Head coach Al Bianchi Record 23–59 (.280) | General manager Don Richman Playoff finish Did not qualify | |
Arena Seattle Center Coliseum Place Division: 5th (Western) | ||
The 1967–68 Seattle SuperSonics season was the inaugural season for the expansion Seattle SuperSonics franchise in the National Basketball Association. The team's official arena was the Seattle Center Coliseum.
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With a team built in its majority from the 1967 expansion draft featuring Walt Hazzard and six-year veteran Tom Meschery, and with Al Bianchi at the head coach position, the Sonics finished the season with a 23–59 record and fifth place in the Western Division, six games behind the Chicago Bulls, and couldn't make it to the playoffs.
Draft picks
The twelve-man roster for the 1967–68 season consisted of three rookies from the 1967 NBA Draft and nine players from the expansion draft. Al Bianchi's choice of player-coach Richie Guerin from the St. Louis Hawks came as a surprise to most, since Guerin had already announced his retirement, and thus did not play for the Sonics. He would return for the 1968–69 season to play for the relocated Atlanta Hawks after Seattle traded him in the offseason. Selecting Tom Meschery from the San Francisco Warriors was made possible after the Warriors unprotected him for the draft, after Meschery informed the San Francisco front office that he desired to join the Peace Corps. Seattle's offer, however, was accepted by Meschery. The SuperSonics planned to sign former Seattle University player Charlie Williams before the start of the regular season, but league rules prohibited the Seattle franchise to offer him a contract, since Williams was expelled from college after a point shaving scandal.
Regular season
Seattle kicked off the regular season with a game against the San Francisco Warriors on October 13 at the Cow Palace, where they fell 114–116. Walt Hazzard had a high scoring debut, leading the Sonics' offense with 30 points, followed by Tom Meschery with 26. After a week off, the Sonics played in consecutive days against the other expansion franchise, the San Diego Rockets, splitting the series and thus winning their first regular season game in franchise history. After two streaks of four and eight straight losses, the Sonics found themselves quickly near the bottom of the Western Division by the end of the first four weeks of competition. A few surprising results stood out, including their only victory against Bill Russell's Boston Celtics in a double-header in Philadelphia, with the Celtics trailing by as much as 44 points after the first half, and an outstanding performance by rookie Bob Rule, with 47 points in a victory against the Los Angeles Lakers. On the other hand, the SuperSonics were on the losing end of two NBA scoring records. First, in December with a 122–160 loss against defending champions Philadelphia 76ers, that set a new NBA record for most points by a team in a quarter and a 123–154 loss against the Lakers on January that tied a franchise record for Los Angeles for most points in a game. With six games left in the regular season the Sonics were behind two games from the Chicago Bulls in a last effort to obtain a berth in the playoffs, But in spite of defeating the Bulls in two of those six games, Chicago managed to pull away with the fourth place in the Western Division and the last spot in the playoff race, six games above the Sonics.
The SuperSonics registered an attendance of 202,263 during the regular season, the sixth best in the league in that regard. Walt Hazzard was selected to represent the West in the 1968 NBA All-Star Game and Bob Rule and Al Tucker were selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.