1975–76 Seattle SuperSonics season

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.

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 (lost to Suns 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTNT-TV
Radio	KOMO

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 From F/C 35 Abdul-Aziz, Zaid 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1946–04–07 Iowa State F/C 40 Bantom, Mike 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1951–12–03 Saint Joseph's G 32 Brown, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa C 16 Burleson, Tommy 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1952–02–24 NC State G 25 Derline, Rod 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1952–03–11 Seattle G/F 3 Gilliam, Herm 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1946–05–05 Purdue F 11 Gray, Leonard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1951–12–19 Long Beach State F/C 42 Hummer, John 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1948–05–04 Princeton F 15 Norwood, Willie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1947–08–08 Alcorn State G 44 Oleynick, Frank 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1955–02–20 Seattle F 45 Seals, Bruce 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1953–06–18 Xavier (LA) G/F 22 Skinner, Talvin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1952–09–10 Maryland Eastern Shore G 13 Watts, Donald 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1951–07–22 Xavier (LA)

Head coach Bill Russell Assistant coach(es) Bob Hopkins Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Seattle SuperSonics Depth Chart - 1975-76
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Slick Watts
SG	Fred Brown	Herm Gilliam	Frank Oleynick	Rod Derline
SF	Bruce Seals	Mike Bantom	Tal Skinner	Willie Norwood
PF	Leonard Gray	John Hummer
C	Tom Burleson	Zaid Abdul-Aziz

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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 24 Portland W 105–97 Fred Brown (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,601 1–0 2 October 26 Phoenix W 113–99 Leonard Gray (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,288 2–0 3 October 28 @ Chicago L 90–101 Slick Watts (28) Chicago Stadium 5,115 2–1 4 October 29 @ Kansas City W 92–91 Bruce Seals (25) Kemper Arena 9,464 3–1 5 October 31 @ Los Angeles L 104–120 Fred Brown (33) The Forum 12,118 3–2
November : 7–8 (home: 4–2; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 6 November 2 Washington L 85–94 Tommy Burleson (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 3–3 7 November 5 @ Detroit L 107–124 Slick Watts (25) Cobo Arena 4,777 3–4 8 November 6 @ Washington L 100–110 Fred Brown (29) Capital Centre 7,732 3–5 9 November 8 @ Atlanta L 94–107 Fred Brown (24) Omni Coliseum 4,382 3–6 10 November 9 @ New Orleans W 111–97 Fred Brown (41) Louisiana Superdome 13,472 4–6 11 November 12 Kansas City L 92–107 Fred Brown (19) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,213 4–7 12 November 13 @ Phoenix L 103–106 Bruce Seals (24) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,016 4–8 13 November 14 Cleveland W 100–97 (OT) Fred Brown (26) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,969 5–8 14 November 16 Golden State W 102–98 Fred Brown (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 6–8 15 November 19 Chicago W 97–87 Fred Brown (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,114 7–8 16 November 23 Milwaukee W 112–104 Tommy Burleson (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,021 8–8 17 November 25 @ New York W 128–127 (OT) Tommy Burleson (35) Madison Square Garden 15,548 9–8 18 November 26 @ Boston W 110–109 Fred Brown (30) Boston Garden 12,189 10–8 19 November 28 @ Philadelphia L 94–113 Tommy Burleson (18) The Spectrum 13,674 10–9 20 November 29 @ Cleveland L 108–124 Fred Brown (30) Coliseum at Richfield 10,151 10–10
December : 8–7 (home: 6–4; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 21 December 2 @ Kansas City W 101–90 Fred Brown (31) Kemper Arena 7,670 11–10 22 December 3 @ Houston L 101–107 Bruce Seals (16) The Summit 5,374 11–11 23 December 6 @ Golden State L 94–104 Fred Brown (17) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,677 11–12 24 December 7 Golden State L 106–115 Fred Brown, Slick Watts (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 11–13 25 December 10 Chicago W 99–79 Fred Brown (17) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,471 12–13 26 December 12 Detroit W 97–95 Fred Brown (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,859 13–13 27 December 14 Philadelphia W 114–105 Fred Brown (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 14–13 28 December 17 Cleveland L 101–115 Rod Derline (16) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,291 14–14 29 December 19 New Orleans W 113–102 Herm Gilliam (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,427 15–14 30 December 21 Milwaukee L 101–103 Mike Bantom (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,188 15–15 31 December 23 @ Portland L 100–125 Tommy Burleson (23) Memorial Coliseum 8,610 15–16 32 December 26 Kansas City W 90–87 Bruce Seals (21) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,673 16–16 33 December 27 Los Angeles L 100–109 Tommy Burleson (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 16–17 34 December 28 Houston W 116–106 Fred Brown (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,702 17–17 35 December 30 @ Los Angeles W 112–100 Fred Brown (34) The Forum 12,740 18–17
January : 5–9 (home: 3–2; road: 2–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 36 January 2 Boston L 98–102 Fred Brown (34) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 18–18 37 January 4 Golden State W 97–85 Fred Brown (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,669 19–18 38 January 7 New York W 91–89 Fred Brown (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 20–18 39 January 9 @ Phoenix W 112–110 (OT) Tommy Burleson (25) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,774 21–18 40 January 11 Buffalo L 104–125 Leonard Gray (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 21–19 41 January 13 @ Milwaukee L 108–114 Fred Brown (24) MECCA Arena 10,496 21–20 42 January 14 @ Atlanta W 112–110 Fred Brown (33) Omni Coliseum 4,376 22–20 43 January 16 @ Washington L 85–100 Slick Watts (19) Capital Centre 9,425 22–21 44 January 17 @ Buffalo L 101–110 Fred Brown (28) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 8,469 22–22 45 January 21 @ Detroit L 104–111 Fred Brown (26) Cobo Arena 3,612 22–23 46 January 22 @ Cleveland L 99–109 Fred Brown (17) Coliseum at Richfield 5,102 22–24 47 January 24 @ Houston L 103–110 Fred Brown (37) The Summit 5,027 22–25 48 January 28 @ Portland L 104–124 Fred Brown (26) Memorial Coliseum 10,930 22–26 49 January 30 Washington W 123–100 Fred Brown (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 23–26
