# 1973–74 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1973–74 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 7th season of the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Following the resignation of Lenny Wilkens as a head coach after the 1971–72 season and a poor campaign in the 1972–73 season that saw the departure of general manager Bob Houbregs, the Sonics hired Boston Celtics' stalwart Bill Russell as head coach and general manager. With Russell at the helm, the team finished in 6th place in the Western Conference with a 36–46 record. The Sonics' home court, Seattle Center Coliseum, was the venue for the 1974 NBA All-Star Game.

## Offseason

The Sonics made only one trade during the offseason that sent All-Star Butch Beard to the Golden State Warriors and brought back a member of the original SuperSonics team, Walt Hazzard to Seattle.

### Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 4 | Mike Green | Center / forward | United States | Louisiana Tech |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | – | 30–11 | 17–24 | – | 14–12 |
| Golden State Warriors | 44 | 38 | .537 | 3 | 23–18 | 20–20 | 1–0 | 15–11 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 11 | 22–19 | 14–27 | – | 12–14 |
| Phoenix Suns | 30 | 52 | .366 | 17 | 24–17 | 6–34 | 0–1 | 11–15 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 20 | 22–19 | 5–34 | 0–2 | 13–13 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Milwaukee Bucks | 59 | 23 | .720 | – |
| 2 | x-Chicago Bulls | 54 | 28 | .659 | 5 |
| 3 | x-Detroit Pistons | 52 | 30 | .634 | 7 |
| 4 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 47 | 35 | .573 | 12 |
| 5 | Golden State Warriors | 44 | 38 | .537 | 15 |
| 6 | Seattle SuperSonics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 23 |
| 7 | Kansas City–Omaha Kings | 33 | 49 | .402 | 26 |
| 8 | Phoenix Suns | 30 | 52 | .366 | 29 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 32 |
* z – clinched division title
* y – clinched division title
* x – clinched playoff spot

### Record vs. opponents

1973–74 NBA records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | BUF | CAP | CHI | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | KCO | LAL | MIL | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA |
| Atlanta | – | 1–5 | 2–4 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 5–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 |
| Boston | 5–1 | – | 5–2 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 7–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Buffalo | 4–2 | 2–5 | – | 3–3 | 1–3 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| Capital | 4–4 | 4–2 | 3–3 | – | 1–3 | 6–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| Chicago | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | – | 4–0 | 5–2 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 5–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Cleveland | 3–4 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 1–6 | 0–4 | – | 2–2 | 0–4 | 4–4 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 |
| Detroit | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 2–2 | – | 5–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 6–0 | 5–1 | 5–1 |
| Golden State | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 1–5 | – | 4–0 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 3–3 |
| Houston | 2–5 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 0–4 | 4–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 |
| Kansas City-Omaha | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–2 | – | 1–5 | 0–7 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–4 |
| Los Angeles | 0–4 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 5–1 | – | 4–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 4–3 |
| Milwaukee | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 4–3 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 7–0 | 2–4 | – | 2–2 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 4–2 |
| New York | 5–1 | 2–5 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | – | 4–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 |
| Philadelphia | 3–3 | 1–7 | 1–6 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 3–4 | – | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 |
| Phoenix | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 0–6 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 1–3 | – | 3–3 | 4–3 |
| Portland | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 4–3 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 0–6 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | – | 3–3 |
| Seattle | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 3–4 | 3–3 | — |

