1967–68 Seattle SuperSonics season

1967–68 Seattle SuperSonics season
First season in the NBA
Head coach	Al Bianchi
General manager	Don Richman
Arena	Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record	23–59 (.280)
Place	Division: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTNT-TV
Radio	KOMO-AM

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.

With a team built in its majority from the 1967 expansion draft featuring Walt Hazzard and six-year veteran Tom Meschery,^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4][5]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	6	Al Tucker	SF	United States	Oklahoma Baptist
2	19	Bob Rule	C / PF	United States	Colorado State
5	54	Plummer Lott	SF / SG	United States	Seattle

Roster

1967–68 Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 42 Hazzard, Walt 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1942–04–15 UCLA F/C 10 Akin, Henry 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1944–07–31 Morehead State SG 11 Kron, Tommy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1943–02–28 Kentucky SF 43 Lott, Plummer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1945–12–11 Seattle PF 14 Meschery, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1938–10–26 Saint Mary's F/C 41 Murrey, Dorie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1943–09–07 Detroit F/C 24 Olsen, Bud 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940–07–25 Louisville F/C 45 Rule, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1944–06–29 Colorado State SG 44 Thorn, Rod 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1941–05–23 West Virginia SF 33 Tucker, Al 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1943–02–24 Oklahoma Baptist PG 12 Weiss, Bob 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1942–05–07 Penn State C 15 Wilson, George 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1942–05–09 Cincinnati	Head coach Al Bianchi Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

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.^[6] Walt Hazzard had a high scoring debut, leading the Sonics' offense with 30 points, followed by Tom Meschery with 26.^[7] 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.^[8] After two streaks of four and eight straight losses,^[8] the Sonics found themselves quickly near the bottom of the Western Division by the end of the first four weeks of competition.^[9] A few surprising results stood out, including their only victory^[8] against Bill Russell's Boston Celtics in a double-header in Philadelphia,^[10] with the Celtics trailing by as much as 44 points after the first half,^[11] and an outstanding performance by rookie Bob Rule, with 47 points in a victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.^[12] 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^[13] and a 123–154 loss against the Lakers on January that tied a franchise record for Los Angeles for most points in a game.^[14] 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,^[15] But in spite of defeating the Bulls in two of those six games,^[8] 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.^[16]

The SuperSonics registered an attendance of 202,263 during the regular season, the sixth best in the league in that regard.^[17] Walt Hazzard was selected to represent the West in the 1968 NBA All-Star Game^[18] and Bob Rule and Al Tucker were selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.^[19]

Season standings

Western Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-St. Louis Hawks	56	26	.683	–	25–7	22–13	9–6	31–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers	52	30	.634	4	30–11	18–19	4–0	28–12
x-San Francisco Warriors	43	39	.524	13	27–14	16–23	0–2	24–16
x-Chicago Bulls	29	53	.354	27	11–22	12–24	6–7	11–29
Seattle SuperSonics	23	59	.280	33	10–21	7–24	6–14	15–25
San Diego Rockets	15	67	.183	41	8–33	4–26	3–8	11–29

Record vs. opponents

1967–68 NBA records
Team	BAL	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	NYK	PHI	SDR	SFW	SEA	STL
Baltimore	—	3–5	2–5	5–3	4–4	3–4	3–5	0–8	7–0	2–5	5–2	2–5
Boston	5–3	—	5–2	3–5	6–2	4–3	6–2	4–4	7–0	4–3	6–1	4–3
Chicago	5–2	2–5	—	5–2	3–4	1–7	2–5	1–6	4–4	2–6	3–5	1–7
Cincinnati	3–5	5–3	2–5	—	4–4	1–6	3–5	3–5	7–0	4–3	6–1	1–6
Detroit	4–4	2–6	4–3	4–4	—	2–5	4–4	1–7	5–2	4–3	6–1	4–3
Los Angeles	4–3	3–4	7–1	6–1	5–2	—	4–3	2–5	7–1	4–4	4–4	6–2
New York	5–3	2–6	5–2	5–3	4–4	3–4	—	3–5	6–1	5–2	4–3	1–6
Philadelphia	8–0	4–4	6–1	5–3	7–1	5–2	5–3	—	6–1	4–3	7–0	5–2
San Diego	0–7	0–7	4–4	0–7	2–5	1–7	1–6	1–6	—	2–6	3–5	1–7
San Francisco	5–2	3–4	6–2	3–4	3–4	4–4	2–5	3–4	6–2	—	7–1	1–7
Seattle	2–5	1–6	5–3	1–6	1–6	4–4	3–4	0–7	5–3	1–7	—	0–8
St. Louis	5–2	3–4	7–1	6–1	3–4	2–6	6–1	2–5	7–1	7–1	8–0	—

