1975–76 Seattle SuperSonics season

1975–76 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: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	West Semifinals (eliminated 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1975–76 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 9th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The SuperSonics finished the season in second place in the Western Conference with a 43–39 record, the same as the previous year and reached the playoffs for a second consecutive season, where they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the Conference Semifinals in six games.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1975 NBA draft

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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Team
1	12	Frank Oleynick	Guard	United States	Seattle
2	21	Bruce Seals	Forward	United States	Utah Stars (ABA)

Roster

1975–76 Seattle SuperSonics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)	From
5.5 !F/C	35	Abdul-Aziz, Zaid	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1946–04–07	Iowa State
5.5 !F/C	40	Bantom, Mike	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1951–12–03	Saint Joseph's
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	25	Derline, Rod	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1952–03–11	Seattle
2.5 !G/F	3	Gilliam, Herm	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1946–05–05	Purdue
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	42	Hummer, John	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1948–05–04	Princeton
4.0 !F	15	Norwood, Willie	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1947–08–08	Alcorn State
1.5 !G	44	Oleynick, Frank	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1955–02–20	Seattle
4.0 !F	45	Seals, Bruce	7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1953–06–18	Xavier (Louisiana)
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
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	59	23	.720	–	36–5	23–18	17–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	16	31–10	12–29	12–14
x-Phoenix Suns	42	40	.512	17	27-14	15-26	15–11
Los Angeles Lakers	40	42	.488	19	31–11	9–31	10–16
Portland Trail Blazers	37	45	.451	22	25–15	12–30	11–15

#	Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Golden State Warriors	59	23	.720	–
2	x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	16
3	x-Phoenix Suns	42	40	.512	17
4	y-Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	21
5	x-Detroit Pistons	36	46	.439	23

6	Los Angeles Lakers	40	42	.488	19
7	Portland Trail Blazers	37	45	.451	22
8	Kansas City Kings	31	51	.378	28
9	Chicago Bulls	24	58	.293	35

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1975–76 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCK	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	2–3	2–3	2–2	2–5	1–3	2–2	2–5	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–4	3–2	2–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–5
Boston	3–2	—	4–3	2–2	3–2	4–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	4–0	2–2	4–1	5–2	4–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–2
Buffalo	3–2	3–4	—	3–1	3–2	1–3	1–3	3–2	4–0	2–2	3–1	4–1	4–3	3–4	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–3
Chicago	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	0–4	3–4	1–4	1–3	1–6	3–2	3–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–3	1–4	2–3	0–4
Cleveland	5–2	2–3	2–3	4–0	—	2–2	1–3	2–4	1–3	2–2	4–0	4–3	3–2	3–2	3–1	4–0	3–1	4–2
Detroit	3–1	0–4	3–1	4–3	2–2	—	0–5	2–2	5–2	1–4	3–4	1–3	3–1	1–3	1–4	2–3	3–2	2–2
Golden State	2–2	2–2	3–1	4–1	3–1	5–0	—	2–2	4–1	5–2	5–0	2–2	4–0	3–1	4–2	4–2	4–3	3–1
Houston	5–2	1–4	2–3	3–1	4–2	2–2	2–2	—	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–4	3–2	3–2	0–4	3–1	2–2	3–4
Kansas City	2–2	2–2	0–4	6–1	3–1	2–5	1–4	2–2	—	2–3	2–5	1–3	1–3	1–3	3–2	0–5	2–3	1–3
Los Angeles	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–3	2–2	4–1	2–5	3–1	3–2	—	2–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–4	3–4	3–3	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	2–2	1–3	4–3	0–4	4–3	0–5	2–2	5–2	3–2	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–2	2–3	2–3	2–2
New Orleans	4–2	1–4	1–4	2–2	3–4	3–1	2–2	4–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	2–3	1–4	1–3	3–1	1–3	4–3
New York	2–3	2–5	3–4	4–0	2–3	1–3	0–4	2–3	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–2	—	5–2	2–2	3–1	0–4	3–2
Philadelphia	3–2	3–4	4–3	4–0	2–3	3–1	1–3	2–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	4–1	2–5	—	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–3
Phoenix	4–0	0–4	1–3	3–2	1–3	4–1	2–4	4–0	2–3	4–2	2–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	—	5–2	4–3	0–4
Portland	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–1	0–4	3–2	2–4	1–3	5–0	4–3	3–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–5	—	3–3	2–2
Seattle	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–3	3–4	2–2	3–2	3–3	3–2	3–1	4–0	2–2	3–4	3–3	—	1–3
Washington	5–1	2–3	3–2	4–0	2–4	2–2	1–3	4–3	3–1	3–1	2–2	3–4	2–3	3–2	4–0	2–2	3–1	—

Game log

1975–76 game log
Total: 43–39 (Home: 31–10; Road: 12–29)

October : 3–2 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–2)

November : 7–8 (Home: 4–2; Road: 3–6)

December : 8–7 (Home: 6–4; Road: 2–3)

January : 5–9 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–7)

February : 8–5 (Home: 6–2; Road: 2–3)

March : 8–5 (Home: 6–0; Road: 2–5)

April : 4–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–3)

1975–76 season schedule

Playoffs

Main article: 1976 NBA Playoffs

1976 playoff game log

Conference Semifinals: 2–4 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–3)

Game	Date Time	Team	Score	High points	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 13	Phoenix	W 102–99	Fred Brown (34)	Seattle Center Coliseum 12,408	1–0
2	April 15	Phoenix	L 111–116	Fred Brown (45)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096	1–1
3	April 18	@ Phoenix	L 91–103	Slick Watts (18)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,036	1–2
4	April 20	@ Phoenix	L 114–130	Fred Brown (33)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,036	1–3
5	April 25	Phoenix	W 114–108	Bruce Seals (28)	Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096	2–3
6	April 24	@ Phoenix	L 112–123	Bruce Seals, Slick Watts (24)	Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,192	2–4

1976 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
Abdul-Aziz, ZaidZaid Abdul-Aziz	27	8.3	.467	.552	2.8	.6	.3	.6	3.2
Bantom, MikeMike Bantom	66	22.8	.471	.675	5.6	1.5	.4	.4	8.4
Brown, FredFred Brown	76	33.1	.488	.869	4.2	2.7	1.9	.2	23.1
Burleson, TommyTommy Burleson	82	32.3	.481	.750	9.0	2.2	.9	1.8	15.6
Carlson, AlAl Carlson	28	10.0	.342	.621	2.6	.5	.3	.4	2.6
Derline, RodRod Derline	49	6.9	.403	.804	.6	.5	.2	.0	3.9
Gilliam, HermHerm Gilliam	81	20.3	.442	.776	2.7	2.5	1.0	.1	8.5
Gray, LeonardLeonard Gray	66	32.4	.474	.746	6.0	3.1	1.1	.5	13.8
Hummer, JohnJohn Hummer	29	12.6	.478	.415	2.7	.9	.2	.3	2.8
Norwood, WillieWillie Norwood	64	15.7	.485	.749	3.6	.9	.7	.1	6.9
Oleynick, FrankFrank Oleynick	52	12.5	.402	.688	.9	1.0	.4	.1	5.9
Seals, BruceBruce Seals	81	30.1	.436	.678	6.3	1.5	.8	.5	11.8
Short, GeneGene Short	7	5.3	.545	.500	1.0	.3	.0	.0	1.9
Skinner, TalvinTalvin Skinner	72	17.0	.463	.613	3.7	.9	.7	.1	4.3
Watts, SlickSlick Watts	82	33.9	.427	.578	4.5	8.1	3.2	.2	13.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Abdul-Aziz, ZaidZaid Abdul-Aziz	5	12.0	.700	.727	4.2	.4	.0	1.0	7.2
Bantom, MikeMike Bantom	6	19.0	.579	.700	3.8	1.3	.7	.3	9.7
Brown, FredFred Brown	6	39.3	.511	.795	4.7	2.8	2.2	.0	28.5
Burleson, TommyTommy Burleson	6	34.7	.600	.761	9.5	1.7	1.0	1.3	20.8
Derline, RodRod Derline	4	10.3	.200	1.000	1.0	.3	.3	.0	1.5
Gilliam, HermHerm Gilliam	6	14.3	.222	.625	1.8	2.0	1.0	.0	2.8
Hummer, JohnJohn Hummer	3	5.3	.667	.000 !	.3	.0	.0	.0	1.3
Norwood, WillieWillie Norwood	6	35.8	.414	.611	6.3	1.3	1.2	.2	9.8
Seals, BruceBruce Seals	6	30.2	.441	.692	6.0	.5	.8	1.0	13.0
Skinner, TalvinTalvin Skinner	6	14.3	.286	.733	2.5	1.2	.8	.3	3.2
Watts, SlickSlick Watts	6	32.8	.435	.478	3.0	8.2	2.0	.3	11.8

Awards and records

Slick Watts led the league in totals in assists and steals, as well as assists per game and was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. He was also presented with the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award.
Fred Brown made his first All-Star appearance at the 1976 NBA All-Star Game.

Transactions

Overview

Players added

Via draft

Via trade

Via free agency

Players lost

Via trade

Waived

Trades

September 24, 1975	To Seattle SuperSonics 1978 first round pick	To Detroit Pistons Archie Clark
October 22, 1975	To Seattle SuperSonics 1976 second round pick	To Milwaukee Bucks Jim Fox
October 22, 1975	To Seattle SuperSonics Herm Gilliam	To Atlanta Hawks 1976 third round pick
October 24, 1975	To Seattle SuperSonics 1979 first round pick	To New York Knicks Spencer Haywood
November 22, 1975	To Seattle SuperSonics Mike Bantom	To Phoenix Suns Cash considerations

References

1975–76 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Buffalo New York Philadelphia

Central	Atlanta Cleveland Houston New Orleans Washington

Western

Midwest	Chicago Detroit Kansas City 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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