1974–75 Seattle SuperSonics season

1974–75 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coach	Bill Russell
General manager	Bill Russell
Arena	Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record	43–39 (.524)
Place	Division: 2nd (Pacific) Conference: 4th (Western)
Playoff finish	West Semifinals (eliminated 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1974–75 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 8th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In their second season with Bill Russell as head coach and with rookies comprising half the roster, the SuperSonics finished the regular season in 4th place in the Western Conference with a 43–39 record and reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. After defeating the Detroit Pistons in 3 games in the first round in a best-of-three series, the team fell to the future champions Golden State Warriors in 6 games.

Offseason

Head coach Bill Russell anticipated a roster overhaul during the offseason.^[1] After trading Dick Snyder on draft day to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange of the Cavs' first round selection, the SuperSonics selected center Tommy Burleson with the 3rd overall pick.^[2]

Draft picks

Note: only draft picks who participated in at least one game in the NBA are listed.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	3	Tommy Burleson	Center	United States	North Carolina State
2	26	Leonard Gray	Forward	United States	Long Beach State
3	44	Talvin Skinner	Guard / Forward	United States	Maryland Eastern Shore
5	80	Dean Tolson	Forward	United States	Arkansas
5	98	Wardell Jackson	Forward	United States	Ohio State
10	169	Rod Derline	Guard	United States	Seattle

Roster

1974–75 Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G/F 40 Brisker, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1947–06–15 Toledo G 32 Brown, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa C 16 Burleson, Tommy 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1952–02–24 North Carolina State G 21 Clark, Archie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1941–07–15 Minnesota G 25 Derline, Rod 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1952–03–11 Seattle F/C 31 Fox, Jim 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1943–04–07 South Carolina F 11 Gray, Leonard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1951–12–19 Long Beach State F/C 24 Haywood, Spencer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1949–04–22 Detroit F/C 42 Hummer, John 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1948–05–04 Princeton F 30 Jackson, Wardell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1951–07–18 Ohio State G/F 22 Skinner, Talvin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1952–09–10 Maryland Eastern Shore F 20 Tolson, Dean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1951–11–25 Arkansas G 13 Watts, Donald 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1951–07–22 Xavier (Louisiana)	Head coach Bill Russell Assistant coach(es) Bob Hopkins Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Golden State Warriors	48	34	.585	–	31–10	17–24	19–11
x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	5	24–16	19–23	18–12
Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	10	29–13	9–31	16–14
Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	16	22–19	10–31	12–18
Los Angeles Lakers	30	52	.366	18	21–20	9–32	10–20

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Golden State Warriors	48	34	.585	–
2	y-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	1
3	x-Kansas City–Omaha Kings	44	38	.537	4
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	5
5	x-Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	8
6	Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	10
6	Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	10
8	Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	16
9	Los Angeles Lakers	30	52	.366	18

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1974–75 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCO	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	3–4	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–5
Boston	4–0	—	5–4	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	4–0	4–0	4–0	7–2	5–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2
Buffalo	3–1	4–5	—	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	1–3	4–0	5–3	6–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2
Chicago	4–0	1–3	3–1	—	2–2	4–5	3–1	2–2	4–5	3–1	3–5	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–3
Cleveland	4–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	—	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	6–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5
Detroit	2–2	1–3	2–2	5–4	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–6	3–1	3–6	4–0	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3
Golden State	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	5–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	5–3	5–3	4–3	1–3
Houston	5–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	3–1	5–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–5
Kansas City-Omaha	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–4	2–2	6–2	2–2	0–4	—	3–1	6–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3
Los Angeles	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	1–3	—	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	4–4	2–5	2–6	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	0–4	3–1	5–3	3–1	6–3	1–3	1–3	3–6	0–4	—	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4
New Orleans	5–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–6	0–4	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–7
New York	4–0	2–7	3–5	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	—	4–5	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	3–5	3–6	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	5–4	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3
Phoenix	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	4–4	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	1–6	4–3	1–3
Portland	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–5	2–2	1–3	5–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	6–1	—	2–6	1–3
Seattle	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	3–4	3–1	3–1	6–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–4	6–2	—	1–3
Washington	5–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–3	3–1	3–1	5–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	7–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	—