Game log

1967–68 game log Total: 23–59 (Home: 10–21; Road: 7–23; Neutral: 6–15)
October : 2–6 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 13 @ San Francisco L 116–144 Walt Hazzard (30) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 5,619 0–1 2 October 20 San Diego L 114–121 Walt Hazzard (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,473 0–2 3 October 21 @ San Diego W 117–110 (OT) Walt Hazzard (22) San Diego Sports Arena 5,413 1–2 4 October 22 Cincinnati L 94–106 Walt Hazzard (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,116 1–3 5 October 24 Baltimore L 125–136 Bob Rule (25) Portland, Oregon 1,533 1–4 6 October 27 @ Philadelphia L 115–132 Bob Rule (18) The Spectrum 4,352 1–5 7 October 28 @ St. Louis L 109–116 Tommy Kron (21) Kiel Auditorium 5,218 1–6 8 October 31 Chicago W 114–104 Walt Hazzard (34) Seattle Center Coliseum 3,109 2–6
November : 5–11 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–10) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 9 November 1 San Diego L 125–139 Al Tucker (23) Portland, Oregon 2,593 2–7 10 November 2 Chicago L 105–109 Bob Rule (27) Spokane, Washington 1,051 2–8 11 November 3 New York L 100–134 Walt Hazzard (19) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,654 2–9 12 November 7 @ San Francisco L 112–126 Bob Weiss (20) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 3,168 2–10 13 November 8 @ St. Louis L 96–111 Walt Hazzard (20) Kiel Auditorium 3,022 2–11 14 November 9 Detroit L 118–119 Walt Hazzard (33) Madison Square Garden 2–12 15 November 11 @ Baltimore L 129–134 Walt Hazzard (26) Baltimore Civic Center 4,685 2–13 16 November 14 Boston L 111–114 Bob Weiss (29) Madison Square Garden 2–14 17 November 17 San Diego W 130–124 Walt Hazzard (30) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,162 3–14 18 November 19 Detroit W 132–130 (OT) Bob Rule (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,468 4–14 19 November 20 Detroit L 118–120 Bob Weiss (27) Tacoma, Washington 2,311 4–15 20 November 21 L. A. Lakers W 137–132 Bob Rule (47) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,122 5–15 21 November 23 Boston W 133–106 Bob Rule (26) Philadelphia 6–15 22 November 25 Cincinnati L 133–153 Walt Hazzard (19) Cleveland, Ohio 3,455 6–16 23 November 25 @ New York L 110–111 Walt Hazzard (21) Madison Square Garden 9,011 6–17 24 November 28 @ Chicago W 111–108 Three players (20) Chicago Stadium 1,659 7–17
December : 4–14 (Home: 2–8; Road: 2–6) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 25 December 1 Philadelphia L 109–133 Bob Rule (29) Boston 7–18 26 December 3 St. Louis L 109–123 Tom Meschery (23) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,938 7–19 27 December 5 @ San Francisco L 121–133 Walt Hazzard (29) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 2,306 7–20 28 December 8 Chicago L 114–115 Walt Hazzard, Bob Rule (21) Seattle Center Coliseum 3,835 7–21 29 December 10 L. A. Lakers W 133–123 Al Tucker (35) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,006 8–21 30 December 12 Philadelphia L 107–118 Al Tucker (27) New York City 8–22 31 December 15 @ Chicago W 122–115 Walt Hazzard (36) Chicago Stadium 1,686 9–22 32 December 17 Philadelphia L 124–139 Rod Thorn (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 11,294 9–23 33 December 18 Detroit L 122–140 Rod Thorn (29) Tacoma, Washington 1,658 9–24 34 December 19 Boston L 114–118 Walt Hazzard (37) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,889 9–25 35 December 20 Philadelphia L 122–160 Walt Hazzard (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 7,714 9–26 36 December 22 New York W 120–108 Al Tucker (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,515 10–26 37 December 23 @ San Francisco L 124–131 Walt Hazzard (19) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 3,862 10–27 38 December 24 San Francisco L 113–127 Walt Hazzard (20) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,226 10–28 39 December 25 @ Cincinnati L 112–118 Rod Thorn (26) Cincinnati Gardens 3,323 10–29 40 December 26 New York W 137–135 Walt Hazzard (37) Philadelphia 11–29 41 December 28 San Diego L 125–143 Walt Hazzard (45) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,889 11–30 42 December 31 San Francisco L 124–126 Walt Hazzard (26) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,591 11–31
