1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics season

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 [1] and was replaced by former Dallas Chaparrals coach Tom Nissalke.[2]

1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coachLenny Wilkens
General managerBob Houbregs
ArenaSeattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record47–35 (.573)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Pacific)
Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTNT-TV
RadioKOMO

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 [3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

Draft picks
Main article: 1971 NBA draft

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.[6] 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,[7] with a judge in the King County Superior Court granting permission to McDaniels to play for the Sonics.[8] The Cougars appealed to the Washington Supreme Court [9] but McDaniels stayed in Seattle.[10]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 6 Fred Brown Guard  United States Iowa
2 23 Jim McDaniels Forward / Center  United States Western Kentucky
8 125 Charlie Lowery Guard  United States Puget Sound

Roster
Roster listing
1971–72 Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 32 Brown, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1948–08–07 Iowa
F 43 Clemens, Barry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1943–05–01 Ohio Wesleyan
F/C 41 Cross, Pete 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1948–03–28 San Francisco
G 33 Ford, Jake 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1946–04–29 Maryland Eastern Shore
F/C 24 Haywood, Spencer 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1949–04–22 Detroit
F 40 Heard, Gar 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1948–05–03 Oklahoma
F 22 Kojis, Don 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1939–01–15 Marquette
F/C 44 McDaniels, Jim 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1948–04–02 Western Kentucky
F/C 10 Smith, Don 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1946–04–07 Iowa State
G/F 10 Snyder, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1944–02–01 West Virginia
G 19 Wilkens, Lenny 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1937–10–28 Providence
G 11 Winfield, Lee 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1947–02–04 North Texas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Depth chart
Seattle SuperSonics Depth Chart - 1971-72
STARTER 2ND 3RD 4TH
PG Jake Ford Lenny Wilkens Lee Winfield
SG Dick Snyder Fred Brown
SF Don Kojis Barry Clemens
PF Spencer Haywood Gar Heard
C Jim McDaniels Bob Rule Zaid Abdul-Aziz Pete Cross

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 6913.841–36–531–72–121–3
x-Golden State Warriors 5131.6221827–821–203–314–10
Seattle SuperSonics 4735.5732228–1218–221–112–12
Houston Rockets 3448.4153515–2014–235–59–15
Portland Trail Blazers 1864.2205114–264–350–34–20
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers6913.841
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks6319.768
3 x-Chicago Bulls5725.695
4 x-Golden State Warriors5131.622
5 Phoenix Suns4933.598
6 Seattle SuperSonics4735.573
7 Houston Rockets3448.415
8 Detroit Pistons2656.317
9 Portland Trail Blazers1864.220
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1971–72 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CIN CLE DET GSW HOU LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta —2–40–44–20–53–34–23–23–21–40–52–33–13–33–24–01–4
Baltimore 4–2—2–23–31–44–21–53–21–43–21–40–52–44–04–13–12–3
Boston 4–02–2—6–03–24–25–15–02–35–01–42–33–36–02–34–02–3
Buffalo 2–43–30–6—1–33–34–22–41–30–40–40–41–53–30–42–40–4
Chicago 5–04–12–33–1—3–14–05–13–35–11–32–43–24–15–16–02–3
Cincinnati 3–32–42–43–31–3—6–22–32–30–41–40–52–22–22–32–20–5
Cleveland 2–45–11–52–40–42–6—1–30–42–21–30–41–52–40–44–20–4
Detroit 2–32–30–54–21–53–23–1—0–53–31–41–51–41–42–42–20–4
Golden State 2–34–13–23–13–33–24–05–0—5–11–52–22–34–12–34–24–2
Houston 4–12–30–54–01–54–02–23–31–5—1–50–50–54–11–34–23–3
Los Angeles 5–04–14–14–03–14–13–14–15–15–1—4–14–15–04–26–05–1
Milwaukee 3–25–03–24–04–25–04–05–12–25–01–4—2–34–14–26–06–0
New York 1–34–23–35–12–32–25–14–13–25–01–43–2—3–31–43–13–2
Philadelphia 3–30–40–63–31–42–24–24–11–41–40–51–43–3—1–42–24–1
Phoenix 2–31–43–24–01–53–24–04–23–23–12–42–44–14–1—6–03–2
Portland 0–41–30–44–20–62–22–42–22–42–40–60–61–32–20–6—0–6
Seattle 4–13–23–24–03–25–04–04–02–43–31–50–62–31–42–36–0—

Game log
1971–72 game log
Total: 47–35 (Home: 28–12; Road: 18–22; Neutral:1–1)
October: 7–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–1)
November : 8–7 (Home: 5–3; Road: 3–4)
December : 7–9 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–6)
January : 9–5 (Home: 7–2; Road: 2–3)
February : 12–3 (Home: 8–0; Road: 4–3)
March : 4–9 (Home: 2–3; Road: 2–6)
1971–72 season 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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Fred Brown 33–10.9.328–.7591.11.8––4.2
Barry Clemens 82–17.6.521–.8443.5.8––7.1
Pete Cross 74–19.2.428–.7366.9.9––5.5
Jake Ford 26–7.0.500–.788.41.0––3.5
Spencer Haywood 73–43.4.461–.81912.72.0––26.2
Gar Heard 58–25.8.401–.6177.6.9––7.9
Don Kojis 73–25.4.469–.7934.61.1––11.4
Jim McDaniels 12–19.6.415–.6116.8.8––9.4
Bob Rule 16–15.2.363–.5353.4.4––7.1
Don Smith 58–30.7.429–.72011.32.1––13.8
Dick Snyder 73–34.7.529–.8423.13.9––16.6
Lenny Wilkens 80–37.4.466–.7744.29.6––18.0
Lee Winfield 81–25.2.496–.6682.73.6––10.6

Awards and records

Injuries
  • Spencer Haywood suffered a leg injury at the beginning of March and was out for the season.[11]

Transactions

Overview
Players Added

Via draft

 Players Lost

Via trade

Retired

Trades
November 25, 1971 To Seattle SuperSonics
1972 second round pick
Future second round pick		 To Philadelphia 76ers
Bob Rule

References
  1. Wilkens Quits as Seattle Coach, The Rock Hill Herald. March 27, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  2. Nissalke Selected Supersonics' Coach, Nashua Telegraph. April 21, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  3. Iowa Hoop Star Fred Brown Signs SuperSonics Contract, The Press-Courier. July 7, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  4. Haywood Stays With Seattle, The Modesto Bee. July 7, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  5. Braves Not Paying Fee to Seattle, Spartanburg Herald-Journal. May 12, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  6. Jim McDaniels: No Longer No. 1 Theft! Sonics Sign McDaniels, The Palm Beach Post. February 18, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  7. Sonics Swap Court Writs With Cougs, The Spokesman-Review. February 19, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  8. McDaniels Gets OK, The Milwaukee Sentinel. February 29, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  9. Carolina Gets Full Hearing, The Spokesman-Review. March 10, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  10. Cougars Give Up McDaniels, The Milwaukee Sentinel. September 6, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  11. Haywood Out for Season, Star-News. March 10, 1972. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  12. Meschery to Teach, Tri-City Herald. April 1, 1971. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
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