1991–92 Seattle SuperSonics season
NBA basketball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1991–92 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 24th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.[1]
Bob Kloppenburg (interim)
George Karl
| 1991–92 Seattle SuperSonics season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | K. C. Jones (fired) Bob Kloppenburg (interim) George Karl |
| General manager | Bob Whitsitt |
| Arena | Seattle Center Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 47–35 (.573) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | West Conference Semi-finals (lost to Jazz 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KING-TV Prime Sports Northwest |
| Radio | KJR |
Season summary
Off-season
The SuperSonics had the 14th overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and selected center Rich King from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.[2][3][4]
Regular season
The SuperSonics won seven of their first ten games of the regular season, but then lost eight of their next twelve games. Head coach K. C. Jones was fired after an 18–18 start to the season;[5][6][7] after four games under assistant coach Bob Kloppenburg as an interim coach, the SuperSonics hired George Karl, who returned after a four-year absence from coaching in the NBA.[8][9][10] Under Karl, the SuperSonics held a 24–24 record at the All-Star break,[11] and finished in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 47–35 record, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference.[12]
Ricky Pierce led the SuperSonics in scoring averaging 21.7 points per game, while sixth man Eddie Johnson averaged 17.1 points per game off the bench, and Shawn Kemp played most of the regular season off the bench averaging 15.5 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. In addition, Derrick McKey provided the team with 14.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, but only played 52 games due to a thumb injury,[13][14][15] while Benoit Benjamin provided with 14.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, only playing in 63 games due to a broken hand injury,[16][17] and second-year guard Gary Payton contributed 9.4 points, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Meanwhile, Michael Cage averaged 8.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, Dana Barros contributed 8.3 points per game, and Nate McMillan provided with 6.0 points, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.[18]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, Kemp participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for the third consecutive year.[19][20] Despite a stellar season, Pierce was not selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game.[21] Karl finished in 13th place in Coach of the Year voting.[22] The SuperSonics finished 19th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 588,928 at the Seattle Center Coliseum during the regular season.[18][23]
NBA playoffs
In the Western Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics faced off against the 3rd–seeded Golden State Warriors, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Chris Mullin, All-Star guard Tim Hardaway, and sixth man Šarūnas Marčiulionis. The SuperSonics managed to win Game 1 over the Warriors on the road, 117–109 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, before losing Game 2 on the road by a score of 115–101, as the Warriors evened the series.[24][25] The SuperSonics won the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the Warriors at the Seattle Center Coliseum, 119–116 to win the series in four games.[26][27][28]
In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Malone. The SuperSonics lost the first two games to the Jazz on the road at the Delta Center, before winning Game 3 at the Seattle Center Coliseum, 104–98.[29] However, the SuperSonics lost the next two games, including a Game 5 road loss to the Jazz at the Delta Center, 111–100, thus losing the series in five games.[30][31][32]
Draft picks
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
|
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Portland Trail Blazers | 57 | 25 | .695 | — | 33–8 | 24–17 | 21–9 |
| x-Golden State Warriors | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2 | 31–10 | 24–17 | 19–11 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 53 | 29 | .646 | 4 | 36–5 | 17–24 | 17–13 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10 | 28–13 | 19–22 | 16–14 |
| x-Los Angeles Clippers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12 | 29–12 | 16–25 | 13–17 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 14 | 24–17 | 19–22 | 13–17 |
| Sacramento Kings | 29 | 53 | .354 | 28 | 21–20 | 8–33 | 6–24 |
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Portland Trail Blazers | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 2 | y-Utah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2 |
| 3 | x-Golden State Warriors | 55 | 27 | .671 | 2 |
| 4 | x-Phoenix Suns | 53 | 29 | .646 | 4 |
| 5 | x-San Antonio Spurs | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10 |
| 6 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 10 |
| 7 | x-Los Angeles Clippers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12 |
| 8 | x-Los Angeles Lakers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 14 |
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15 |
| 10 | Sacramento Kings | 29 | 53 | .354 | 28 |
| 11 | Denver Nuggets | 24 | 58 | .293 | 33 |
| 12 | Dallas Mavericks | 22 | 60 | .268 | 35 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 15 | 67 | .183 | 42 |
- z – clinched division title
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
Playoffs
| 1992 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Conference Semi-finals: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dana Barros | 75 | 1 | 17.7 | .483 | .446 | .759 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 8.3 |
| Benoit Benjamin | 63 | 61 | 30.8 | .478 | .000 | .687 | 8.1 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 14.0 |
| Tony Brown* | 35 | 2 | 11.5 | .394 | .293 | .811 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 4.8 |
| Michael Cage | 82 | 69 | 30.0 | .566 | .000 | .620 | 8.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 8.8 |
| Marty Conlon | 45 | 1 | 8.5 | .475 | .000 | .750 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 2.7 |
| Quintin Dailey* | 11 | 1 | 8.9 | .243 | .000 | .813 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 2.8 |
| Eddie Johnson | 81 | 19 | 29.2 | .459 | .252 | .861 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 17.1 |
| Shawn Kemp | 64 | 23 | 28.3 | .504 | .000 | .748 | 10.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 15.5 |
| Rich King | 40 | 2 | 5.3 | .380 | .000 | .756 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.2 |
| Bart Kofoed | 44 | 0 | 5.4 | .472 | .143 | .577 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Derrick McKey | 52 | 44 | 33.8 | .472 | .380 | .847 | 5.2 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 14.9 |
| Nate McMillan | 72 | 30 | 22.9 | .437 | .276 | .643 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 6.0 |
| Gary Payton | 81 | 79 | 31.5 | .451 | .130 | .669 | 3.6 | 6.2 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 9.4 |
| Ricky Pierce | 78 | 78 | 34.1 | .475 | .268 | .916 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 21.7 |
* Statistics with the Seattle SuperSonics.
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dana Barros | 7 | 0 | 13.7 | .525 | .588 | .000 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 7.4 |
| Benoit Benjamin | 9 | 4 | 17.9 | .561 | .000 | .500 | 5.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 6.1 |
| Tony Brown | 5 | 0 | 4.4 | .333 | .250 | .571 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 |
| Michael Cage | 9 | 4 | 21.9 | .559 | .000 | 1.000 | 5.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 4.3 |
| Marty Conlon | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| Eddie Johnson | 9 | 0 | 27.4 | .474 | .182 | .941 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 18.4 |
| Shawn Kemp | 9 | 9 | 37.6 | .475 | .000 | .763 | 12.2 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 17.4 |
| Derrick McKey | 9 | 9 | 35.0 | .525 | .313 | .844 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 16.3 |
| Nate McMillan | 9 | 2 | 27.3 | .422 | .231 | .714 | 3.7 | 7.0 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 9.6 |
| Gary Payton | 8 | 8 | 27.6 | .466 | .000 | .583 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 7.6 |
| Ricky Pierce | 9 | 9 | 35.1 | .481 | .273 | .870 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 19.6 |
Player statistics citation:[18]
Awards and records
Records
- Michael Cage finished the season with a franchise record .566 in field goal percentage.[33]
Transactions
Overview
| Players added Via draft Via free agency |
Players Lost Via trade Via waivers |
Trades
| October 2, 1991 | To Seattle SuperSonics Conditional 1993, 1995 and 1996 second-round picks |
To Los Angeles Lakers Sedale Threatt |
Free agents
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former team |
| Bart Kofoed | August 23, 1991 | Utah Jazz |
| Marty Conlon | October 1, 1991 | |
| Tony Brown | February 20, 1992 |
Waivings
| Player | Left |
| Quintin Dailey | December 10, 1991 |
Player Transactions Citation:[34]