1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season

NBA professional basketball team season March 2026 January 2025 Seattle SuperSonics 1987 39 43 Pacific 4 7 Bernie Bickerstaff Bob Whitsitt Barry Ackerley Seattle Center Coliseum Western Conference finals(lost to Lakers 0–4) SEA KIRO-TV KING The 1986–87 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 20th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. Bernie Bickerstaff returned for his second season as head coach of the franchise and, despite a modest improvement over their previous season's 31–51 record, managed to clinch a spot in the playoffs, where they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in four games in the First Round, and then the Houston Rockets in six games in the Semi-finals, reaching the Western Conference Finals, only to be swept in four games to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. The 39-43 Sonics remain the last team to date in the NBA to win a playoff series with a losing regular season record. It is also their first year without team captain Jack Sikma as he was traded in the offseason. Offseason Draft 1986 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 2 30 Nate McMillan PG/SG United States NC State 2 38 Lemone Lampley C United States DePaul 3 53 Tod Murphy PF/C United States UC Irvine 4 76 Michael Graham F United States Georgetown 5 99 Dominic Pressley PG United States Boston College 6 122 Curtis Kitchen PF United States South Florida 7 145 Glen McCants F United States Clemson Roster Seattle SuperSonics 1986–87 |- 24 Tom Chambers basketball PF 6 10 220 1959–06–21 Utah 3 Dale Ellis G/F 6 7 205 1960–08–06 Tennessee 45 Clemon Johnson C 6 10 240 1956–09–12 Florida A&M 15 Eddie Johnson basketball, born 1955 G 6 2 180 1955–02–24 Auburn 42 Curtis Kitchen PF 6 9 235 1964–01–30 South Florida 53 Alton Lister C 7 0 240 1958–10–01 Arizona State 20 Maurice Lucas PF/C 6 9 215 1952–02–18 Marquette 34 Xavier McDaniel F 6 7 205 1963–06–04 Wichita State 10 Nate McMillan G 6 5 195 1964–08–03 North Carolina State 25 Mike Phelps G 6 4 180 1961–10–03 Alcorn State 40 Russ Schoene PF/C 6 10 210 1960–04–16 Chattanooga 44 Terence Stansbury G 6 5 170 1961–02–27 Temple 30 Kevin Williams basketball G 6 2 175 1961–09–11 St. John's 22 Danny Young basketball PG 6 3 175 1962–07–26 Wake Forest USA Bernie Bickerstaff(San Diego) Season standings Division SEA Conference SEA Game log Seattle SuperSonics 1987 Seattle SuperSonics October yes y y |- | 1 | October 31 | @ Portland | W 127–110 | Tom Chambers (27) | Memorial Coliseum12,666 | 1–0 |- Seattle SuperSonics November y y |- | 2 | November 1 | Sacramento | W 114–103 | Xavier McDaniel (27) | Seattle Center Coliseum6,296 | 2–0 |- | 3 | November 4 | L. A. Lakers | L 96–110 | Tom Chambers (21) | Seattle Center Coliseum10,426 | 2–1 |- | 4 | November 6 | Dallas | L 124–147 | Xavier McDaniel (28) | Seattle Center Coliseum8,363 | 2–2 |- | 5 | November 8 | New York | W 105–102 | Dale Ellis (29) | Seattle Center Coliseum9,280 | 3–2 |- | 6 | November 11 | Philadelphia | L 114–121 | Tom Chambers (33) | Seattle Center Coliseum12,600 | 3–3 |- | 7 | November 12 | @ L. A. Lakers | L 97–122 | Xavier McDaniel (17) | The Forum13,694 | 3–4 |- | 8 | November 15 | @ Golden State | W 127–121 | Tom Chambers (38) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena7,655 | 4–4 |- | 9 | November 18 | Sacramento | W 119–105 | Dale Ellis (28) | Seattle Center Coliseum5,411 | 5–4 |- | 10 | November 20 | Milwaukee | L 105–116 | Tom Chambers (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum8,790 | 5–5 |- | 11 | November 22 | Indiana | W 121–111 | Tom Chambers (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum6,399 | 6–5 |- | 12 | November 25 | Los Angeles Clippers | W 113–103 | Dale Ellis (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum4,702 | 7–5 |- | 13 | November 26 | @ Utah | L 91–127 | Tom Chambers (22) | Salt Palace10,512 | 7–6 |- | 14 | November 28 | @ Phoenix | W 117–104 | Dale Ellis (34) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,462 | 8–6 Seattle SuperSonics December y y |- | 15 | December 2 | Chicago | L 109–115 (OT) | Xavier McDanielTom Chambers(29) | Seattle Center Coliseum13,438 | 8–7 |- | 16 | December 4 | @ San Antonio | W 109–102 | Tom Chambers (36) | HemisFair Arena5,893 | 9–7 |- | 17 | December 6 | @ Houston | W 136–80 | Tom Chambers (29) | The Summit16,016 | 10–7 |- | 18 | December 10 | @ L. A. Clippers | L 94–101 | Tom Chambers (28) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena5,573 | 10–8 |- | 19 | December 11 | San Antonio | W 113–107 | Xavier McDaniel (33) | Seattle Center Coliseum5,056 | 11–8 |- | 20 | December 13 | Dallas | L 109–126 | Tom ChambersDale Ellis(24) | Seattle Center Coliseum9,789 | 11–9 |- | 21 | December 16 | @ Portland | L 118–126 | Dale Ellis (34) | Memorial Coliseum12,666 | 11–10 |- | 22 | December 18 | Houston | W 114–100 | Dale Ellis (33) | Seattle Center Coliseum7,696 | 12–10 |- | 23 | December 19 | @ Phoenix | W 108–106 | Dale Ellis (28) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum10,433 | 13–10 |- | 24 | December 21 | Golden State | L 112–121 | Tom Chambers (25) | Seattle Center Coliseum5,228 | 13–11 |- | 25 | December 23 | Denver | W 127–116 | Tom Chambers (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum7,459 | 14–11 |- | 26 | December 26 | L. A. Clippers | W 113–107 | Tom Chambers (27) | Seattle Center Coliseum6,353 | 15–11 |- | 27 | December 28 | Portland | L 118–127 | Xavier McDaniel (30) | Seattle Center Coliseum9,365 | 15–12 |- | 28 | December 30 | Boston | L 102–104 | Xavier McDaniel (25) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,600 | 15–13 Seattle SuperSonics January y y |- | 29 | January 2 | @ Dallas | L 107–117 | Dale Ellis (28) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 15–14 |- | 30 | January 3 | @ Houston | L 114–138 | Xavier McDanielDale Ellis(21) | The Summit16,016 | 15–15 |- | 31 | January 6 | Phoenix | W 138–108 | Tom Chambers (29) | Seattle Center Coliseum5,764 | 16–15 |- | 32 | January 8 | @ Golden State | W 115–108 | Dale Ellis (35) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena7,790 | 17–15 |- | 33 | January 11 | Utah Jazz | W 127–111 | Tom Chambers (31) | Seattle Center Coliseum7,594 | 18–15 |- | 34 | January 13 | @ Denver | L 109–117 | Tom Chambers (30) | McNichols Sports Arena8,981 | 18–16 |- | 35 | January 14 | San Antonio | W 130–104 | Dale Ellis (32) | Seattle Center Coliseum5,068 | 19–16 |- | 36 | January 16 | Denver | W 134–100 | Xavier McDaniel (30) | Seattle Center Coliseum8,544 | 20–16 |- | 37 | January 17 | @ Sacramento | L 115–125 | Xavier McDaniel (37) | ARCO Arena (I)10,333 | 20–17 |- | 38 | January 21 | @ Philadelphia | L 123–129 (OT) | Dale Ellis (40) | The Spectrum11,891 | 20–18 |- | 39 | January 23 | @ New Jersey | W 125–120 | Xavier McDaniel (32) | Brendan Byrne Arena9,182 | 21–18 |- | 40 | January 24 | @ Atlanta | L 87–97 | Dale Ellis (27) | Omni Coliseum13,842 | 21–19 |- | 41 | January 26 | @ Utah | W 108–95 | Dale Ellis (34) | Salt Palace12,212 | 22–19 |- | 42 | January 28 | L. A. Lakers | W 125–101 | Tom Chambers (37) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,634 | 23–19 |- | 43 | January 30 | @ Golden State | L 119–127 | Tom Chambers (36) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena9,276 | 23–20 |- | 44 | January 31 | Phoenix | W 118–112 (OT) | Dale