This Day In Sonics History

The Sonics hired George Karl as their head coach, where he would lead them to 50-win seasons in every full season he coached. He also led the team to the 1996 NBA Finals. He is arguably the best coach the team has ever had.

Dennis Johnson was named NBA player of the week after averaging 28.0 points 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Johnson was the first Sonic to receive the award.

Paul Westphal recorded his 50th victory as head coach of the Sonics, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 82-81. Gary Payton led the way with 36 points.

The Sonics demolished the Toronto Raptors by a final score of 122-78 after hitting a team record 15 three pointers. Eight of those came from "Big Smooth" Sam Perkins, who did not miss from behind the arc and tied an NBA record as such. In fact, Perkins did not miss the basket all game, also hitting 2 out 2 free throws and finishing the game with 26 points. Shawn Kemp added 25 and 12 rebounds.

Lenny Wilkens was named the MVP of the 17th annual NBA All-Star Game. Wilkens had 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting and led the West to a 108-107 victory.

The Seattle Supersonics became the first NBA team ever to have a game postponed on account of rain. The Seattle Center Colosseum roof leaked, allowing rain water to drip onto the court. The game against the Phoenix Suns only lasted 13 minutes and four seconds before it was postponed to the following night.

Spencer Haywood scored a franchise record 51 points to lead the Sonics past the Kansas City-Omaha Kings 107-100. This was two more than the previous record of 49, held by Bob Rule. Butch Beard and Dick Snyder both contributed 16.

Gary Payton scored 33 points and shot a franchise-record 17 three pointers (he hit 7). He also dished out 8 assists and pulled down 6 rebounds. Horace Grant had a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds, in his 900th career game.

Hersey Hawkins scored the NBA's seven millionth point with 7:58 remaining of the fourth quarter of a Sonics 93-79 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Hawkins would finish the game with 9 points. Seattle was led by 31 from Gary Payton and a double-double from Shawn Kemp, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds, respectively.

Lonnie Shelton attempted to dunk the ball so hard that he bent the rim in the first quarter of a game against the New York Knicks. The game was delayed for 20 minutes and Shelton issued a technical foul. He would also later be fined $100 by the league. Shelton still dunked the ball two more times later in the game and the Sonics defeated the Knicks 121-102.

It may have taken an extra period, but Spencer Haywood and Lenny Wilkens both had at least 30 points as the Sonics beat the Suns 130-127. Haywood had 35 and Wilkens had 30. Dick Snyder also contributed 23.

A massive Seattle snow storm delayed the Sonics game against the Orlando Magic by over an hour. Head coach K.C. Jones and Dale Ellis couldn't get to the game until halfway through the second quarter. Michael Cage and Dave Corzine walked from their Queen Anne homes to the Coliseum. There were only 1,568 fans in attendance. Despite the freezing temperatures outside, the Sonics were able to get hot inside and defeat the Magic 122-105 behind 33 points from Derrick McKey and a double-double from Shawn Kemp, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds.

Every Sonics player scored, led by 30 from Hersey Hawkins, as the Sonics obliterated the Golden State Warriors 123-83. Gary Payton added 24 and Shawn Kemp and Jim McIlvaine each had a dozen.

Despite losing to the Portland Trail Blazers, the real story of the night was Gary Payton. He scored 22 points, bringing his total for his career over 12,000.

The Sonics were just able to squeak out a victory over the Dallas Mavericks, 106-105 behind 22 points from Shawn Kemp and 10 assists from Nate McMillan. Seattle also got double digit scoring from Derrick McKey (15), Sedale Threatt (16), Dale Ellis (15) and Eddie Johnson (10).

Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis combined for 63 points as the Supersonics beat the Lakers (sorry, Dr. Dre) by a score of 108-93. Jerome James and Vladimir Radmonovic also scored in double digits with 12 and 10, respectively. Luke Ridnour contributed 11 assists.

Dale Ellis led all scorers with 33 points and hit four out of five from beyond the arc. Xavier McDaniel had 28 points off the bench and Michael Cage had 19 points and 20 rebounds. The Sonics defeated the Suns 126-116.

Shawn Kemp pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds, despite the team ultimately falling to the Dallas Mavericks. He also added 17 points and 2 steals. Sam Perkins also had a double/double with 20 points and 15 rebounds, respectively. Hersey Hawkins led the team with 24 points and Gary Payton added 13 and 9 assists.

Gary Payton handed out his 5,000th assist on this day in 1999, one of the 6 he had on the day. He also had 26 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals to lead the Sonics over the Miami Heat 92-88. Vin Baker contributed 25 points and 9 rebounds and Vernon Maxwell had 16 points off the bench.

The Sonics defeated the Golden State Warriors by a final score of 99-93, extending their home winning streak to a franchise record 29 games. Fred Brown led the way with 23 points and Dennis Johnson and Leonard Gray each contributed 19.

Sticking with the Gus Williams theme, 30 years ago today "The Wizard" dished out a then-team franchise record 20 assists to go along with his 23 points. Jack Sikma led the way with 26 and Tom Chambers had 19 and 9 as the Sonics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 132-124.

Gus Williams scored 29 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists for his first career triple-double. He also led all scorers as the Sonics defeated the Houston Rockets by a score of 107-96. Lonnie Shelton added 17 points and Fred Brown and Jack Sikma each contributed 16.

On this day in Sonics history, number one overall draft pick Rich King achieved career highs in minutes played (24), points (10), field goals (4), assists (4), steals (1) and blocks (1)! He was also only one shy of his career high in rebounds (4). Seattle defeated the Dallas Mavericks 104-101, led by 27 from Ricky Pierce and a double-double from Michael Cage.

Twenty years ago today, the Sonics set a franchise record for steals in a game with 23. Believe it or not, Shawn Kemp led the way with 6. Nate McMillan had 4 and Gary Payton had 3. Kemp also had 18 points and Payton had 11 assists. The Sonics defeated the Washington Bullets 103-96.

Despite ultimately falling to the San Francisco Warriors, this game was memorable for the expansion Supersonics. Walt Hazzard (later Mahdi Abdul-Rahman) scored 15 consecutive points, becoming only the second player to do so. The first was Wilt Chamberlain. He would finish the game with 29 points.

Sam Perkins led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 58% from the field. Shawn Kemp also contributed a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Gary Payton added 13 points and Detlef Schrempf had 14. Steve Scheffler had 5 points in 2 minutes of action (that's 90 points per 36 minutes!). The Sonics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves by a final score of 99-82 and improved to 13-1 on the season.

The Sonics were able to snap a 14-game road losing streak by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 121-112. Fred Brown led the team with 29 points and also set a then-franchise record for steals with 10. Slick Watts scored 27 and Tom Burleson had 25.

The Sonics set a franchise record for most points in a game, defeating the Los Angeles Clippers by a score of 154-104. It was also their largest home victory of all time. The team was led by 27 points each from Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel, plus 25 from Derrick McKey. Every member of the team scored.

Coach Bill Russell needed to do something, as his team was 9-17. He decided to insert rookie Slick Watts into the starting lineup. Watts was one rebound away from a triple-double, with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 14 assists and 3 blocks against "Pistol" Pete Maravich and the Atlanta Hawks.