February : 8–5 (home: 6–2; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 50 February 6 Portland L 100–109 Leonard Gray (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,419 23–27 51 February 7 @ Golden State L 100–127 Tommy Burleson (26) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787 23–28 52 February 8 Phoenix L 101–107 (OT) Tommy Burleson (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,039 23–29 53 February 11 New Orleans W 93–90 Tommy Burleson (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,595 24–29 54 February 13 Atlanta W 119–102 Tommy Burleson, Herm Gilliam (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,925 25–29 55 February 14 @ Portland W 122–108 Bruce Seals (29) Memorial Coliseum 11,347 26–29 56 February 15 Detroit W 109–107 Herm Gilliam (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 13,728 27–29 57 February 18 Boston W 124–99 Fred Brown (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 28–29 58 February 20 Philadelphia W 111–92 Fred Brown (26) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 29–29 59 February 22 Los Angeles W 97–91 Fred Brown (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 30–29 60 February 25 @ Buffalo W 126–94 Fred Brown (31) Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 8,691 31–29 61 February 27 @ Boston L 118–122 Fred Brown (33) Boston Garden 15,320 31–30 62 February 29 @ Philadelphia L 115–130 Fred Brown (23) The Spectrum 11,649 31–31
March : 8–5 (home: 6–0; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 63 March 2 @ New York W 109–105 Bruce Seals (29) Madison Square Garden 14,227 32–31 64 March 3 @ Detroit L 110–114 Fred Brown (24) Cobo Arena 3,096 32–32 65 March 5 @ Kansas City L 93–111 Fred Brown (17) Kemper Arena 5,852 32–33 66 March 7 @ New Orleans L 106–124 Leonard Gray (16) Louisiana Superdome 8,008 32–34 67 March 9 @ Chicago L 101–102 Fred Brown (26) Chicago Stadium 4,614 32–35 68 March 10 @ Milwaukee W 110–105 Fred Brown (26) MECCA Arena 9,587 33–35 69 March 14 New York W 113–103 Fred Brown (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 34–35 70 March 17 Buffalo W 122–111 Fred Brown (37) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 35–35 71 March 21 Houston W 117–107 Fred Brown, Tommy Burleson (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 36–35 72 March 23 @ Phoenix L 97–104 Fred Brown (32) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,589 36–36 73 March 24 Milwaukee W 135–110 Bruce Seals (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 37–36 74 March 28 Atlanta W 127–112 Fred Brown (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 38–36 75 March 31 Los Angeles W 120–109 Fred Brown, Herm Gilliam (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 39–36
April : 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 2 @ Los Angeles L 105–113 Tommy Burleson (32) The Forum 10,784 39–37 77 April 3 @ Golden State L 115–130 Willie Norwood (20) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787 39–38 78 April 4 Phoenix W 117–89 Fred Brown (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 40–38 79 April 7 Chicago W 115–114 Willie Norwood (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 41–38 80 April 9 Golden State W 119–103 Fred Brown (26) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 42–38 81 April 10 @ Phoenix L 95–121 Herm Gilliam (22) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 9,577 42–39 82 April 11 Portland W 132–131 Fred Brown (33) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 43–39
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 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 13 Phoenix W 102–99 Fred Brown (34) Fred Brown (7) Slick Watts (8) Seattle Center Coliseum 12,408 1–0 2 April 15 Phoenix L 111–116 Fred Brown (45) Tommy Burleson (12) Slick Watts (6) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 1–1 3 April 18 @ Phoenix L 91–103 Slick Watts (18) three players tied (8) Slick Watts (7) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,036 1–2 4 April 20 @ Phoenix L 114–130 Fred Brown (33) Tommy Burleson (20) Herm Gilliam (7) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,036 1–3 5 April 25 Phoenix W 114–108 Bruce Seals (28) Willie Norwood (13) Slick Watts (12) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,096 2–3 6 April 24 @ Phoenix L 112–123 Seals, Watts (24) Bruce Seals (7) Slick Watts (11) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 13,192 2–4
1976 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	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Zaid Abdul-Aziz	27		8.3	.467		.552	2.8	.6	.3	.6	3.2
Mike Bantom	66		22.8	.471		.675	5.6	1.5	.4	.4	8.4
Fred Brown	76		33.1	.488		.869	4.2	2.7	1.9	.2	23.1
Tommy Burleson	82		32.3	.481		.750	9.0	2.2	.9	1.8	15.6
Al Carlson	28		10.0	.342		.621	2.6	.5	.3	.4	2.6
Rod Derline	49		6.9	.403		.804	.6	.5	.2	.0	3.9
Herm Gilliam	81		20.3	.442		.776	2.7	2.5	1.0	.1	8.5
Leonard Gray	66		32.4	.474		.746	6.0	3.1	1.1	.5	13.8
John Hummer	29		12.6	.478		.415	2.7	.9	.2	.3	2.8
Willie Norwood	64		15.7	.485		.749	3.6	.9	.7	.1	6.9
Frank Oleynick	52		12.5	.402		.688	.9	1.0	.4	.1	5.9
Bruce Seals	81		30.1	.436		.678	6.3	1.5	.8	.5	11.8
Gene Short	7		5.3	.545		.500	1.0	.3	.0	.0	1.9
Talvin Skinner	72		17.0	.463		.613	3.7	.9	.7	.1	4.3
Slick Watts	82		33.9	.427		.578	4.5	8.1	3.2	.2	13.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Zaid Abdul-Aziz	5		12.0	.700		.727	4.2	.4	.0	1.0	7.2
Mike Bantom	6		19.0	.579		.700	3.8	1.3	.7	.3	9.7
Fred Brown	6		39.3	.511		.795	4.7	2.8	2.2	.0	28.5
Tommy Burleson	6		34.7	.600		.761	9.5	1.7	1.0	1.3	20.8
Rod Derline	4		10.3	.200		1.000	1.0	.3	.3	.0	1.5
Herm Gilliam	6		14.3	.222		.625	1.8	2.0	1.0	.0	2.8
John Hummer	3		5.3	.667			.3	.0	.0	.0	1.3
Willie Norwood	6		35.8	.414		.611	6.3	1.3	1.2	.2	9.8
Bruce Seals	6		30.2	.441		.692	6.0	.5	.8	1.0	13.0
Talvin Skinner	6		14.3	.286		.733	2.5	1.2	.8	.3	3.2
Slick 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	Players Lost
Via draft Frank Oleynick Bruce Seals Via trade Mike Bantom Herm Gilliam Gene Short (later waived) Via free agency Zaid Abdul-Aziz Al Carlson (later waived) Rod Derline Willie Norwood	Via trade Archie Clark Jim Fox Spencer Haywood Waived Wardell Jackson Dean Tolson

Trades

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