1994–95 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1994–95 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 27th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The SuperSonics received the eleventh overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft from the Charlotte Hornets via trade, and selected power forward Carlos Rogers out of Tennessee State University,^[2][3][4] but soon traded him to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Byron Houston.^[5][6][7] During the off-season, the team signed free agent Bill Cartwright, who won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s.^[8][9] For the duration of the regular season, the SuperSonics switched venues and played their home games at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, while their original stadium, the Seattle Center Coliseum, was being rebuilt to keep pace with NBA standards.^[10][11]

The SuperSonics struggled with a 3–4 start to the regular season, but then won 13 of their next 16 games, posted a 10-game winning streak in January,^[12] and later on held a 33–12 record at the All-Star break.^[13] However, the team dealt with a few troubles during the season,^[14] and Cartwright only played just 29 games due to a groin injury.^[15][16] The SuperSonics posted a seven-game winning streak between March and April, finished in second place in the Pacific Division with a 57–25 record, and earned the fourth seed in the Western Conference;^[17] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.^[1]

Gary Payton averaged 20.6 points, 7.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game, while Shawn Kemp averaged 18.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Detlef Schrempf provided the team with 19.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game; Payton and Kemp were both named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Schrempf was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and Payton was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, Kendall Gill contributed 13.7 points and 1.6 steals per game, while Sam Perkins provided with 12.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and led the SuperSonics with 136 three-point field goals. Off the bench, Vincent Askew contributed 9.9 points per game, while Marčiulionis contributed 9.3 points per game, defensive guard Nate McMillan averaged 5.2 points, 5.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and second-year center Ervin Johnson provided with 3.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, starting at center for half of the regular season.^[18]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Payton, Kemp and Schrempf were all selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team.^[19][20][21] Payton also finished in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[22][23] while McMillan finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting,^[24][23] and both players finished tied in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[25][23]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1995 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics faced off against the 5th–seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Cedric Ceballos, second-year star Nick Van Exel, and Vlade Divac. The SuperSonics won Game 1 over the Lakers at home, 96–71 at the Tacoma Dome.^[26][27][28] However, after a shocking first-round exit against the 8th–seeded Denver Nuggets in last year's playoffs, the SuperSonics lost the next three games, which included a Game 4 loss to the Lakers on the road, 114–110 at the Great Western Forum, thus losing the series in four games.^[29][30][31]

The SuperSonics finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 633,604 at the Tacoma Dome during the regular season.^[18][32] During the regular season, Gill and head coach George Karl both feuded with each other in public, as Gill dealt with clinical depression.^[33][34][35] Following the season, Gill was traded back to his former team, the Charlotte Hornets,^[36][37][38] while Marčiulionis and Houston were both traded to the Sacramento Kings,^[39][40][41] and Cartwright retired.^[42]