# 1989–90 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the 22nd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. It was Bernie Bickerstaff's last season as head coach of the Sonics, and the first season for rookie and future All-Star forward Shawn Kemp, who was selected with the 17th pick in the 1989 NBA draft. After winning two of their first three games, the Sonics lost in a quintuple-overtime game on November 9 to the Milwaukee Bucks, 155–154 at the Bradley Center. The Sonics played around .500 for the entire season, holding a 22–23 record at the All-Star break, and peaking late in the season at 34–32 before going 7–9 to end their season, as they finished fourth in the Pacific Division with a 41–41 record, losing the #8 seed in the Western Conference to the Houston Rockets, who had the same record but were ahead after tie-breaks, and thus did not reach the playoffs.
Dale Ellis led the team in scoring averaging 23.5 points per game, but only played 55 games due to a collapsed lung and broken ribs suffered from a car accident in January, while Xavier McDaniel averaged 21.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and Derrick McKey provided the team with 15.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Sedale Threatt contributed 11.4 points per game, while Michael Cage averaged 9.7 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, top draft pick Dana Barros contributed 9.7 points per game, and Nate McMillan provided with 6.4 points, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
This was also McDaniel's final full season in Seattle, as he was traded midway through the following season to the Phoenix Suns.

## Draft picks

Seattle drafted future All-Stars Dana Barros and Shawn Kemp as their only two picks of the 1989 Draft. Kemp would go on to have a successful 8-year run with the Sonics.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 16 | Dana Barros | PG | United States | Boston College |
| 1 | 17 | Shawn Kemp | PF / C | United States | Trinity Valley CC |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 63 | 19 | .768 | – | 37–4 | 26–15 | 22–6 |
| x-Portland Trail Blazers | 59 | 23 | .720 | 4 | 35–6 | 24–17 | 20–8 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 9 | 32–9 | 22–19 | 20–8 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 | 30–11 | 11–30 | 11–17 |
| Golden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 26 | 27–14 | 10–31 | 11–17 |
| Los Angeles Clippers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 33 | 20–21 | 10–31 | 7–21 |
| Sacramento Kings | 23 | 59 | .280 | 40 | 16–25 | 7–34 | 7–21 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Los Angeles Lakers | 63 | 19 | .768 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 56 | 26 | .683 | 7 |
| 3 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 59 | 23 | .720 | 4 |
| 4 | x-Utah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 8 |
| 5 | x-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 9 |
| 6 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 16 |
| 7 | x-Denver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 20 |
| 8 | x-Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 9 | Seattle SuperSonics | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 26 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Clippers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 33 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 23 | 59 | .280 | 40 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 41 |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 44 |

#### Record vs. opponents

1989–90 NBA records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | LAC | LAL | MIA | MIL | MIN | NJN | NYK | ORL | PHI | PHO | POR | SAC | SAS | SEA | UTA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Boston | 3–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Charlotte | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 0–4 | 0–5 | 0–2 |
| Chicago | 5–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | – | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Cleveland | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–5 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Dallas | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Denver | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | – | 0–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| Detroit | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Golden State | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Houston | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Indiana | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| L.A. Clippers | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | – | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 |
| L.A. Lakers | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Miami | 0–4 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Milwaukee | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | – | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Minnesota | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 1–1 |
| New Jersey | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | – | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 |
| New York | 3–1 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | – | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 |
| Orlando | 0–5 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | – | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Philadelphia | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| Phoenix | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–3 | 5–0 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Portland | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | – | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Sacramento | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 0–4 | – | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| San Antonio | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | – | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 |
| Seattle | 1–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | – | 1–3 | 2–0 |
| Utah | 1–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | – | 2–0 |
| Washington | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — |

