No. 7 2004-05 Sonics vs. No. 10 1986-87 Sonics
7 seed: 2004-05
Regular season record: 52-30
Playoff result: Lost Western Conference Semifinals
The Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis-led team won 52 games, the most the franchise would win in the decade, and reached the conference semifinals before the injury bug hit and the Sonics lost to the eventual-champion San Antonio Spurs.
Key players:
Allen – Allen posted 23.9 points while attempted seven 3-pointers per game and grabbing 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assist to go with 1.1 steals to earn an All-NBA Second Team nod. He was dominant in the playoffs, averaging 32.4 points against the Sacramento Kings. He suffered a right ankle sprain in Game 1 against the Spurs, though, and then averaged 24 points in the next five games.
Lewis – Lewis, 26, made his first All-Star game as he averaged 20.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and shot 40% from three while taking six per game. He posted 22 points in Game 2 against the Spurs and a double-double in Game 3, but he was forced to miss the remainder of the series due to a sprained toe.
Luke Ridnour – The starting second-year point guard averaged 10 points and 5.9 assists in 31.4 minutes per game.
Antonio Daniels – The point guard averaged a career-high 11.2 points to go with 4.1 assist in 75 games, all but two of which were off the bench.
Danny Forston – In 17 minutes per game, Fortson averaged 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per. He often played center behind Jerome James, who started 80 games but only averaged 16.6 minutes per with 4.9 points and 3.0 rebounds.
Reggie Evans – Evans started 79 games and averaged 24 minutes per game, posting 4.9 points and 9.3 boards per contest.
10 seed: 1986-87
Regular season record: 39-43
Playoff result: Lost Western Conference Finals
The three-headed attack of Dale Ellis, Xavier McDaniel and All-Star Game MVP Tom Chambers combined to average more than 70 points per game and made the playoffs despite a sub-.500 record. They got to the conference finals before running into the Showtime Lakers.
Key players:
Ellis — In his first season on Seattle from the Dallas Mavericks, Ellis won Most Improved Player of the Year Award after he entered the starting lineup and posted 24.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
McDaniel — Second-year small forward McDaniel averaged 23 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 50.9% from the field, which would end up being a career-best.
Tom Chambers — Chambers made his first of four All-Star games as he averaged 23.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. The power forward also showed modern range as he shot 37% from 3 that year, though he only took 1.8 attempts per game.
Alton Lister – The center averaged a career-high in points (11.6), rebounds (9.4) and blocks (2.4) as he manned the middle.
McMillan – The rookie only averaged 5.3 points per game, but he didn’t need to do the scoring with Ellis, McDaniel and Chambers on the team. McMillan started every game he played from Dec. 30 on and averaged 8.2 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game as he did all the other things necessary to help Seattle win.
Danny Young – Young averaged 4.8 points and assists apiece in about 20 minutes per game. He started 26 games.
Maurice Lucas — The five-time All-Star and two-time All-Defensive player played 18 minutes per game for the Sonics and averaged 7.9 points with 4.9 rebounds per game.
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