The 1993âÂÂ94 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 26th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. 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.
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 26âÂÂ3 start to the season, and later on held a league-best 35âÂÂ10 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 63âÂÂ19 record, earning the first seed in the Western Conference for the first time since the 1978âÂÂ79 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 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.
In the Western Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics faced off against the 8thâÂÂseeded 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, but then lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss at the McNichols Sports Arena in overtime, 94âÂÂ85 as the Nuggets tied the series at 2âÂÂ2. The SuperSonics would not make it past the first round, losing Game 5 to the Nuggets at the Seattle Center Coliseum in overtime, 98âÂÂ94, 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.
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. 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.
Sources:
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | November 6 | L.A. Lakers | | Shawn Kemp (30) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Nate McMillan (11) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 1âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | November 8 | @ Utah | | Ricky Pierce (16) | Michael Cage (7) | Gary Payton (6) | Delta Center<br />19,911 | 2âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | November 9 | Denver | | Sam Perkins (28) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Detlef Schrempf (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,253 | 3âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | November 11 | Cleveland | | Schrempf & Pierce (22) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Nate McMillan (6) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 4âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | November 13 | Atlanta | | Sam Perkins (22) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Nate McMillan (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 5âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | November 16 | Chicago | | Ricky Pierce (19) | Shawn Kemp (7) | Nate McMillan (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 6âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 7 | November 19 | Dallas | | Shawn Kemp (24) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Kemp & Gill (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,253 | 7âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 8 | November 20 | @ Golden State | | Shawn Kemp (28) | Shawn Kemp (12) | McMillan & Payton (7) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena<br />15,025 | 8âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 9 | November 24 | @ Sacramento | | Gary Payton (23) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Nate McMillan (11) | ARCO Arena<br />17,317 | 9âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 10 | November 26 | @ Minnesota | | Ricky Pierce (28) | Sam Perkins (9) | Nate McMillan (11) | Target Center<br />18,298 | 10âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 11 | November 27 | @ Cleveland | | Payton & Kemp (26) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Nate McMillan (7) | Richfield Coliseum<br />20,273 | 10âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 12 | November 30 | @ Philadelphia | | Sam Perkins (21) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Gill & Payton (7) | The Spectrum<br />13,193 | 11âÂÂ1
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 13 | December 2 | @ Washington | | Gill & Payton (18) | Sam Perkins (8) | Gary Payton (6) | US Airways Arena<br />18,756 | 12âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 14 | December 4 | Minnesota | | Sam Perkins (22) | Shawn Kemp (10) | Detlef Schrempf (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,693 | 13âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 15 | December 6 | Washington | | Kemp & Gill (18) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Gary Payton (11) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,253 | 14âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 16 | December 8 | @ San Antonio | | Gary Payton (25) | Shawn Kemp (7) | Nate McMillan (7) | Alamodome<br />18,184 | 15âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 17 | December 9 | @ Dallas | | Kendall Gill (23) | Detlef Schrempf (8) | Nate McMillan (7) | Reunion Arena<br />13,112 | 16âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 18 | December 11 | @ Houston | | Detlef Schrempf (17) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (4) | The Summit<br />16,611 | 16âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 19 | December 14 | Orlando | | Ricky Pierce (24) | Ervin Johnson (10) | Gary Payton (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 17âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 20 | December 17 | Milwaukee | | Ricky Pierce (21) | Ervin Johnson (9) | Schrempf & McMillan (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,258 | 18âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 21 | December 18 | Golden State | | Ricky Pierce (26) | Detlef Schrempf (8) | Gary Payton (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 19âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 22 | December 21 | Indiana | | Sam Perkins (23) | Detlef Schrempf (11) | Nate McMillan (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,580 | 20âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 23 | December 23 | Phoenix | | Detlef Schrempf (16) | Michael Cage (12) | Nate McMillan (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 20âÂÂ3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 24 | December 28 | Houston | | Payton & Pierce (25) | Michael Cage (11) | Nate McMillan (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 21âÂÂ3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 25 | December 29 | @ L.A. Lakers | | Shawn Kemp (25) | Michael Cage (10) | Gary Payton (9) | Great Western Forum<br />15,599 | 22âÂÂ3
