92 Gary Payton (25) Hawkins, Baker (8) Gary Payton (6) KeyArena 17,072 1–0 2 May 6 L.A. Lakers L 68–92 Vin Baker (13) Detlef Schrempf (8) Gary Payton (5) KeyArena 17,072 1–1 3 May 8 @ L.A. Lakers L 103–119 Detlef Schrempf (26) Vin Baker (12) Gary Payton (13) Great Western Forum 17,505 1–2 4 May 10 @ L.A. Lakers L 100–112 Gary Payton (31) Gary Payton (8) Gary Payton (13) Great Western Forum 17,505 1–3 5 May 12 L.A. Lakers L 95–110 Vin Baker (28) Vin Baker (9) Hersey Hawkins (6) KeyArena 17,072 1–4
1998 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%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Gary Payton	82	82	38.4	.453	.338	.744	4.6	8.3	2.3	.2	19.2
Vin Baker	82	82	35.9	.542	.143	.591	8.0	1.9	1.1	1.0	19.2
Hersey Hawkins	82	82	31.7	.440	.415	.868	4.1	2.7	1.8	.2	10.5
Sam Perkins	81	0	20.7	.416	.392	.789	3.1	1.4	.8	.4	7.2
Greg Anthony	80	0	12.8	.430	.415	.663	1.4	2.6	.8	.0	5.2
Dale Ellis	79	0	24.5	.497	.464	.782	2.3	1.1	.8	.1	11.8
Detlef Schrempf	78	78	35.2	.487	.415	.844	7.1	4.4	.8	.2	15.8
Jim McIlvaine	78	72	15.5	.453	.000	.556	3.3	.2	.3	1.8	3.2
Aaron Williams	65	9	11.6	.523	.000	.776	2.3	.2	.3	.6	4.6
David Wingate	58	2	9.4	.471	.429	.517	1.4	.6	.4	.1	2.6
Jerome Kersey	37	2	19.4	.416	.100	.600	3.6	1.2	1.4	.4	6.3
Nate McMillan	18	1	15.5	.343	.441	1.000	2.2	3.1	.8	.2	3.4
Eric Snow†	17	0	4.4	.435	.000	.500	.2	.8	.0	.1	1.5
Stephen Howard	13	0	4.1	.381		.500	.9	.2	.2	.1	1.9
James Cotton	9	0	3.7	.381	.000	.889	.7	.0	.1	.1	2.7
George Zidek†	6	0	3.7	.214	.500	1.000	.7	.2	.0	.0	1.8

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Gary Payton	10	10	42.8	.475	.380	.940	3.4	7.0	1.8	.1	24.0
Detlef Schrempf	10	10	37.5	.512	.143	.816	7.7	3.9	.7	.1	16.1
Vin Baker	10	10	37.1	.530		.421	9.4	1.8	1.8	1.5	15.8
Hersey Hawkins	10	10	33.7	.466	.395	.875	5.7	3.6	1.8	.1	13.4
Jerome Kersey	10	5	21.3	.431	.000	.842	4.0	.9	1.0	1.0	7.8
Sam Perkins	10	1	21.0	.381	.417	.600	3.2	1.4	.3	.5	5.4
Dale Ellis	10	0	17.0	.377	.423	.833	1.3	.6	.2	.0	5.6
Greg Anthony	9	0	13.1	.300	.263	.375	1.1	1.1	.6	.1	3.6
Nate McMillan	7	0	14.1	.333	.167	1.000	2.3	2.1	.4	.3	2.3
Jim McIlvaine	6	4	9.8	.300	.000	.500	1.7	.2	.3	1.0	2.2
David Wingate	3	0	4.3	.400		.667	1.3	.7	.3	.0	2.7
Aaron Williams	3	0	2.3	.000		1.000	.3	.0	.0	.3	.7

Player Statistics Citation:^[17]

Awards and records

Awards

• Gary Payton, All-NBA First Team
• Gary Payton, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Records

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team

Subtractions Player Left New team

See also

• 1997–98 NBA season