<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Other than the loss of center
Marvin Webster to New York, the SuperSonics roster stayed largely intact during the off-season, and in the
1978–79 season they went on to win their first division title.
In the playoffs, the Supersonics defeated the Phoenix Suns in a tough seven game conference final series to set up a rematch with the Washington Bullets in the finals. This time, the Bullets lost to the SuperSonics in five games to give Seattle its first, and so far only, NBA title. The championship team roster included the powerful backcourt tandem of
Gus Williams and Finals MVP
Dennis Johnson, second year All-Star center
Jack Sikma, forwards
John Johnson and
Lonnie Shelton, and key reserves Fred Brown and
Paul Silas.</div> (Wikipedia)</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>The SuperSonics began setting a new foundation with the drafting of forward
Shawn Kemp in 1989 and guard
Gary Payton in
1990, and the trading of Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel to other teams during the
1990–91 season. It was
George Karl's arrival as head coach in 1992, however, that marked a return to regular season and playoff competitiveness for the SuperSonics. With the continued improvement of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, the SuperSonics posted a 55–27 record in the
1992-93 season and took the Phoenix Suns to seven games in the Western Conference Finals.</p>
The next year, the SuperSonics had the best record in the NBA in 1994 at 63–19 record, but suffered a humiliating
first round loss to the
Denver Nuggets, becoming the first #1 seed to lose a playoff series to a #8 seed. After playing the
1994–95 season in the Tacoma Dome the team moved to the renamed
Key Arena for the
1995–96 season. Perhaps the strongest roster the Supersonics ever had was the 1995–96 team, which had a franchise best 64–18 record. With a deep roster comprised of All-NBA Second Team selections Kemp and Payton, forward
Detlef Schrempf, center
Sam Perkins, guard
Hersey Hawkins, and guard
Nate McMillan, the team reached the
NBA Finals, but lost to the
Chicago Bulls in six games. Seattle continued to be a Western Conference powerhouse during the next two seasons, winning 57 games in
1996–97 and 61 games in
1997–98 for their second and third straight Pacific Division titles. At the end of the 1997–98 season long-time Sonic and defensive specialist Nate McMillan retired.</div></p>
How can the Sonics leave all of this^ history behind?? As Kemp being my all-time favorite NBA player, I'll be disappointed, pissed, and sad if they really do leave. There's too much good history there to just leave behind.</p>