#### Game log

1989–90 game log :
November
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1November 3, 1989Minnesota Timberwolves106–94Ellis (33)Cage (11)Threatt (6)13,805 (Seattle, Washington)1–0
2November 4, 1989at Sacramento Kings100–107Cage (24)Cage (13)McMillan and Barros (4)17,104 (Sacramento, California)1-1
3November 7, 1989Charlotte Hornets128–88McDaniel and Ellis (23)Cage (14)McMillan (9)9,521 (Seattle, Washington)2–1
4November 9, 1989at Milwaukee Bucks154–155 (5OT)Ellis (53)McDaniel (13)McMillan (10)14,012 (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)2-2
5November 11, 1989at Chicago Bulls102–109Ellis (30)Cage (10)McMillan (10)16,676 (Chicago, Illinois)2–3
6November 12, 1989at Minnesota Timberwolves108–97McKey (32)Cage (16)McMillan (12)21,702 (Minneapolis, Minnesota)3-3
7November 14, 1989Dallas Mavericks109–113 (OT)McDaniel (31)Cage (10)McDaniel and McMillan (5)9,880 (Seattle, Washington)3–4
8November 16, 1989Washington Bullets111–98McDaniel (26)McKey (11)Barros (6)9,562 (Seattle, Washington)4-4
9November 18, 1989Chicago Bulls119–110McDaniel (36)Cage (10)McMillan (10)14,708 (Seattle, Washington)5–4
10November 19, 1989at Portland Trail Blazers109–119Ellis and Cage (17)Cage (15)Ellis (6)12,884 (Portland, Oregon)5-5
11November 21, 1989New Jersey Nets114–84McDaniel (26)Cage (15)McMillan (11)12,109 (Seattle, Washington)6–5
12November 24, 1989at Denver Nuggets109–122Barros (18)Cage and Kemp (8)Johnson (10)13,061 (Denver, Colorado)6-6
13November 25, 1989at Dallas Mavericks117–70McDaniel (22)Cage (14)McMillan (8)17,007 (Dallas, Texas)7–6
14November 28, 1989at San Antonio Spurs104–117Ellis (37)McMillan (11)McMillan (14)12,115 (San Antonio, Texas)7-7
15November 30, 1989New York Knicks127–122McDaniel (37)McKey and McMillan (8)McMillan (13)13,583 (Seattle, Washington)8–7 :
December
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
16December 2, 1989Detroit Pistons120–95Ellis (30)McDaniel (10)McMillan (14)14,546 (Seattle, Washington)9–7
17December 5, 1989Houston Rockets133–123McDaniel (36)McDaniel (10)McMillan (11)9,241 (Seattle, Washington)10–7
18December 9, 1989Los Angeles Clippers104–100Ellis (28)Cage (15)McMillan (6)12,548 (Seattle, Washington)11–7
19December 13, 1989at Boston Celtics97–109Ellis (32)Ellis and Cage (9)McMillan (7)14,890 (Boston, Massachusetts)11–8
20December 15, 1989at Cleveland Cavaliers101–120McKey (20)Cage (13)Johnson (5)15,072 (Richfield, Ohio)11–9
21December 16, 1989at New York Knicks97–118Cage (19)Cage (10)Johnson (5)18,212 (New York City, New York)11–10
22December 19, 1989at Detroit Pistons77–94Threatt (18)Cage (9)McMillan (7)21,454 (Auburn Hills, Michigan)11-11
23December 21, 1989Portland Trail Blazers123–102Ellis (23)Cage (13)McMillan (14)13,190 (Seattle, Washington)12–11
24December 23, 1989Indiana Pacers95–98McDaniel (29)Cage (12)McMillan (11)14,377 (Seattle, Washington)12-12
25December 27, 1989Philadelphia 76ers110–106Ellis (33)Cage (13)Threatt (7)14,381 (Seattle, Washington)13–12
26December 29, 1989Boston Celtics89–96McDaniel (26)Cage (14)McMillan (7)14,708 (Seattle, Washington)13-13 :
January
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
27January 3, 1990Utah Jazz108–119McDaniel (25)Cage (19)Johnson (8)12,314 (Seattle, Washington)13–14
28January 5, 1990Miami Heat140–110Ellis (26)Kemp (9)Johnson (17)9,819 (Seattle, Washington)14-14
29January 6, 1990Phoenix Suns120–110McDaniel (29)Cage (10)Johnson (11)14,430 (Seattle, Washington)15–14
30January 8, 1990at Dallas Mavericks96–110McDaniel (19)McDaniel and Polynice (8)Johnson (9)16,561 (Dallas, Texas)15-15
31January 9, 1990at Houston Rockets90–97Ellis (22)McMillan (9)McMillan (8)15,251 (Houston, Texas)15–16