### Game log

1973–74 game log Total: 36–46 (Home: 22–19; Road: 14–27) :
October: 3–9 (home: 3–4; road: 0–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
October 10
@ Phoenix
L 111–115
Fred Brown (31)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 18,738
0–1
2
October 12
Capital Bullets
W 103–102
Spencer Haywood (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,673
1–1
3
October 14
Milwaukee
W 109–100
Jim McDaniels (29)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,240
2–1
4
October 17
Kansas City–Omaha
L 106–108
Spencer Haywood (31)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,618
2–2
5
October 19
@ Los Angeles
L 91–118
Jim Fox, Spencer Haywood (16)
The Forum 14,259
2–3
6
October 20
@ Portland
L 108–123
Dick Gibbs (25)
Memorial Coliseum 9,251
2–4
7
October 21
Phoenix
W 116–112
Fred Brown (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,964
3–4
8
October 24
Atlanta
L 106–131
Spencer Haywood (21)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,626
3–5
9
October 26
Golden State
L 110–117
Dick Snyder (27)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,906
3–6
10
October 28
Detroit
L 93–115
Spencer Haywood (22)
Seattle Center Coliseum 1,198
3–7
11
October 30
@ Buffalo
L 103–105
Spencer Haywood (31)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 7,396
3–8
12
October 31
@ Detroit
L 107–114
Fred Brown (31)
Cobo Arena 4,748
3–9 :
November
: 6–8 (home: 4–3; road: 2–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
13
November 2
@ Kansas City–Omaha
W 115–109
Fred Brown (37)
Municipal Auditorium 4,574
4–9
14
November 4
New York
L 106–111
Spencer Haywood (34)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,772
4–10
15
November 7
Buffalo
W 130–113
Spencer Haywood (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 8,878
5–10
16
November 9
Los Angeles
L 111–118
John Brisker (23)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,988
5–11
17
November 11
Chicago
L 98–116
Spencer Haywood (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,915
5–12
18
November 13
@ New York
L 102–104
Spencer Haywood (25)
Madison Square Garden 17,478
5–13
19
November 14
@ Boston
L 104–110
Fred Brown, Spencer Haywood (22)
Seattle Center Coliseum 6,191
5–14
20
November 16
Cleveland
W 117–93
Spencer Haywood (32)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,770
6–14
21
November 18
Philadelphia
W 95–91
Spencer Haywood (31)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,900
7–14
22
November 22
@ Portland
L 125–131
Spencer Haywood (28)
Memorial Coliseum 7,285
7–15
23
November 23
Portland
W 127–106
Spencer Haywood, Isaac Stallworth (23)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,330
8–15
24
November 25
@ Kansas City–Omaha
W 104–99
John Brisker (47)
Municipal Auditorium 4,213
9–15
25
November 27
@ Cleveland
L 118–120
Spencer Haywood (34)
Cleveland Arena 3,357
9–16
26
November 28
@ Milwaukee
L 93–127
Isaac Stallworth (16)
Milwaukee Arena 8,289
9–17 :
December
: 8–10 (home: 4–4; road: 4–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
27
December 1
@ Atlanta
L 110–120
Spencer Haywood (26)
Omni Coliseum 7,194
9–18
28
December 2
@ Capital Bullets
L 96–98
Slick Watts (24)
Capital Centre 17,500
9–19
29
December 4
@ Chicago
L 107–130
Fred Brown (24)
Chicago Stadium 5,104
9–20
30
December 6
Detroit
L 108–110
Spencer Haywood (29)
Seattle Center Coliseum 7,758
9–21
31
December 7
@ Los Angeles
W 115–111
Spencer Haywood (29)
The Forum 13,189
10–21
32
December 9
Houston
L 107–110
Spencer Haywood, Slick Watts (18)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,689
10–22
33
December 11
@ Milwaukee
L 91–130
Fred Brown (23)
Milwaukee Arena 7,075
10–23
34
December 12
@ Philadelphia
W 100–93
Dick Snyder (24)
The Spectrum 3,432
11–23
35
December 14
Capital Bullets
W 93–88
Spencer Haywood (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,857
12–23
36
December 16
Phoenix
L 109–113
Spencer Haywood (28)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,778
12–24
37
December 18
@ Chicago
W 93–92
Spencer Haywood (23)
Chicago Stadium 4,721
13–24
38
December 19
@ Houston
W 124–118 (OT)
Spencer Haywood (37)
Hofheinz Pavilion 2,371
14–24
39
December 21
@ Cleveland
L 96–101
Dick Snyder (35)
Cleveland Arena 2,173
14–25
40
December 23
Boston
L 95–96
Spencer Haywood (23)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,970
14–26
41
December 26
Los Angeles
W 129–105
Jim Fox (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,755
15–26
42
December 27
@ Phoenix
L 100–111