Ellis (24) | Seattle Center Coliseum9,344 | 24–20 Seattle SuperSonics February y y |- | 45 | February 2 | New Jersey | W 108–100 | Xavier McDaniel (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum6,132 | 25–20 |- | 46 | February 4 | @ Dallas | L 94–124 | Tom Chambers (19) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 25–21 |- | 47 | February 5 | @ San Antonio | L 111–117 | Xavier McDaniel (26) | HemisFair Arena7,548 | 25–22 |- | 48 | February 10 | Atlanta | L 113–125 | Tom Chambers (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum12,004 || 25–23 |- | 49 | February 12 | @ Milwaukee | L 104–106 | Tom Chambers (32) | MECCA Arena11,052 | 25–24 |- | 50 | February 13 | @ Chicago | L 98–106 | Xavier McDaniel (27) | Chicago Stadium16,251 | 25–25 |- | 51 | February 16 | @ Cleveland | L 94–105 | Dale Ellis (17) | Coliseum at Richfield12,163 | 25–26 |- | 52 | February 18 | @ Indiana | L 88–105 | Dale Ellis (24) | Market Square Arena9,077 | 25–27 |- | 53 | February 19 | @ Detroit | L 105–117 | Dale Ellis (31) | Pontiac Silverdome14,482 | 25–28 |- | 54 | February 21 | Washington | W 110–93 | Tom Chambers (31) | Seattle Center Coliseum11,637 | 26–28 |- | 55 | February 23 | L. A. Clippers | W 124–112 | Dale Ellis (29) | Seattle Center Coliseum5,528 | 27–28 |- | 56 | February 24 | @ Utah | L 103–133 | Dale Ellis (26) | Salt Palace12,212 | 27–29 |- | 57 | February 26 | Denver | W 106–100 | Xavier McDaniel (30) | Seattle Center Coliseum7,691 | 28–29 |- | 58 | February 28 | @ Phoenix | W 112–105 | Dale Ellis (40) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum13,338 | 29–29 Seattle SuperSonics March y y |- | 59 | March 2 | Cleveland | W 123–107 | Tom Chambers (36) | Seattle Center Coliseum6,488 | 30–29 |- | 60 | March 4 | @ L. A. Lakers | L 124–138 | Dale Ellis (32) | The Forum17,505 | 30–30 |- | 61 | March 5 | Portland | W 127–122 | Dale Ellis (38) | Seattle Center Coliseum10,205 | 31–30 |- | 62 | March 7 | Houston | W 118–115 | Tom Chambers (29) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,474 | 32–30 |- | 63 | March 10 | @ Houston | W 136–127 (2OT) | Tom Chambers (42) | The Summit16,279 | 33–30 |- | 64 | March 11 | @ Dallas | L 117–130 | Tom ChambersDale EllisXavier McDaniel(21) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 33–31 |- | 65 | March 13 | @ L. A. Clippers | L 104–108 | Tom Chambers (31) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena6,522 | 33–32 |- | 66 | March 15 | @ Sacramento | L 106–107 | Dale Ellis (40) | ARCO Arena (I)10,333 | 33–33 |- | 67 | March 16 | San Antonio | W 122–111 | Dale Ellis (33) | Seattle Center Coliseum5,934 | 34–33 |- | 68 | March 19 | @ Washington | L 106–110 | Xavier McDaniel (20) | Capital Centre5,987 | 34–34 |- | 69 | March 20 | @ Boston | L 108–112 | Dale Ellis (31) | Boston Garden14,890 | 34–35 |- | 70 | March 23 | @ New York | W 126–121 (OT) | Xavier McDaniel (40) | Madison Square Garden (IV)9,038 | 35–35 |- | 71 | March 26 | @ Denver | L 113–123 | Xavier McDaniel (33) | McNichols Sports Arena10,183 | 35–36 |- | 72 | March 27 | Golden State | L 105–106 | Xavier McDaniel (31) | Seattle Center Coliseum9,091 | 35–37 |- | 73 | March 29 | Detroit | L 107–108 | Xavier McDaniel (27) | Seattle Center Coliseum8,717 | 35–38 |- | 74 | March 31 | Sacramento | W 132–129 | Tom Chambers (36) | Seattle Center Coliseum6,095 | 36–38 Seattle SuperSonics April y y |- | 75 | April 2 | L. A. Lakers | L 114–117 | Xavier McDaniel (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,739 | 36–39 |- | 76 | April 4 | Portland | L 123–126 | Tom Chambers (34) | Seattle Center Coliseum12,227 | 36–40 |- | 77 | April 7 | Phoenix | L 125–127 (OT) | Dale Ellis (35) | Seattle Center Coliseum6,585 | 36–41 |- | 78 | April 10 | @ Portland | L 115–121 | Tom Chambers (27) | Memorial Coliseum12,666 | 36–42 |- | 79 | April 14 | Utah | W 103–102 | Tom Chambers (30) | Seattle Center Coliseum7,178 | 37–42 |- | 80 | April 16 | @ L. A. Clippers | W 118–87 | Dale Ellis (41) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena6,517 | 38–42 |- | 81 | April 18 | Golden State | L 127–132 | Tom Chambers (31) | Seattle Center Coliseum9,428 | 38–43 |- | 82 | April 19 | @ L. A. Lakers | W 110–104 | Xavier McDaniel (39) | The Forum17,505 | 39–43 SEA 1987 https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SEA/1987_games.html Green background indicates win. Red background indicates loss. Playoffs Seattle SuperSonics yes 1987 Seattle SuperSonics First round yes yes no 2 0 1 1 |- style="background:#fcc | 1 | April 23 | @ Dallas | L 129–151 | Tom Chambers (35) | Xavier McDaniel (13) | Xavier McDaniel (7) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 0–1 |- style="background:#cfc | 2 | April 25 | @ Dallas | W 112–110 | Dale Ellis (32) | Xavier McDaniel (9) | Nate McMillan (8) | Reunion Arena17,007 | 1–1 |- style="background:#cfc | 3 | April 28 | Dallas | W 117–107 | Dale Ellis (43) | Dale Ellis (14) | Nate McMillan (9) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion8,150 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc | 4 | April 30 | Dallas | W 124–98 | Tom Chambers (31) | Chambers, Ellis (9) | Nate McMillan (9) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion8,150 | 3–1 |- Seattle SuperSonics Conference Semi-finals yes no 2 1 2 1 |- style="background:#cfc | 1 | May 2 | @ Houston | W 111–106 (OT) | Dale Ellis (34) | Tom Chambers (9) | Nate McMillan (8) | The Summit16,279 | 1–0 |- style="background:#cfc | 2 | May 5 | @ Houston | W 99–97 | Dale Ellis (30) | Dale Ellis (9) | Eddie Johnson (8) | The Summit16,279 | 2–0 |- style="background:#fcc | 3 | May 7 | Houston | L 84–102 | Tom Chambers (24) | Dale Ellis (10) | McMillan, Young (4) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,587 | 2–1 |- style="background:#cfc | 4 | May 9 | Houston | W 117–102 | Tom Chambers (38) | Alton Lister (17) | Nate McMillan (10) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,559 | 3–1 |- style="background:#fcc | 5 | May 12 | @ Houston | L 107–112 | Dale Ellis (27) | Tom Chambers (9) | Eddie Johnson (6) | The Summit16,279 | 3–2 |- style="background:#cfc | 6 | May 14 | Houston | W 128–125 (2OT) | Tom Chambers (37) | Xavier McDaniel (12) | Nate McMillan (16) |Seattle Center Coliseum14,751 | 4–2 |- Seattle SuperSonics Conference finals yes no 0 2 0 2 |- style="background:#fcc | 1 | May 16 | @ L.A. Lakers | L 82–87 | Tom Chambers (28) | McDaniel, Lister (10) | Nate McMillan (8) | The Forum17,505 | 0–1 |- style="background:#fcc | 2 | May 19 | @ L.A. Lakers | L 104–112 | Dale Ellis (22) | Xavier McDaniel (8) | Nate McMillan (7) | The Forum17,505 | 0–2 |- style="background:#fcc | 3 | May 23 | L.A. Lakers | L 121–122 | Xavier McDaniel (42) | Xavier McDaniel (10) | Nate McMillan (15) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,657 | 0–3 |- style="background:#fcc | 4 | May 25 | L.A. Lakers | L 102–133 | Tom Chambers (20) | Alton Lister (20) | Kevin Williams (5) | Seattle Center Coliseum14,477 | 0–4 SEA yes 1987 Player statistics Season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Tom Chambers Tom Chambers (basketball) 82 82 36.8 .456 .372 .849 6.6 3.0 1.0 .6 23.3 Dale Ellis 82 76 37.5 .516 .358 .787 5.5 2.9 1.3 .4 24.9 Gerald Hendersona 1 6 6 25.8 .500 .000 .944 1.5 5.3 1.0 .0 11.2 Clemon Johnson 78 7 13.5 .494 .000 .636 3.6 .3 .3 .5 3.2 Eddie Johnson Eddie Johnson (basketball, born 1955) 24 0 21.2 .457 .333 .764 1.9 