1995-96 stats: 81 games played (81 starts), 19.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.9 steals per game
Probably the most iconic player in Sonics history, "The Glove" was in his prime during Seattle's run to the Finals. The No. 2 overall pick in the 1990 draft out of Oregon State, Payton led the NBA with a career-high 231 steals en route to his third straight All-Star appearance and Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1996. Known for his suffocating brand of perimeter defense and a healthy amount of trash talk, Payton picked up his scoring in the playoffs, averaging 20.7 points per game and shooting 41 percent from three-point range.
After the '96 Finals, Payton played six more years for the Sonics before his Seattle tenure ended with a trade to Milwaukee in 2003. He bounced around for the last few years of his NBA career, winning his lone championship as a member of the Miami Heat in 2006, a decade after his Finals appearance with the Sonics. His post-NBA career included on-air jobs with NBA TV, TNT and Fox Sports 1, and he's been a vocal supporter of the movement to bring the Sonics back to Seattle. In 2015 and 2016, he watched his son Gary Payton II earn first-team All-Pac-12 and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors at Oregon State. Payton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Getty Images
1995-96 stats: 79 games played (76 starts), 19.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.6 blocks per game
The Sonics' second first-round draft choice in 1989, the high-flying, explosive Kemp was at the height of his powers in the mid-90s, teaming with Payton to give Seattle as good a one-two combo as there was in the NBA. He made his fourth of six straight All-Star appearances in 1996, starting the game for the second time. For the season, he boasted the second-highest per game scoring average of his career and a career-high mark in rebounding, both of which led the team. He repeated that feat in the postseason, averaging a team-high 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game to go along with two blocks per contest.
Upset with his contract, Kemp held out after the Sonics signed backup center Jim McIlvaine to a $33 million deal in 1997. He was subsequently traded to Cleveland, where he struggled with weight issues -- as well as cocaine and alcohol abuse -- after an All-Star season in 1998. His NBA career ended after three lackluster years with Portland and Orlando from 2000 to 2003 and several failed comeback attempts. He was arrested three for drug-related offenses in the mid-2000s, and Oskar's Kitchen, his sports bar in Lower Queen Anne, closed in 2015. Kemp made headlines when he hosted a party at Neumos after the Oklahoma City Thunder missed the playoffs in 2015.
Getty Images
1995-96 stats: 63 games played (60 starts), 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists per game
After developing into an All-Star with the Indiana Pacers, where he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year awards in both 1991 and 1992, the West Germany native -- and Centralia High School and University of Washington grad -- joined his "hometown" Sonics in a 1993 trade. A dangerous outside shooter with a 38 percent career three-point percentage and possessing a polished all-around game, the 6-foot-9 Schrempf became the first German-born player to reach the NBA Finals in 1996.
The Sonics released Schrempf in 1999, and he subsequently signed with Portland, finishing his career with two seasons for the Trail Blazers. He settled back in Seattle after retirement, briefly serving as a Sonics assistant coach from 2006 to 2007. He now works as a business development officer for a private equity firm and spends much of his time giving back to charity. His Detlef Schrempf Foundation has raised $14 million since 1996 through event's like the annual St. Patrick's Day Dash, distributing the funds to over 100 different charities. Schrempf also made numerous appearances playing himself on NBC's "Parks and Rec."
JORDAN STEAD/SEATTLEPI.COM
1995-96 stats: 82 games played (82 starts), 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.8 steals per game
The No. 6 overall pick of the 1989 draft, Hawkins was traded to Seattle from Charlotte along with David Windgate for Kendall Gill ahead of the 1995-96 season. The Chicago native started every game for the Sonics over the next three seasons. Hawkins was a perfect fit for Seattle's trapping, switching defense, ranking seventh in the league in steals with 149 in his first season with the team.
After winning the NBA Sportsmanship Award in 1999, Hawkins was traded to Chicago in the deal that netted Seattle Brent Barry. He then rejoined the Hornets in 2000 for his final NBA season. After retiring from the NBA, Hawkins saw all three of his sons through their high school careers as an assistant coach in Arizona, then worked in the Trail Blazers front office for six seasons, eventually serving as their player programs director.
WireImage
1995-96 stats: 55 games played (14 starts), 5.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 steals per game
After nine productive seasons in Seattle -- and two years removed from leading the NBA in steals -- "Mr. Sonic" began to succumb to injury during the 1995-96 season. In the postseason, McMillan dealt with back issues that forced him to miss the first two games of the Finals before returning for game three. In Game 4, after receiving a cortisone injection to relieve the pain in his back, McMillan chipped in with eight points, three rebounds and three assists in just 14 minutes played, helping spark the Sonics to their first win of the series.
McMillan retired in 1998 and immediately earned a job as an assistant coach under then Seattle head coach Paul Westphal. McMillan then replaced Westphal, leading the Sonics to playoff appearances in 2002 and 2005 after a 52-win season, the most for the franchise since his final season as a player. Following that season, he left for Portland, where he coached the Trail Blazers until his firing in 2012. He latched on as an assistant under Frank Vogel in Indiana and was named the Pacers new head coach last month after the team decided not to pick up Vogel's contract. He has a career record of 478-452, with a postseason mark of 14-20.
AP
1995-96 stats: 82 games played (20 starts), 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals per game
"Big Smooth" joined Seattle via a 1993 midseason trade with the Lakers and immediately became a key part of the Sonics' frontcourt rotation. In his fourth season with Seattle, Perkins matched up with former college teammate Michael Jordan for the second time in the Finals after facing Jordan's Bulls in 1991 with L.A. The normally smooth-shooting big man was ice cold in 1996, shooting just 23.5 percent from three-point range against Chicago.
After his contract with the Sonics expired in 1998, Perkins signed with the Pacers midway through the following season. He finished his career in Indiana having played in 1,453 NBA games, eventually working for the team as the vice president of player relations from 2008 to 2010. Perkins has stayed involved in basketball, traveling to Africa and Asia an an ambassador for the game.
AP
1995-96 stats: 81 games played (60 starts), 5.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks per game
A first-round pick out of the University of New Orleans in 1993, Johnson was technically a starter for the Sonics in the 1995-96 season even though he played just under 19 minutes per game. He was released by Seattle following the Finals, signing on with the Nuggets. He only lasted one season before a trade to Milwaukee, where he played the majority of his 13-year career. Johnson now lives in Denver, where he works as a community ambassador for the Nuggets.
1995-96 stats: 69 games played (2 starts), 8.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game
A second-round pick of the 76ers out of Memphis in 1987, Askew quickly flamed out, playing in the Continental Basketball League and overseas before reentering the NBA with Sacramento in 1992. He was subsequently traded to Seattle, where his defense-first style fit for four seasons. He was out of the NBA for good by 1998 and went into coaching, which included a stint with the ABA's Tacoma Navigators.
1995-96 stats: 43 games played (1 start), 2.7 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists per game
Rookie point guard Snow was a minor player for the Sonics after joining the team in a draft-night trade in 1995, but he went on to have a long NBA career, with stops in Philadelphia and Cleveland that each included another Finals appearance. Snow was a second-team All-Defensive Team selection with the 76ers in 2002-03. After his playing days ended, he transitioned to coaching, currently serving as an assistant at Florida Atlantic.
1995-96 stats: 40 games played (2 starts), 2.0 points, 1.4 rebounds per game
Brickowski's journeyman career brought him to Seattle for a second time in 1995, and he emerged as a surprising three-point threat, shooting over 40 percent on 79 attempts for the season. Brickowski is perhaps best-remembered for earning a double technical foul in that got him tossed from Game 1 for his defending of Bulls chief antagonizer Dennis Rodman. He was released after the Finals and out of the NBA a year later. He currently lives in Oregon, where he works as an NBA Players Association rep.
1995-96 stats: 60 games played (3 starts), 3.7 points, 1.0 assists per game
Like Brickowski, Wingate was another longtime NBA veteran who turned in some workmanlike performances for the Sonics, his fifth NBA stop, after arriving with Hawkins from the Hornets. Wingate played with Seattle through 1998, then rejoined the Sonics for one final NBA season in 2000-01. According to his LinkedIn profile, he's currently living in Charlotte.
1995-96 stats: 35 games played (2 starts), 1.7 points, 0.9 rebounds per game
A 6-foot-9, 250-pound center, Scheffler played for Seattle from 1992 through 1997, seeing action in 124 games over that span, but never averaging more than a few minutes per contest. Fun fact: he hit the only three-pointer of his career in a blowout win over Miami on January 12, 1996. He's currently the president of KS Specialties in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which describes itself as a food broker representing brands for Amazon's grocery division.
1995-96 stats: 28 games played (1 start), 3.2 points, 0.9 rebounds per game
Ford was the Sonics' No. 1 draft choice in 1995, selected with the 26th overall pick out of Illinois-Chicago after a sterling college career in which he averaged over 26 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior. He struggled for playing time in what would be his only NBA season, eventually touring with the Harlem Globetrotters and playing overseas.
In 1994, Seattle became Casey's first NBA stop after a playing career that ended at the University of Kentucky and coaching jobs at his alma mater, Western Kentucky and the Japanese Basketball League. After 11 years on the Sonics staff, he was named the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, compiling a 53-69 record in parts of two seasons before being fired. He served another stint as an assistant in Dallas before being hired as the head man in Toronto in 2011, where he has built the Raptors into Eastern Conference contenders.
Getty Images
The Pittsburgh native and University of Pittsburgh alum was a longtime assistant, then head coach at his alma mater before moving on to UNLV, where he helped Jerry Tarkanian develop the Runnin' Rebels into national title contenders. He first came to Seattle in 1992 and returned in 1994 and after a short-lived (7 game) tenure as UNLV's head coach. Known for his ability to implement pressure defense, Grgurich teamed up with George Karl in three of his seven NBA stops. He most recently served as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Associated Press/Getty Images
After being drafted by the Houston Rockets, Stotts met George Karl as a member of Karl's Montana Golden Nuggets of the Continental Basketball League in 1980. After his playing career was over, he joined Karl's CBA staff in Albany before rejoining him in Seattle in 1992. Stotts earned his first head-coaching opportunity at any level with the Atlanta Hawks from 2002 to 2004, then coached the Bucks from 2005 to 2007. He was named Portland's head coach in 2012, and has led the Blazers to three straight playoff appearances, including a thrilling series versus the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference semifinals last month.
Getty Images
Following a 12-year playing career that included a stint as a member of the original Sonics team from 1967 to 1968, Weiss embarked on a long NBA coaching career with stops as a head coach with the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers before joining Karl's staff in 1994. He stayed in Seattle for 11 years as an assistant under Karl and Nate McMillan before being elevated to head coach in 2005. He lasted just 30 games in that role before he was fired in 2006 and spent three years coaching in China before reentering the NBA in 2012. He's currently an assistant with the Charlotte Hornets.
Associated Press/Getty Images
After starting his coaching career with the Spurs in 1978, Karl moved to the CBA for three years before his first NBA head jobs in Cleveland (1984-86) and Golden State (1986-88). Though he led the Cavs and Warriors to the playoffs, Karl developed a reputation for having an outsized ego that made him hard to work with, and only after a sojourn with stops in the CBA and Spain was he offered another chance at an NBA job with Seattle in 1992. Though he put together an incredible 384-150 record in seven years with the Sonics (never winning fewer than 55 games in a full season), his teams underachieved in the playoffs, tarnishing his overall legacy.
AFP/Getty Images
Conflicts with management and a lucrative contract offer lured Karl to Milwaukee in 1998. He lasted five seasons before taking over in Denver in 2004. He never missed the postseason in nine years with the Nuggets -- even while battling thyroid cancer -- but still couldn't break through in the playoffs, leading to his dismissal in 2013, the same year he was named NBA Coach of the Year. After a brief stint as an analyst for ESPN, he was named the head coach of the Sacramento Kings in 2015, but lasted just over one season before being fired in April. Karl ranks fifth on the all-time coaching wins list, with a 1,175-824 record over 27 seasons. The 1995-96 Sonics team remains his only squad to advance as far as the NBA Finals.
Getty Images
HANDOUT
P_I ARCHIVE 1967
PI FILES 1972
George Gojkovich/Getty Images
Focus On Sport/Getty Images
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
Rick Stewart/Getty Images
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Ken Levine/Getty Images
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
ELAINE THOMPSON/Associated Press
ELAINE THOMPSON/Associated Press
Pete LEVINE/AFP/Getty Images
Elsa/Getty Images
As we anticipate the likely return of the Seattle SuperSonics, people are starting to wonder: What logo and uniform should the possible new team adopt? Should it be one of the old identities? If so, which one? Or should the new Sonics go in a new direction?
Click through the gallery to see the different Sonics looks through the team's history in Seattle. Have a favorite one? Vote in our poll below.
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
Tom Hauck/Getty Images
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
Jeff Gross/Getty Images
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
With the excitement over last week's preseason game between the L.A. Kings and Golden State Warriors at KeyArena– the first NBA game to be played in Seattle since the SuperSonics wrapped up their final season 10 years ago – still on the minds of Seattle basketball lovers, today from the seattlepi.com archive we share a brief story about the day it was announced our since-departed NBA team, the Seattle Supersonics, would be coming to town.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
It was the city's first pro team since the Seattle Metropolitans folded in 1924. (The Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917.)
But it was the P-I's John Owen who broke the story about the Sonics' coming to Seattle on Dec. 16, 1966. Owen reported the formal announcement about Seattle's NBA franchise would likely be made within a week.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
The Supersonics name was picked later in a name-the-team contest.
Click here to read coverage of the NBA franchise announcement as a PDF.
The manager of the Coliseum – the building constructed for the 1962 World's Fair and renovated to what's now KeyArena – confirmed prospective NBA owners had approached him, but didn't give more details. The coliseum at the time held about 13,000 people.
After it was announced on Dec. 20 that Seattle would receive an NBA team, there was speculation of who would be the coach. Al Brightman, who had coached Seattle University from 1948 to 1956, was a name tossed around. People also wondered if Tom Workman, a Bishop Blanchet High School star and Seattle University standout, would play in his hometown.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
But Brightman coached the Anaheim Amigos of the ABA during the 1967-68 season and Workman was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks as the eighth pick of the 1967 NBA draft. He never played for a professional Seattle team.
Another Al took the Sonics' head coaching job, Al Bianchi. He remained the Sonics coach until 1969 when NBA legend Lenny Wilkens took over. On the first Sonics squad was Bob Weiss, who was named head coach of the team in 2005. Read more about that first team here.
The Sonics remained here until July 2008, when a settlement between the city and a group including Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett allowed the team to move.
Advertisement
Article continues below this ad
On the 25th anniversary of the Sonics' 1979 NBA championship, broadcaster Bob Blackburn, forward John "J.J." Johnson and retired Seattle Times reporter Greg Heberlein were members of a panel discussion about the Sonics at the Museum of History and Industry.
The discussion was produced, moderated and recorded by Feliks Bane.
Check out the gallery to see photos from the SuperSonics tenure in Seattle.