Dick Snyder (32)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,555
15–27
43
December 28
Portland
W 110–93
Spencer Haywood (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,245
16–27
44
December 30
Golden State
W 96–92
Jim Fox (29)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,078
17–27 :
January
: 7–6 (home: 3–2; road: 4–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
45
January 2
Buffalo
L 111–115
Spencer Haywood (35)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,011
17–28
46
January 4
Chicago
W 103–101 (OT)
Spencer Haywood (31)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,042
18–28
47
January 6
Houston
W 91–90
Spencer Haywood (34)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,184
19–28
48
January 9
Kansas City–Omaha
W 100–96
Dick Snyder (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,048
20–28
49
January 10
@ Golden State
L 89–125
Jim Fox (15)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 3,032
20–29
50
January 11
New York
L 98–107
Dick Snyder (29)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,078
20–30
51
January 13
@ Phoenix
W 123–112
Fred Brown (38)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5,769
21–30
52
January 18
@ Philadelphia
W 116–104
Spencer Haywood (25)
The Spectrum 3,108
22–30
53
January 19
@ Atlanta
L 109–127
Dick Snyder (41)
Omni Coliseum 6,938
22–31
54
January 23
@ Boston
W 98–97
Fred Brown (26)
Boston Garden 6,237
23–31
55
January 25
@ Chicago
L 99–104
Spencer Haywood (33)
Chicago Stadium 9,422
23–32
56
January 26
@ Detroit
L 83–94
Dick Snyder (18)
Cobo Arena 8,386
23–33
57
January 29
@ Houston
W 115–107
Spencer Haywood (32)
Hofheinz Pavilion 3,027
24–33 :
February
: 6–6 (home: 6–2; road: 0–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
58
February 1
Milwaukee
W 110–85
Dick Snyder (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,017
25–33
59
February 2
@ Portland
L 97–102
Spencer Haywood (25)
Memorial Coliseum 7,526
25–34
60
February 3
Detroit
L 100–114
Spencer Haywood, Dick Snyder (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,078
25–35
61
February 5
@ Golden State
L 113–129
Jim Fox, Spencer Haywood (24)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 4,197
25–36
62
February 6
Portland
W 107–94
Dick Gibbs (30)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,204
26–36
63
February 10
Kansas City–Omaha
W 119–103
Spencer Haywood (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,608
27–36
64
February 13
Boston
W 118–100
Dick Snyder (31)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,031
28–36
65
February 15
@ Los Angeles
L 96–112
Dick Snyder (22)
The Forum 15,263
28–37
66
February 17
Cleveland
W 106–97
Fred Brown (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,078
29–37
67
February 23
Los Angeles
L 116–118
Spencer Haywood (32)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,078
29–38
68
February 24
Philadelphia
W 115–105
Spencer Haywood (37)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,779
30–38
69
February 27
@ Capital Bullets
L 100–104
Fred Brown (28)
Capital Centre 5,140
30–39 :
March
: 6–9 (home: 2–4; road: 4–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
70
March 1
@ Detroit
W 105–103
Spencer Haywood (16)
Cobo Arena 6,694
31–39
71
March 2
@ Milwaukee
L 99–116
Dick Snyder (25)
Milwaukee Arena 10,938
31–40
72
March 5
@ New York
L 106–111
Spencer Haywood (27)
Madison Square Garden 19,964
31–41
73
March 8
@ Buffalo
W 123–117 (OT)
Spencer Haywood (31)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 16,218
32–41
74
March 9
@ Kansas City–Omaha
L 96–106
Dick Gibbs (25)
Omaha Civic Auditorium 3,870
32–42
75
March 15
Atlanta
L 107–126
Fred Brown (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,078
32–43
76
March 17
Phoenix
L 108–133
Dick Snyder (28)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,007
32–44
77
March 20
Golden State
W 110–107
Dick Snyder (30)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,657
33–44
78
March 22
Milwaukee
L 101–106
Dick Snyder (28)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,771
33–45
79
March 23
@ Golden State
W 139–137
Fred Brown (58)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 7,570
34–45
80
March 24
Chicago
L 113–122
Fred Brown (29)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,430
34–46
81
March 26
@ Los Angeles
W 121–115
Fred Brown (37)
The Forum 13,489
35–46
82
March 27
Phoenix
W 127–123
Fred Brown (34)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,528
36–46 :
1973–74 season schedule :