January : 5–7 (Home: 1–3; Road: 4–4) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 January 1 St. Louis L 94–115 Walt Hazzard (17) Seattle Center Coliseum 3,604 11–32 44 January 5 Boston L 121–128 Bob Rule (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,188 11–33 45 January 6 @ San Diego W 122–104 Walt Hazzard (28) San Diego Sports Arena 6,738 12–33 46 January 8 New York L 113–119 Tom Meschery (24) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,548 12–34 47 January 10 @ Boston L 110–123 Walt Hazzard Boston Garden 3,701 12–35 48 January 15 New York W 129–113 Walt Hazzard (24) Boston 13–35 49 January 16 Baltimore W 142–116 Tom Meschery (33) Chicago, Illinois 3,500 14–35 50 January 19 @ Detroit L 119–133 Walt Hazzard (41) Cobo Arena 5,887 14–36 51 January 20 @ St. Louis L 115–120 Walt Hazzard (25) Kiel Auditorium 5,118 14–37 52 January 21 @ L. A. Lakers L 123–154 Walt Hazzard (24) The Forum 9,262 14–38 53 January 28 Baltimore W 135–126 Walt Hazzard (23) Tacoma, Washington 3,181 15–38 54 January 30 L. A. Lakers W 128–116 Walt Hazzard (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,262 16–38
February : 4–10 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–8) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 55 February 1 St. Louis L 110–113 Rod Thorn (32) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,564 16–39 56 February 2 @ L. A. Lakers L 113–151 Walt Hazzard, Bob Rule (17) The Forum 12,021 16–40 57 February 4 @ L. A. Lakers L 131–137 Tom Meschery (28) The Forum 7,796 16–41 58 February 5 Cincinnati W 132–129 (OT) Walt Hazzard (45) Phoenix, Arizona 4,680 17–41 59 February 8 L. A. Lakers W 115–110 Walt Hazzard (31) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,526 18–41 60 February 11 San Francisco W 146–118 Walt Hazzard (29) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,505 19–41 61 February 14 Philadelphia L 125–149 Walt Hazzard (25) Seattle Center Coliseum 9,449 19–42 62 February 15 @ Cincinnati L 119–132 Walt Hazzard (31) Cincinnati Gardens 2,306 19–43 63 February 16 @ Baltimore L 118–147 Walt Hazzard (30) Baltimore Civic Center 3,748 19–44 64 February 17 @ New York L 111–134 Bob Weiss (22) Madison Square Garden 13,256 19–45 65 February 20 @ Philadelphia L 108–140 Walt Hazzard (25) The Spectrum 6,417 19–46 66 February 21 Chicago L 106–108 Walt Hazzard, Rod Thorn (25) Baltimore, Maryland 19–47 67 February 23 @ San Diego W 127–122 Walt Hazzard (31) San Diego Sports Arena 4,834 20–47 68 February 24 Boston L 137–141 Walt Hazzard (38) Vancouver, Canada 8,129 20–48
March : 3–11 (Home: 1–5; Road: 2–6) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 69 March 2 @ L. A. Lakers L 121–127 Walt Hazzard (31) The Forum 11,335 20–49 70 March 3 Cincinnati L 128–138 Rod Thorn (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,894 20–50 71 March 5 Baltimore L 121–126 Tommy Kron (27) Seattle Center Coliseum 4,939 20–51 72 March 7 St. Louis L 133–150 Walt Hazzard, Rod Thorn (29) Portland, Oregon 2,428 20–52 73 March 8 Baltimore L 116–122 Tom Meschery (30) Olympia, Washington 4,012 20–53 74 March 9 @ San Diego W 115–111 Tom Meschery (23) San Diego Sports Arena 6,331 21–53 75 March 10 San Francisco L 112–118 Al Tucker (28) Seattle Center Coliseum 5,536 21–54 76 March 11 Boston L 112–119 Tom Meschery (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 8,136 21–55 77 March 12 @ Detroit L 123–139 Tommy Kron (24) Cobo Arena 5,304 21–56 78 March 13 @ Cincinnati L 123–142 Bob Rule (46) Cincinnati Gardens 4,958 21–57 79 March 15 @ Chicago W 113–101 Walt Hazzard (21) Chicago Stadium 3,426 22–57 80 March 16 @ St. Louis L 106–124 Walt Hazzard (24) Kiel Auditorium 7,665 22–58 81 March 18 Detroit L 82–88 Walt Hazzard (22) Seattle Center Coliseum 6,244 22–59 82 March 19 Chicago W 122–104 Walt Hazzard (36) Seattle Center Coliseum 10,429 23–59
1967–68 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
Henry Akin	36	–	7.2	.336	–	.645	1.6	.4	–	–	3.1
Walt Hazzard	79	–	33.7	.441	–	.774	4.2	6.2	–	–	24.0
Tommy Kron	76	–	23.6	.396	–	.790	4.7	3.7	–	–	9.7
Plummer Lott	44	–	10.9	.311	–	.613	2.1	.8	–	–	2.5
Tom Meschery	82	–	34.8	.469	–	.707	10.2	2.4	–	–	14.5
Dorie Murrey	81	–	18.4	.436	–	.689	7.4	.8	–	–	7.3
Bud Olsen	73	–	12.3	.456	–	.274	2.8	1.0	–	–	3.8
Bud Olsen	73	–	12.3	.456	–	.274	2.8	1.0	–	–	3.8
Bob Rule	82	–	29.6	.489	–	.658	9.5	1.2	–	–	18.1
Rod Thorn	66	–	25.3	.451	–	.737	4.0	3.5	–	–	15.2
Al Tucker	81	–	29.2	.442	–	.707	7.5	1.4	–	–	13.1
Bob Weiss	82	–	19.7	.430	–	.839	1.8	4.2	–	–	9.8
George Wilson	77	–	16.1	.359	–	.703	6.1	.7	–	–	6.1

