1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season
NBA professional basketball team season
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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 | 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 |
It is also their first year without team captain Jack Sikma as he was traded in the offseason.
Offseason
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 30 | Nate McMillan | PG/SG |  United States | NC State |
| 2 | 38 | Lemone Lampley | C | United States | DePaul |
| 3 | 53 | Tod Murphy | PF/C | United States | UC Irvine |
| 4 | 76 | Michael Graham | F | United States | Georgetown |
| 5 | 99 | Dominic Pressley | PG | United States | Boston College |
| 6 | 122 | Curtis Kitchen | PF | United States | South Florida |
| 7 | 145 | Glen McCants | F | United States | Clemson |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Legend
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Season standings
Division
| 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
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October
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November
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December
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January
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February
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March
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April
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| 1986–87 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Green background indicates win.
- Red background indicates loss.
Playoffs
Player statistics
| 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 Via free agency Via trade |
Players Lost Via free agency Via trade Via waiver |
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
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Subtractions
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