Seattle Supersonics

About Seattle Supersonics

The Seattle SuperSonics (also called the Seattle Sonics) are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. Currently playing in the Northwest Division of the National Basketball Association (NBA), they won the NBA Championship in 1979. Of the three current major men's professional sports teams in Seattle—the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Seahawks, and the SuperSonics—the SuperSonics are the only one to have won a championship (The Seattle Storm won the WNBA Championship in 2004). From 1978 through 1985, the SuperSonics' mascot was The Wheedle; since 1993, their mascot has been Squatch.

The SuperSonics are currently owned by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, who is seeking to relocate the team to Oklahoma City at the end of its lease with Seattle's Key Arena, which could occur in 2010 or before the 2008-2009 season, depending on the outcome of litigation over the lease and ownership of the team. Relocation for the 2008-2009 season was given approval by the NBA on April 18, 2008. Sam Schulman owned the team from its 1967 inception until 1983. It has since been owned by Barry Ackerley (1983–2001) and the Basketball Club of Seattle, headed by Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz (2001-2006).

On December 20, 1966, Los Angeles businessmen Sam Schulman and Eugene V. Klein and a group of minority partners were awarded the NBA franchise for the city of Seattle. Schulman would serve as the active partner and head of team operations. Named the SuperSonics after Boeing's recently awarded contract for the SST project (later canceled), they were Seattle's first major league sports franchise. Beginning play in October of 1967, the SuperSonics were coached by Al Bianchi and featured All-Star guard Walt Hazzard and NBA All-Rookie Team members Bob Rule and Al Tucker. The expansion team stumbled out of the gates with a 144-116 loss in their first game, and finished the season with a 23–59 record. Hazzard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks before the start of the next season for Lenny Wilkens. Wilkens brought a strong all-around game to the SuperSonics, averaging 22.4 points per game, 8.2 assists per game, and 6.2 rebounds per game for Seattle in the 1968–69 season. Rule, meanwhile, improved on his rookie statistics with 24.0 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game. The SuperSonics, however, only won 30 games and Bianchi was replaced by Wilkens as player/coach during the off-season.