Awards and records

• Al Tucker and Bob Rule earned NBA All-Rookie First Team selections
• Walt Hazzard played for the West in the 1968 NBA All-Star Game held at Madison Square Garden in New York City

References

1. Associated Press (May 4, 1967). Meschery Going to Seattle, The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
2. "Seattle Makes Sure Guerin Stays Retired". The Free Lance–Star. Associated Press. May 2, 1967. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
3. United Press International (May 4, 1967). Meschery signs to play with Sonics, The Bulletin. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
4. Associated Press (September 2, 1967). Sonics Lose Sweet Charlie, The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
5. United Press International (September 1, 1967) Williams Says Ruling Wrecked Hopes of Pro Basketball Play, The Modesto Bee. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
6. Associated Press (October 14, 1967). Oaks Win in ABA Debut; Warriors Trounce Seattle, The Portsmouth Times. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
7. Seattle SuperSonics at San Francisco Warriors Box Score, October 13, 1967. Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
8. 1967–68 Seattle SuperSonics Schedule and Results. Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
9. United Press International (November 15, 1967). Coaches of Royals and Bulls Having It Tough, The Dispatch. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
10. Ralph Bernstein, Associated Press (November 24, 1967). You Had to See It to Know It Wasn't a Joke, Lewiston Evening Journal. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
11. Seattle SuperSonics vs Boston Celtics Box Score, November 23, 1967. Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
12. United Press International (November 22, 1967). Rule Scores 47 as Seattle Halts Los Angeles Lakers, The Beaver County Times. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
13. Associated Press (December 21, 1967). Sonics Pounded–Mightily, Ellensburg Daily Record. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
14. United Press International (January 22, 1968). Baylor & West Set Scoring Record As Lakers Dump Sonics, The Bryan Times. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
15. Associated Press (March 12, 1968). Bulls Nearing Playoff Spot, Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
16. Bulls Clinch Playoff Spot With Victory, The Beaver County Times. March 14, 1968. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
17. 1967–68 Seattle SuperSonics Roster and Statistics. Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
18. Associated Press (January 23, 1968). West Stars—Lost Their Glitter?, Meriden Journal. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
19. Monroe Leads All-Rookie Five, The Washington Afro American. April 9, 1968. Retrieved June 24, 2012.