4.8 .5 .0 9.0 Curtis Kitchen 6 0 5.2 .500 .000 .750 1.5 .2 .3 .5 1.5 Alton Lister 75 75 30.5 .504 .000 .675 9.4 1.5 .4 2.4 11.6 Maurice Lucas 63 0 17.8 .451 .000 .802 4.9 1.0 .5 .3 7.9 Xavier McDaniel 82 82 37.0 .509 .214 .696 8.6 2.5 1.4 .6 23.0 Nate McMillan 71 50 27.8 .475 .000 .617 4.7 8.2 1.8 .6 5.3 Mike Phelps 60 6 7.8 .426 .100 .705 .8 1.1 .4 .0 3.0 Russ Schoene 63 0 9.2 .374 .154 .630 1.9 .4 .3 .2 2.7 Terence Stansbury 44 0 8.5 .429 .379 .620 .5 1.3 .3 .0 4.0 Kevin Williams Kevin Williams (basketball) 65 0 10.8 .446 .000 .833 1.3 1.0 .7 .1 4.9 Danny Young Danny Young (basketball) 73 26 20.3 .458 .367 .831 1.5 4.8 1.0 .0 4.8 1.1 Statistics with the SuperSonics. Playoffs Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Tom Chambers Tom Chambers (basketball) 14 35.6 .449 .353 .808 6.4 2.3 .9 .9 23.0 Dale Ellis 14 37.9 .487 .361 .815 6.4 2.6 .7 .4 25.2 Clemon Johnson 14 18.7 .453 .000 .632 3.5 .3 1.1 .2 4.3 Eddie Johnson Eddie Johnson (basketball, born 1955) 14 12.9 .534 .400 .867 1.0 3.2 .6 .0 6.4 Curtis Kitchen 8 12.9 .500 .000 .000 .8 .0 .0 .4 .3 Alton Lister 9 22.9 .400 .000 .700 6.2 .8 .8 1.4 6.0 Maurice Lucas 14 18.9 .389 .000 .737 4.6 1.4 .9 .4 7.0 Xavier McDaniel 14 37.7 .488 .200 .607 8.4 3.0 1.5 .6 20.3 Nate McMillan 14 25.4 .435 .000 .708 3.9 8.0 1.0 .7 5.1 Russ Schoene 14 8.8 .357 .333 .750 1.9 .2 .1 .3 2.2 Kevin Williams Kevin Williams (basketball) 14 18.2 .479 .000 .750 2.4 2.1 1.1 .1 8.6 Danny Young Danny Young (basketball) 14 14.9 .404 .313 1.000 1.1 3.4 1.1 .0 4.1 Awards and records Awards Dale Ellis won the Most Improved Player Award at the end of the season. Tom Chambers participated in the 1987 NBA All-Star Game and won the game's Most Valuable Player Award. He also was named Player of the Week between December 1 and December 7. Records Transactions Overview Players Added Via draft Nate McMillan Curtis Kitchen Dominic Pressley Via free agency Kevin Williams Maurice Lucas Eddie Johnson Curtis Kitchen Via trade Alton Lister Dale Ellis Clemon Johnson Russ Schoene Terence Stansbury Ronnie Lester John LongPlayers Lost Via free agency John Schweitz Frank Brickowski Via trade Jack Sikma Al Wood Tim McCormick Danny Vranes John Long Via waiver Dominic Pressley Trades July 1, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonicsAlton ListerConditional 1987 and 1989 first-round picks To Milwaukee BucksJack SikmaConditional 1987 and 1989 second-round picks July 23, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonicsDale Ellis To Dallas MavericksAl Wood September 29, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonicsClemon JohnsonConditional 1989 first-round pick To Philadelphia 76ersTim McCormickDanny Vranes September 30, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonicsJohn Long To Detroit PistonsConditional 1987 and 1991 second-round picks October 2, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonicsRuss SchoeneTerence Stansbury To Indiana PacersJohn LongConditional 1993 second-round pick October 2, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonicsRonnie Lester To Los Angeles LakersCash considerations November 12, 1986 To Seattle SuperSonicsConditional 1987 first round and 1990 second-round picks To New York KnicksGerald HendersonConditional 1987 first-round pick Free agents 52% Additions Player Signed Former team Kevin Williams July 11, 1986 Cleveland Cavaliers Maurice Lucas September 30, 1986 Los Angeles Lakers Eddie Johnson March 23, 1987 Cleveland Cavaliers Subtractions Player Left New teamJohn Schweitz September 5, 1986 Golden State WarriorsFrank Brickowski October 8, 1986 Los Angeles Lakers References 2 See also 1986–87 NBA season Category:Seattle SuperSonics seasons Seattle