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 26 | January 4 | @ Phoenix | | Shawn Kemp (22) | Nate McMillan (9) | Gary Payton (8) | America West Arena<br />19,023 | 23âÂÂ3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 27 | January 5 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Shawn Kemp (22) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Gary Payton (8) | Los Angeles Sports Arena<br />11,838 | 24âÂÂ3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 28 | January 7 | Sacramento | | Detlef Schrempf (20) | Shawn Kemp (8) | Gary Payton (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,709 | 25âÂÂ3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 29 | January 8 | Utah | | Three-Way Tie (16) | Michael Cage (9) | Nate McMillan (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 26âÂÂ3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 30 | January 11 | @ Portland | | Payton & Schrempf (19) | Gary Payton (7) | Gary Payton (8) | Memorial Coliseum<br />12,888 | 26âÂÂ4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 31 | January 14 | @ Golden State | | Ricky Pierce (18) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Nate McMillan (4) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena<br />15,025 | 26âÂÂ5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 32 | January 15 | Miami | | Shawn Kemp (25) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Payton & McMillan (4) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,787 | 27âÂÂ5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 33 | January 18 | L.A. Lakers | | Kendall Gill (19) | Detlef Schrempf (11) | Gary Payton (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,627 | 28âÂÂ5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 34 | January 19 | @ Sacramento | | Gary Payton (24) | Michael Cage (9) | Gary Payton (8) | ARCO Arena<br />17,317 | 29âÂÂ5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 35 | January 21 | @ Dallas | | Detlef Schrempf (22) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (8) | Reunion Arena<br />14,101 | 30âÂÂ5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 36 | January 22 | @ Denver | | Shawn Kemp (26) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (5) | McNichols Sports Arena<br />17,171 | 30âÂÂ6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 37 | January 24 | @ Utah | | Gary Payton (18) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Gary Payton (7) | Delta Center<br />19,911 | 30âÂÂ7 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 38 | January 25 | L.A. Clippers | | Detlef Schrempf (19) | Detlef Schrempf (12) | Gary Payton (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,348 | 30âÂÂ8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 39 | January 27 | New Jersey | | Gary Payton (21) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Schrempf & McMillan (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,490 | 31âÂÂ8 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 40 | January 29 | New York | | Gary Payton (19) | Kemp & Cage (8) | Payton & McMillan (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 31âÂÂ9
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 41 | February 1 | @ New Jersey | | Shawn Kemp (26) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Schrempf & McMillan (7) | Brendan Byrne Arena<br />16,213 | 31âÂÂ10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 42 | February 2 | @ Boston | | Detlef Schrempf (21) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Nate McMillan (8) | Boston Garden<br />14,890 | 32âÂÂ10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 43 | February 4 | @ Detroit | | Kendall Gill (18) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Gary Payton (9) | The Palace of Auburn Hills<br />21,454 | 33âÂÂ10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 44 | February 5 | @ Milwaukee | | Detlef Schrempf (18) | Kemp & Cage (9) | Gary Payton (10) | Bradley Center<br />18,633 | 34âÂÂ10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 45 | February 9 | Portland | | Gary Payton (19) | Shawn Kemp (19) | Gary Payton (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 35âÂÂ10 |- style="text-align:center;" | colspan="9" style="background:#bbcaff;"|All-Star Break |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 46 | February 15 | Philadelphia | | Shawn Kemp (24) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Nate McMillan (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,496 | 36âÂÂ10 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 47 | February 17 | @ Miami | | Schrempf & Kemp (22) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (5) | Miami Arena<br />15,200 | 36âÂÂ11 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 48 | February 18 | @ Orlando | | Kendall Gill (20) | Gary Payton (8) | Nate McMillan (6) | Orlando Arena<br />15,291 | 36âÂÂ12 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 49 | February 20 | @ Indiana | | Sam Perkins (24) | Shawn Kemp (10) | Nate McMillan (9) | Market Square Arena<br />16,586 | 36âÂÂ13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 50 | February 22 | @ New York | | Shawn Kemp (21) | Shawn Kemp (17) | Payton & Askew (8) | Madison Square Garden<br />19,763 | 37âÂÂ13 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 51 | February 23 | @ Atlanta | | Gary Payton (23) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Shawn Kemp (6) | The Omni<br />16,368 | 37âÂÂ14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 52 | February 25 | Boston | | Kendall Gill (25) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Vincent Askew (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 38âÂÂ14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 53 | February 27 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Shawn Kemp (27) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Gary Payton (8) | Los Angeles Sports Arena<br />15,080 | 39âÂÂ14