## Player statistics

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| John Brisker | 35 | – | 20.5 | .449 | – | .820 | 4.2 | 1.6 | .8 | .2 | 12.5 |
| Fred Brown | 82 | – | 30.5 | .471 | – | .863 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 1.7 | .2 | 16.5 |
| Jim Fox | 78 | – | 27.9 | .478 | – | .823 | 9.2 | 2.9 | .7 | .3 | 11.3 |
| Dick Gibbs | 71 | – | 21.5 | .431 | – | .806 | 3.1 | 1.1 | .5 | .3 | 10.8 |
| Spencer Haywood | 75 | – | 40.5 | .457 | – | .814 | 13.4 | 3.2 | .9 | 1.4 | 23.5 |
| Walt Hazzard | 49 | – | 11.7 | .422 | – | .756 | 1.2 | 2.5 | .5 | .1 | 3.8 |
| John Hummer | 35 | – | 26.7 | .467 | – | .469 | 7.0 | 2.7 | .7 | .6 | 8.2 |
| Vester Marshall | 13 | – | 13.4 | .241 | – | .429 | 2.8 | .3 | .3 | .2 | 1.3 |
| Jim McDaniels | 27 | – | 16.3 | .364 | – | .535 | 4.7 | .9 | .3 | .6 | 5.5 |
| Kennedy McIntosh | 69 | – | 29.8 | .389 | – | .607 | 5.2 | 1.4 | .8 | .4 | 7.4 |
| Dick Snyder | 74 | – | 36.1 | .481 | – | .866 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 1.2 | .4 | 18.1 |
| Isaac Stallworth | 67 | – | 15.2 | .392 | – | .623 | 2.6 | .5 | .3 | .2 | 6.3 |
| Slick Watts | 62 | – | 23.0 | .388 | – | .645 | 2.9 | 5.7 | 1.9 | .2 | 8.0 |
| Milt Williams | 53 | – | 9.5 | .416 | – | .651 | .9 | 1.9 | .5 | .0 | 3.1 |

## Awards and records

* Spencer Haywood was selected to the All-NBA Second Team and represented the West in the 1974 NBA All-Star Game.

## Transactions
### Overview

| Players Added | Players Lost |
| Via trade Dick Gibbs Walt Hazzard John Hummer Via free agency Vester Marshall Slick Watts Milt Williams | Via trade Butch Beard Waived Charles Dudley Jim McDaniels Lee Winfield |

### Trades

| May 15, 1973 | To Seattle SuperSonics | To Kansas City–Omaha Kings |
| May 15, 1973 | Dick Gibbs | Completion of the trade for Pete Cross and Don Kojis |
| July 25, 1973 | To Seattle SuperSonics | To Golden State Warriors |
| July 25, 1973 | Walt Hazzard | Butch Beard |
| January 7, 1974 | To Seattle SuperSonics | To Chicago Bulls |
| January 7, 1974 | John Hummer | 1974 second round pick Cash considerations |