Game log

1974–75 game log Total: 43–39 (Home: 24–16; Road: 19–23; Neutral: 1–0)
October : 6–2 (Home: 4–0; Road: 2–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 17 @ Phoenix L 97–114 Archie Clark (27) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,215 0–1 2 October 18 Detroit L 95–100 Spencer Haywood (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,537 0–2 3 October 20 Cleveland W 100–93 Fred Brown (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,241 1–2 4 October 23 Portland W 107–97 Archie Clark (19) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,283 2–2 5 October 25 Phoenix W 106–97 Spencer Haywood (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,191 3–2 6 October 27 @ Portland L 94–120 Fred Brown (32) Memorial Coliseum 10,870 3–3 7 October 30 Los Angeles W 117–97 Spencer Haywood (40) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,938 4–3
November : 7–10 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–7) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 8 November 1 Golden State L 88–99 Spencer Haywood (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,777 4–4 9 November 3 Milwaukee W 101–89 Fred Brown (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,839 5–4 10 November 7 @ Golden State W 104–93 Fred Brown (31) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 5,391 6–4 11 November 10 Philadelphia W 109–95 Spencer Haywood (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,825 7–4 12 November 13 Los Angeles W 108–103 Spencer Haywood (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,004 8–4 13 November 15 @ Detroit L 103–117 Archie Clark (25) Cobo Arena 6,789 8–5 14 November 16 @ New York L 94–104 Spencer Haywood (34) Madison Square Garden 18,932 8–6 15 November 19 @ Atlanta L 113–122 Spencer Haywood (31) Omni Coliseum 3,769 8–7 16 November 20 @ New Orleans W 99–95 Three players (18) Municipal Auditorium 4,318 9–7 17 November 22 Chicago L 89–93 Spencer Haywood (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 9–8 18 November 23 @ Portland W 117–110 Fred Brown (40) Memorial Coliseum 11,825 10–8 19 November 24 Houston L 109–124 Spencer Haywood (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 10–9 20 November 26 @ Cleveland L 94–102 Spencer Haywood (29) Coliseum at Richfield 4,537 10–10 21 November 27 @ Boston L 99–104 Fred Brown (29) Boston Garden 10,543 10–11 22 November 29 @ Philadelphia W 121–119 (OT) Fred Brown (40) The Spectrum 8,660 11–11 23 November 30 @ Washington L 90–122 Archie Clark (23) Capital Centre 8,865 11–12
December : 5–7 (Home: 2–4; Road: 3–3) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 24 December 2 @ Kansas City-Omaha W 110–106 Spencer Haywood (26) Omaha Civic Auditorium 4,721 12–12 25 December 4 @ Milwaukee W 112–103 Spencer Haywood (37) MECCA Arena 10,497 13–12 26 December 6 New Orleans W 121–108 james (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 14–12 27 December 7 @ Golden State L 96–132 Spencer Haywood (20) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,608 14–13 28 December 8 Atlanta L 95–102 Spencer Haywood (18) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,575 14–14 29 December 11 Cleveland L 95–97 Archie Clark (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,033 14–15 30 December 13 @ Los Angeles L 93–109 Fred Brown (16) The Forum 10,296 14–16 31 December 17 @ Chicago L 84–87 Fred Brown (23) Chicago Stadium 5,591 14–17 32 December 18 @ Detroit W 100–97 Fred Brown (34) Cobo Arena 4,365 15–17 33 December 22 Detroit W 108–90 rowe (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,346 16–17 34 December 27 Kansas City-Omaha L 98–108 Fred Brown (37) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,260 16–18 35 December 29 Boston L 101–121 Spencer Haywood (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 16–19
January : 7–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 36 January 1 Washington W 123–118 (OT) Spencer Haywood (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,363 17–19 37 January 3 @ Portland W 98–93 Fred Brown (32) Memorial Coliseum 10,695 18–19 38 January 4 New Orleans W 111–89 Spencer Haywood (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,474 19–19 39 January 8 New York L 102–113 Spencer Haywood (38) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,203 19–20 40 January 10 Golden State L 94–119 Fred Brown (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,055 19–21 41 January 12 Chicago L 123–127 (2OT) Fred Brown, Spencer Haywood (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 19–22 42 January 16 @ Houston W 127–125 (OT) Fred Brown (36) Hofheinz Pavilion 2,274 20–22 43 January 17 @ New Orleans L 109–113 Jim Fox (28) Municipal Auditorium 3,120 20–23 44 January 19 @ Atlanta L 109–117 Fred Brown (22) Omni Coliseum 5,651 20–24 45 January 21 @ Buffalo L 108–118 jackson (18) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 10,271 20–25 46 January 24 @ Chicago L 81–86 Fred Brown (24) Chicago Stadium 7,107 20–26 47 January 26 @ Cleveland W 96–93 Fred Brown, Tommy Burleson (21) Coliseum at Richfield 4,219 21–26 48 January 29 @ Phoenix W 99–85 Fred Brown (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 4,273 22–26 49 January 31 Portland W 106–103 John Brisker (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 23–26
February : 7–8 (Home: 4–4; Road: 3–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 50 February 1 @ Portland W 93–91 Fred Brown (28) Memorial Coliseum 11,870 24–26 51 February 2 @ Los Angeles W 119–112 Archie Clark (22) The Forum 11,586 25–26 52 February 5 Phoenix L 102–107 Fred Brown (18) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,002 25–27 53 February 6 @ Phoenix L 105–112 Fred Brown (36) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,865 25–28 54 February 7 Washington L 76–99 Spencer Haywood (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,720 25–29 55 February 9 Buffalo L 93–99 (OT) Spencer Haywood (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,082 25–30 56 February 12 Houston W 104–103 Spencer Haywood (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,595 26–30 57 February 14 @ Portland L 88–90 Spencer Haywood (23) Memorial Coliseum 11,885 26–31 58 February 16 Los Angeles W 109–87 Spencer Haywood (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,053 27–31 59 February 19 Boston W 121–95 Tommy Burleson (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,680 28–31 60 February 21 Atlanta W 110–108 Spencer Haywood (39) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 29–31 61 February 23 Philadelphia L 100–114 Fred Brown (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,871 29–32 62 February 25 @ New York W 102–101 Spencer Haywood (37) Madison Square Garden 17,096 30–32 63 February 26 @ Washington L 98–104 Spencer Haywood (20) Capital Centre 6,202 30–33 64 February 28 @ Philadelphia L 111–112 Spencer Haywood (32) The Spectrum 7,682 30–34
March : 9–5 (Home: 6–1; Road: 3–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 65 March 2 @ Boston W 104–97 Spencer Haywood (30) Hartford, CT 11,283 31–34 66 March 4 @ Buffalo L 97–104 Leonard Gray (33) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 12,665 31–35 67 March 6 @ Milwaukee L 92–102 Fred Brown (25) MECCA Arena 10,938 31–36 68 March 8 @ Kansas City-Omaha W 103–99 Fred Brown (24) Municipal Auditorium 12,389 32–36 69 March 11 @ Houston W 122–117 (OT) Leonard Gray (25) Hofheinz Pavilion 6,153 33–36 70 March 14 Buffalo W 125–105 Tommy Burleson, Spencer Haywood (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 34–36 71 March 15 @ Golden State L 84–120 Fred Brown (23) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 9,594 34–37 72 March 16 New York W 97–94 Fred Brown (37) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 35–37 73 March 19 Milwaukee W 101–100 Leonard Gray (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 36–37 74 March 21 @ Los Angeles L 109–112 (OT) Archie Clark (29) The Forum 10,102 36–38 75 March 23 Phoenix L 96–102 Spencer Haywood (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 36–39 76 March 26 Los Angeles W 110–89 Archie Clark (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,128 37–39 77 March 28 Golden State W 96–92 Tommy Burleson (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 38–39 78 March 30 Portland W 98–88 Spencer Haywood (40) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 39–39
April : 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 79 April 2 Kansas City-Omaha W 99–96 Spencer Haywood (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,628 40–39 80 April 4 @ Los Angeles W 111–102 Tommy Burleson (25) The Forum 10,946 41–39 81 April 5 @ Golden State W 109–108 Tommy Burleson (26) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 11,064 42–39 82 April 6 Phoenix W 114–111 Archie Clark (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 43–39
1974–75 season schedule

Playoffs

1975 playoff game log
First round: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 8 Detroit W 90–77 Fred Brown (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 1–0 2 April 8 @ Detroit L 106–122 Fred Brown (30) Cobo Arena 10,490 1–1 3 April 12 Detroit W 100–93 Tommy Burleson (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 2–1
Conference Semifinals: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 14 @ Golden State L 96–123 Leonard Gray (20) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,279 0–1 2 April 16 @ Golden State W 100–99 Spencer Haywood (28) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787 1–1 3 April 17 @ Golden State L 96–105 Tommy Burleson (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 1–2 4 April 19 Golden State W 111–94 Fred Brown (37) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 2–2 5 April 22 @ Golden State L 100–124 Three players (15) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787 2–3 6 April 24 Golden State L 96–105 Slick Watts (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 2–4
1975 playoff schedule

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brisker, JohnJohn Brisker	21		13.1	.426		.857	1.6	.9	.3	.1	7.7
Brown, FredFred Brown	81		33.0	.480		.831	4.2	3.5	2.3	.2	21.0
Burleson, TommyTommy Burleson	82		23.0	.417		.687	7.0	1.4	.8	1.9	10.1
Clark, ArchieArchie Clark	77		32.2	.495		.834	3.1	5.6	1.4	.1	13.9
Derline, RodRod Derline	58		11.5	.428		.768	1.0	.8	.4	.1	5.6
Fox, JimJim Fox	75		23.5	.469		.802	6.5	1.8	.6	.2	9.0
Gray, LeonardLeonard Gray	75		30.4	.489		.722	6.4	2.2	.8	.3	11.5
Haywood, SpencerSpencer Haywood	68		37.2	.459		.811	9.3	2.0	.8	1.6	22.4
Hummer, JohnJohn Hummer	43		13.2	.380		.275	2.4	.9	.2	.2	2.2
Jackson, WardellWardell Jackson	56		16.8	.397		.718	2.4	.5	.5	.1	4.3
McIntosh, KennedyKennedy McIntosh	6		16.8	.207		.667	2.5	1.2	.7	.5	3.0
Skinner, TalvinTalvin Skinner	73		21.6	.409		.649	4.7	1.2	.7	.2	4.8
Tolson, DeanDean Tolson	19		4.6	.432		.647	1.2	.3	.2	.3	2.3
Watts, SlickSlick Watts	82		25.1	.421		.608	3.2	6.1	2.3	.1	6.8

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brown, FredFred Brown	8		30.0	.496		.844	4.5	2.9	2.1	.1	20.6
Burleson, TommyTommy Burleson	9		40.4	.513		.750	10.7	1.4	.8	2.0	20.7
Clark, ArchieArchie Clark	9		29.9	.436		.900	3.6	3.4	.7	.1	7.0
Derline, RodRod Derline	6		10.7	.545		.857	2.2	1.2	.3	.0	7.0
Fox, JimJim Fox	8		5.0	.286		.571	1.1	.3	.0	.1	1.5
Gray, LeonardLeonard Gray	9		29.2	.488		.846	5.0	2.2	1.3	.6	9.9
Haywood, SpencerSpencer Haywood	9		37.4	.359		.770	9.0	2.0	.8	1.2	15.7
Hummer, JohnJohn Hummer	6		11.3	.000			1.5	.7	.3	.0	.0
Skinner, TalvinTalvin Skinner	9		23.4	.467		.737	4.2	1.3	1.0	.2	6.2
Tolson, DeanDean Tolson	4		5.5	.125		1.000	1.8	.3	.0	.0	1.0
Watts, SlickSlick Watts	9		31.1	.462		.538	3.7	7.1	3.0	.4	11.1

Awards and records

• Spencer Haywood was selected to the All-NBA Second Team and represented the West in the 1975 NBA All-Star Game.
• Tommy Burleson was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Transactions

Overview

Players added Via draft Tommy Burleson Rod Derline Leonard Gray Wardell Jackson Talvin Skinner Dean Tolson Via trade Archie Clark

Players lost Via draft (1974 NBA Expansion Draft) Isaac Stallworth (to New Orleans) Via trade Dick Gibbs Dick Snyder Via free agency Milt Williams Waived Kennedy McIntosh

Trades

May 28, 1974	To Seattle SuperSonics 1974 first round pick	To Cleveland Cavaliers Dick Snyder 1974 first round pick
August 20, 1974 [3]	To Seattle SuperSonics Archie Clark	To Washington Bullets Dick Gibbs 1975 third round pick

References

1. Program may be needed to identify 'new' Sonics, Ellensburg Daily Record. May 30, 1974. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
2. Sonics draft Burleson, Ellensburg Daily Record. May 28, 1974. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
3. Seattle acquires Clark from Bullets, Bangor Daily News. August 20, 1974. Retrieved June 21, 2012.