Head coach Lenny Wilkens Record 47–35 (.573) | General manager Bob Houbregs Playoff finish DNQ | |
Arena Seattle Center Coliseum Place Division: 3rd (Pacific)
Conference: 6th (Western) | ||
The 1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 5th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In their third season with Lenny Wilkens as head coach, the Sonics finished the regular season in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 47–35 record, their first winning record in franchise history. Wilkens quit as head coach at the end of the season and was replaced by former Dallas Chaparrals coach Tom Nissalke.
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Offseason
With the sixth overall pick in the 1971 NBA draft, Seattle selected Fred Brown from the University of Iowa. After months of negotiation (the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association also selected him in the 1971 ABA Draft), the Sonics signed him to a multi-year contract Brown would go on to have a career spanning 13 seasons with the SuperSonics.
The Buffalo Braves selected Spencer Haywood with the 30th overall pick and intended to claim rights to the player from the SuperSonics. Matters were taken to court, with the judge ruling in favor of the Seattle franchise. Tensions prior to the trial rose to the point that Buffalo decided to pay expansion fees to every team in the league with the exception of the Sonics.
Draft picks
Note: only draft picks who participated in at least one game in the NBA are listed.
The Seattle SuperSonics signed their second round pick Jim McDaniels on February. Since McDaniels was under contract with the Carolina Cougars from the American Basketball Association, both teams began a legal battle over the player's contract, with a judge in the King County Superior Court granting permission to McDaniels to play for the Sonics. The Cougars appealed to the Washington Supreme Court but McDaniels stayed in Seattle.
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot