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

Main article: 1974 NBA draft

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
2.5 !G/F	40	Brisker, John	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1947–06–15	Toledo
1.5 !G	32	Brown, Fred	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	1948–08–07	Iowa
6.0 !C	16	Burleson, Tommy	7000218440000000000♠7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1952–02–24	North Carolina State
1.5 !G	21	Clark, Archie	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1941–07–15	Minnesota
1.5 !G	25	Derline, Rod	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1952–03–11	Seattle
5.5 !F/C	31	Fox, Jim	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1943–04–07	South Carolina
4.0 !F	11	Gray, Leonard	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1951–12–19	Long Beach State
5.5 !F/C	24	Haywood, Spencer	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1949–04–22	Detroit
5.5 !F/C	42	Hummer, John	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1948–05–04	Princeton
4.0 !F	30	Jackson, Wardell	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1951–07–18	Ohio State
2.5 !G/F	22	Skinner, Talvin	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1952–09–10	Maryland Eastern Shore
4.0 !F	20	Tolson, Dean	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1951–11–25	Arkansas
1.5 !G	13	Watts, Donald	7000185420000000000♠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)

November : 7–10 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–7)

December : 5–7 (Home: 2–4; Road: 3–3)

January : 7–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–4)

February : 7–8 (Home: 4–4; Road: 3–4)

March : 9–5 (Home: 6–1; Road: 3–4)

April : 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)

1974–75 season schedule

Playoffs

Main article: 1975 NBA Playoffs

1975 playoff game log

First round: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	High points	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	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	MPG	FG%	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	MPG	FG%	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	.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

Via trade

Archie Clark

Players lost

Via draft
(1974 NBA Expansion Draft)

Isaac Stallworth (to New Orleans)

Via trade

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

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

1974–75 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Buffalo New York Philadelphia

Central	Atlanta Cleveland Houston New Orleans Washington

Western

Midwest	Chicago Detroit Kansas City-Omaha Milwaukee

Pacific	Golden State Los Angeles Phoenix Portland Seattle

Seattle SuperSonics seasons

1960s

1970s

1978–79

1980s

1990s

2000s

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

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