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 54 | March 1 | Charlotte | | Kendall Gill (21) | Shawn Kemp (10) | Four players (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 40âÂÂ14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 55 | March 5 | Sacramento | | Shawn Kemp (25) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Gary Payton (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,677 | 41âÂÂ14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 56 | March 6 | @ Sacramento | | Gary Payton (24) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Nate McMillan (6) | ARCO Arena<br />17,317 | 42âÂÂ14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 57 | March 8 | Golden State | | Shawn Kemp (24) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Kendall Gill (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,624 | 43âÂÂ14 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 58 | March 10 | @ Houston | | Gary Payton (19) | Schrempf & Kemp (11) | Detlef Schrempf (4) | The Summit<br />16,611 | 43âÂÂ15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 59 | March 11 | @ San Antonio | | Shawn Kemp (23) | Sam Perkins (8) | Gary Payton (9) | Alamodome<br />20,640 | 44âÂÂ15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 60 | March 13 | Portland | | Kendall Gill (23) | Michael Cage (17) | Payton & McMillan (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 45âÂÂ15 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 61 | March 15 | Detroit | | Shawn Kemp (24) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Nate McMillan (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,679 | 45âÂÂ16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 62 | March 17 | @ Minnesota | | Shawn Kemp (21) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Gary Payton (6) | Target Center<br />17,581 | 46âÂÂ16 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 63 | March 18 | @ Chicago | | Kendall Gill (23) | Shawn Kemp (9) | Gary Payton (6) | Chicago Stadium<br />18,676 | 46âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 64 | March 20 | @ Charlotte | | Gary Payton (32) | Kemp & Schrempf (11) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Charlotte Coliseum<br />23,698 | 47âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 65 | March 22 | San Antonio | | Sam Perkins (27) | Shawn Kemp (14) | McMillan & Payton (6) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 48âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 66 | March 24 | Phoenix | | Detlef Schrempf (27) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Kendall Gill (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,213 | 49âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 67 | March 26 | Minnesota | | Detlef Schrempf (23) | Schrempf & Kemp (7) | Kendall Gill (9) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,651 | 50âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 68 | March 28 | Denver | | Gary Payton (23) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Three-Way Tie (6) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,551 | 51âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 69 | March 29 | @ Portland | | Shawn Kemp (28) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (9) | Memorial Coliseum<br />12,888 | 52âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 70 | March 31 | L.A. Lakers | | Shawn Kemp (28) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gill & Payton (4) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 53âÂÂ17
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 71 | April 2 | Golden State | | Shawn Kemp (32) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,812 | 54âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 72 | April 5 | Utah | | Detlef Schrempf (17) | Kemp & Perkins (8) | Payton & McMillan (4) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 55âÂÂ17 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 73 | April 7 | @ Denver | | Shawn Kemp (20) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gill & McMillan (4) | McNichols Sports Arena<br />17,171 | 55âÂÂ18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 74 | April 8 | Dallas | | Gary Payton (22) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Gary Payton (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,551 | 56âÂÂ18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 75 | April 10 | Phoenix | | Kendall Gill (29) | Shawn Kemp (15) | Kendall Gill (6) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 57âÂÂ18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 76 | April 12 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Kendall Gill (26) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Detlef Schrempf (8) | Los Angeles Sports Arena<br />11,160 | 58âÂÂ18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 77 | April 14 | L.A. Clippers | | Detlef Schrempf (21) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (12) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,604 | 59âÂÂ18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 78 | April 16 | Houston | | Shawn Kemp (22) | Shawn Kemp (17) | Gary Payton (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 60âÂÂ18 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 79 | April 19 | @ Phoenix | | Shawn Kemp (20) | Shawn Kemp (11) | Gary Payton (7) | America West Arena<br />19,023 | 60âÂÂ19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 80 | April 20 | @ L.A. Lakers | | Shawn Kemp (23) | Kemp & Perkins (11) | Nate McMillan (9) | Great Western Forum<br />15,283 | 61âÂÂ19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 81 | April 22 | San Antonio | | Ricky Pierce (26) | Nate McMillan (9) | McMillan & Schrempf (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br />14,813 | 62âÂÂ19 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 82 | April 24 | @ Portland | | Schrempf & Payton (18) | Shawn Kemp (14) | Three-Way Tie (4) | Memorial Coliseum<br />12,888 | 63âÂÂ19
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 28 | Denver | W 106âÂÂ82 | Detlef Schrempf (21) | Kemp, Perkins (9) | Gary Payton (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br>14,813 | 1âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 30 | Denver | W 97âÂÂ87 | Gary Payton (18) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Shawn Kemp (6) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br>14,813 | 2âÂÂ0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | May 2 | @ Denver | L 93âÂÂ110 | Detlef Schrempf (18) | Detlef Schrempf (6) | Gary Payton (5) | McNichols Sports Arena<br>17,171 | 2âÂÂ1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | May 5 | @ Denver | L 85âÂÂ94 (OT) | Payton, Schrempf (20) | Shawn Kemp (13) | Vincent Askew (5) | McNichols Sports Arena<br>17,171 | 2âÂÂ2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | May 7 | Denver | L 94âÂÂ98 (OT) | Kendall Gill (22) | Shawn Kemp (12) | Gary Payton (8) | Seattle Center Coliseum<br>14,813 | 2âÂÂ3
Player statistics citation:
Player Transactions Citation: