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Seattle Supersonics
The Seattle SuperSonics (or simply Sonics to their fans) are a National Basketball Association team based in Seattle, Washington, USA. They are the reigning Northwest Division champions.
The city's first major professional sports team, the Seattle SuperSonics joined the NBA for the 1967-68 season and have reached the upper echelon of the league during two different decades. The Sonics first reached the top of the mountain in the late 1970s. They reached the NBA Finals in two straight seasons, winning the crown in 1978-79 with an efficient team of interchangeable players led by Jack Sikma, Fred Brown, Dennis Johnson, and Gus Williams and coached by the legendary Lenny Wilkens, one of just three men enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a coach and a player.
After an up-and-down decade of the 1980s, Seattle was resurgent in the 1990s. Once again the team featured an unconventional lineup, a deep rotation, and an innovative array of defensive schemes. The stars of these Sonics - power forward Shawn Kemp, one of the most creative slam dunkers of his era, and brash point guard Gary Payton - reflected the personality of their coach, the volatile and imaginative George Karl.
Following Karl's departure, the Sonics managed to rebuild without falling to the depths of the NBA, a process that culminated in their winning the first-ever Northwest Division Championship after the NBA realigned for the 2004-05 season.
One of the NBA's most successful franchises all-time, the Sonics have finished .500 or better 25 times in 38 seasons, including 15 straight years from 1987-88 through 2001-02. 2004-05 was the franchise's sixth division title after winning the Pacific Division five times, and the Sonics boast the longest active streak of having a player in the All-Star Game dating back to 1993.
For a more detailed recap, click on the season/era, or read from start to finish for the complete story of Sonics history.