The 1993–94 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 26th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the SuperSonics acquired All-Star forward, and 2-time Sixth Man of the Year Detlef Schrempf from the Indiana Pacers, and acquired Kendall Gill from the Charlotte Hornets.
Regular season With the addition of Schrempf and Gill, the SuperSonics got off to a fast start by winning their first ten games of the regular season. The team got off to a 26–3 start to the season, and later on held a league-best 35–10 record at the All-Star break. The SuperSonics posted a nine-game winning streak between March and April, won 17 of their final 19 games of the season, and finished in first place in the Pacific Division with a league-best 63–19 record, earning the first seed in the Western Conference for the first time since the 1978–79 season, where they won their first NBA championship.
Shawn Kemp averaged 18.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.1 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Gary Payton averaged 16.5 points, 6.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and Schrempf provided the team with 15.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In addition, Ricky Pierce contributed 14.5 points per game off the bench, but only played 51 games due to a left foot injury, while Gill provided with 14.1 points, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game, and Sam Perkins averaged 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Vincent Askew contributed 9.1 points per game off the bench, defensive sixth man Nate McMillan provided with 6.0 points, 5.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game also off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Michael Cage averaged 4.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kemp and Payton were both selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while head coach George Karl was selected to coach the Western Conference; it was Payton's first ever All-Star appearance. In addition, Kemp also participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for the fourth time. Payton finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Kemp finished tied in seventh place, and McMillan finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind Dell Curry of the Charlotte Hornets, and with Pierce finishing in fourth place. Payton finished in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while McMillan finished tied in seventh place; Payton also finished in third place in Most Improved Player voting, with Askew finishing tied in seventh place, and Karl finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.
The SuperSonics finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 601,369 at the Seattle Center Coliseum during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics faced off against the 8th–seeded Denver Nuggets, a team that featured defensive shot-blocker Dikembe Mutombo, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and second-year star LaPhonso Ellis. The SuperSonics won the first two games over the Nuggets at home at the Seattle Center Coliseum, and took a 2–0 series lead. However, the team lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Nuggets at the McNichols Sports Arena in overtime, 94–85, as the Nuggets evened the series at 2–2. The SuperSonics would not make it past the first round, losing Game 5 to the Nuggets at the Seattle Center Coliseum in overtime, 98–94, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series; it was the first time in NBA playoffs history that a #8 seed defeated a #1 seeded team.
Aftermath Following the season, Pierce was traded to the Golden State Warriors after feuding with Payton, and Cage signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Offseason
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 23 Ervin Johnson C New Orleans 2 42 Adonis Jordan PG Kansas
Roster
1993–94 Salaries
Player 1993–94 Salary Sam Perkins$3,587,000 Gary Payton$2,383,000 Ricky Pierce$2,100,000 Kendall Gill$2,000,000 Michael Cage$1,502,000 Detlef Schrempf$1,308,000 Nate McMillan$850,000 Shawn Kemp$750,000 Rich King$700,000 Ervin Johnson$617,000 Steve Scheffler$170,000TOTAL$15,967,000
Sources: Basketball Reference: 1993-94 SEA Salaries1993-94 SEA Salaries – Basketball-Reference.com
Regular season
Season standings
Game log
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | November 6 | L.A. Lakers | | Shawn Kemp (30) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Nate McMillan (11) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | November 8 | @ Utah | | Ricky Pierce (16) | Michael Cage (7) | Gary Payton (6) | Delta Center19,911 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | November 9 | Denver | | Sam Perkins (28) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Detlef Schrempf (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,253 | 3–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | November 11 | Cleveland | | Schrempf & Pierce (22) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Nate McMillan (6) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 4–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | November 13 | Atlanta | | Sam Perkins (22) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Nate McMillan (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 5–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | November 16 | Chicago | | Ricky Pierce (19) | Shawn Kemp (7) | Nate McMillan (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 6–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | November 19 | Dallas | | Shawn Kemp (24) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Kemp & Gill (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,253 | 7–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 8 | November 20 | @ Golden State | | Shawn Kemp (28) | Shawn Kemp (12) | McMillan & Payton (7) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena15,025 | 8–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 24 | @ Sacramento | | Gary Payton (23) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Nate McMillan (11) | ARCO Arena17,317 | 9–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | November 26 | @ Minnesota | | Ricky Pierce (28) | Sam Perkins (9) | Nate McMillan (11) | Target Center18,298 | 10–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | November 27 | @ Cleveland | | Payton & Kemp (26) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Nate McMillan (7) | Richfield Coliseum20,273 | 10–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 30 | @ Philadelphia | | Sam Perkins (21) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Gill & Payton (7) | The Spectrum13,193 | 11–1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | December 2 | @ Washington | | Gill & Payton (18) | Sam Perkins (8) | Gary Payton (6) | US Airways Arena18,756 | 12–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 14 | December 4 | Minnesota | | Sam Perkins (22) | Shawn Kemp (10) | Detlef Schrempf (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,693 | 13–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | December 6 | Washington | | Kemp & Gill (18) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Gary Payton (11) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,253 | 14–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 16 | December 8 | @ San Antonio | | Gary Payton (25) | Shawn Kemp (7) | Nate McMillan (7) | Alamodome18,184 | 15–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | December 9 | @ Dallas | | Kendall Gill (23) | Detlef Schrempf (8) | Nate McMillan (7) | Reunion Arena13,112 | 16–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | December 11 | @ Houston | | Detlef Schrempf (17) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (4) | The Summit16,611 | 16–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 | December 14 | Orlando | | Ricky Pierce (24) | Ervin Johnson (10) | Gary Payton (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 17–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 20 | December 17 | Milwaukee | | Ricky Pierce (21) | Ervin Johnson (9) | Schrempf & McMillan (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,258 | 18–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 21 | December 18 | Golden State | | Ricky Pierce (26) | Detlef Schrempf (8) | Gary Payton (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 19–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | December 21 | Indiana | | Sam Perkins (23) | Detlef Schrempf (11) | Nate McMillan (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,580 | 20–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 23 | December 23 | Phoenix | | Detlef Schrempf (16) | Michael Cage (12) | Nate McMillan (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 20–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 24 | December 28 | Houston | | Payton & Pierce (25) | Michael Cage (11) | Nate McMillan (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 21–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 25 | December 29 | @ L.A. Lakers | | Shawn Kemp (25) | Michael Cage (10) | Gary Payton (9) | Great Western Forum15,599 | 22–3
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 26 | January 4 | @ Phoenix | | Shawn Kemp (22) | Nate McMillan (9) | Gary Payton (8) | America West Arena19,023 | 23–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 27 | January 5 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Shawn Kemp (22) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Gary Payton (8) | Los Angeles Sports Arena11,838 | 24–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 28 | January 7 | Sacramento | | Detlef Schrempf (20) | Shawn Kemp (8) | Gary Payton (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,709 | 25–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 29 | January 8 | Utah | | Three-Way Tie (16) | Michael Cage (9) | Nate McMillan (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 26–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 30 | January 11 | @ Portland | | Payton & Schrempf (19) | Gary Payton (7) | Gary Payton (8) | Memorial Coliseum12,888 | 26–4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 31 | January 14 | @ Golden State | | Ricky Pierce (18) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Nate McMillan (4) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena15,025 | 26–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 32 | January 15 | Miami | | Shawn Kemp (25) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Payton & McMillan (4) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,787 | 27–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 33 | January 18 | L.A. Lakers | | Kendall Gill (19) | Detlef Schrempf (11) | Gary Payton (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,627 | 28–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 34 | January 19 | @ Sacramento | | Gary Payton (24) | Michael Cage (9) | Gary Payton (8) | ARCO Arena17,317 | 29–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 35 | January 21 | @ Dallas | | Detlef Schrempf (22) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (8) | Reunion Arena14,101 | 30–5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 | January 22 | @ Denver | | Shawn Kemp (26) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (5) | McNichols Sports Arena17,171 | 30–6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 37 | January 24 | @ Utah | | Gary Payton (18) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Gary Payton (7) | Delta Center19,911 | 30–7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 38 | January 25 | L.A. Clippers | | Detlef Schrempf (19) | Detlef Schrempf (12) | Gary Payton (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,348 | 30–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 39 | January 27 | New Jersey | | Gary Payton (21) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Schrempf & McMillan (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,490 | 31–8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 40 | January 29 | New York | | Gary Payton (19) | Kemp & Cage (8) | Payton & McMillan (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,813 | 31–9
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 41 | February 1 | @ New Jersey | | Shawn Kemp (26) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Schrempf & McMillan (7) | Brendan Byrne Arena16,213 | 31–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | February 2 | @ Boston | | Detlef Schrempf (21) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Nate McMillan (8) | Boston Garden14,890 | 32–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | February 4 | @ Detroit | | Kendall Gill (18) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Gary Payton (9) | The Palace of Auburn Hills21,454 | 33–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 44 | February 5 | @ Milwaukee | | Detlef Schrempf (18) | Kemp & Cage (9) | Gary Payton (10) | Bradley Center18,633 | 34–10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | February 9 | Portland | | Gary Payton (19) | Shawn Kemp (19) | Gary Payton (9)