1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1995–96 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 28th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] After two consecutive playoffs appearances losing in the first round, the Sonics finished the regular with a franchise best 64–18 record, surpassing the record from the 1993–94 season, and earned their third number one seed in the Western Conference in franchise history. Led by Shawn Kemp and Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton, the SuperSonics defeated the Sacramento Kings in the first round, swept the reigning champions Houston Rockets and got past the Utah Jazz in seven games in the Conference Finals to reach their first NBA Finals since 1979, where they would face the Chicago Bulls. After an 0–3 start in the series, Seattle managed to win their next two home games, but eventually lost the series in game six in Chicago.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Club
1	26	Sherell Ford	PF	United States	Illinois
2	54	Eurelijus Žukauskas	C	Lithuania	Neptūnas Klaipėda

Roster

Seattle SuperSonics 1995–96 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. DOB From 2.5 !G/F 2 USA ! Askew, Vincent 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966–02–28 Memphis 5.5 !F/C 34 USA ! Brickowski, Frank 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1959–08–14 Penn State 4.0 !F 1 USA ! Ford, Sherell 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1972–08–26 Illinois 1.5 !G 33 USA ! Hawkins, Hersey 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–09–29 Bradley 6.0 !C 50 USA ! Johnson, Ervin 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1967–12–21 New Orleans 5.5 !F/C 40 USA ! Kemp, Shawn 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–11–26 Trinity Valley CC 2.5 !G/F 10 USA ! McMillan, Nate 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1964–08–03 North Carolina State 1.5 !G 20 USA ! Payton, Gary 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State 5.5 !F/C 14 USA ! Perkins, Sam 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1961–06–14 North Carolina 5.5 !F/C 55 USA ! Scheffler, Steve 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1967–09–03 Purdue 5.5 !F/C 11 GER ! Schrempf, Detlef 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1963–01–21 Washington 1.5 !G 3 USA ! Snow, Eric 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1973–04–04 Michigan State 2.5 !G/F 25 USA ! Wingate, David 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963–12–15 Georgetown	Head coach George Karl (North Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Playoffs

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Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Awards

• Gary Payton was named the Defensive Player of the Year and led the league in total steals and steals per game.

All-NBA Teams

• Shawn Kemp – All-NBA Second Team
• Gary Payton – All-NBA Second Team

NBA All-Defensive Teams

• Gary Payton – All-Defensive First Team

1996 NBA All-Star Game

• Shawn Kemp (third appearance, second start)
• Gary Payton (second appearance)

Records

Transactions

Overview

Trades

Free agents

Additions

References

See also

• 1995-96 NBA season