32January 11, 1990Dallas Mavericks98–87Ellis (29)Cage and McMillan (8)McMillan (10)9,397 (Seattle, Washington)16-16
33January 13, 1990Atlanta Hawks113–106McDaniel (33)McDaniel (14)Johnson (11)14,330 (Seattle, Washington)17–16
34January 15, 1990Houston Rockets105–101McDaniel (25)Cage (11)Johnson (7)11,404 (Seattle, Washington)18–16
35January 17, 1990at Los Angeles Lakers90–100Threatt (26)McDaniel (7)McMillan (9)17,505 (Inglewood, California)18–17
36January 18, 1990at Los Angeles Clippers95–105McDaniel (30)McDaniel and McKey (8)Threatt (6)11.150 (Los Angeles, California)18-18
37January 20, 1990at Phoenix Suns98–117Threatt (21)Cage (8)McMillan (6)14,487 (Phoenix, Arizona)18–19
38January 24, 1990Milwaukee Bucks112–119McDaniel (32)McMillan (9)McDaniel (8)10,903 (Seattle, Washington)18–20
39January 26, 1990at Golden State Warriors102–114Threatt (36)McDaniel (15)McDaniel (7)15,025 (Oakland, California)18–21
40January 27, 1990San Antonio Spurs109–98McDaniel (34)Cage (9)McMillan (8)14,519 (Seattle, Washington)19–21
41January 31, 1990at Minnesota Timberwolves82–110McKey (16)McKey (9)McMillan (8)24,153 (Minneapolis, Minnesota)19–22 :
February
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
42February 2, 1990at Indiana Pacers87–86McDaniel (25)Cage (12)McMillan and Barros (4)12,858 (Indianapolis, Indiana)20–22
43February 3, 1990at Washington Bullets94–92McDaniel (29)McDaniel and Cage (8)McMillan (8)12,066 (Landover, Maryland)21–22
44February 5, 1990at Charlotte Hornets101–100McDaniel (22)Cage (10)McMillan, McDaniel, Sellers (4)23,901 (Charlotte, North Carolina)22-22
45February 7, 1990Phoenix Suns124–128McKey (26)Polynice (8)McMillan (8)11,420 (Seattle, Washington)22–23
46February 13, 1990Portland Trail Blazers106–110McDaniel (35)McKey and Cage (10)McMillan (15)12,717 (Seattle, Washington)22–24
47February 15, 1990at New Jersey Nets103–92McKey (31)McKey (14)McMillan (9)9,304 (East Rutherford, New Jersey)23–24
48February 16, 1990at Philadelphia 76ers96–100 (OT)McDaniel (25)McKey (13)McMillan (12)16,190 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)23–25
49February 18, 1990at Charlotte Hornets85–70McDaniel (20)Cage (11)McMillan (4)23,901 (Charlotte, North Carolina)24–25
50February 20, 1990at Orlando Magic117–102McDaniel (27)McDaniel and Cage (10)McMillan (17)15,077 (Orlando, Florida)25-25
51February 21, 1990at Miami Heat92–85Barros (18)Cage (12)McMillan (7)15,008 (Miami, Florida)26–25
52February 23, 1990Sacramento Kings97–85McKey (24)Cage (20)McMillan (9)13,023 (Seattle, Washington)27–25
53February 25, 1990Golden State Warriors110–102McKey (33)Cage (13)McMillan (8)11,775 (Seattle, Washington)28–25
54February 27, 1990at Los Angeles Clippers99–103Barros (28)McKey (10)McKey and McMillan (5)10,826 (Los Angeles, California)28–26
55February 28, 1990Los Angeles Lakers107–112Barros (20)McKey (11)McMillan (7)14,542 (Seattle, Washington)28–27 :
March
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
56March 2, 1990Minnesota Timberwolves99–83McKey (18)McKey (9)McMillan (10)11,272 (Seattle, Washington)29–27
57March 3, 1990at Portland Trail Blazers98–110McKey (22)McMillan and Cage (10)McMillan (7)12,884 (Portland, Oregon)29–28
58March 6, 1990Cleveland Cavaliers95–90Barros (23)Cage (13)McKey, McMillan, Barros (4)12,019 (Seattle, Washington)30–28
59March 8, 1990at Houston Rockets97–111Cage (20)Cage (14)Barros (6)16,611 (Houston, Texas)30–29
60March 9, 1990at Atlanta Hawks97–107Barros (26)Cage (10)Barros (10)14,625 (Atlanta, Georgia)30-30
61March 12, 1990Orlando Magic130–105Ellis (24)McMillan and Kemp (9)McMillan (11)10,178 (Seattle, Washington)31–30
62March 14, 1990Charlotte Hornets103–100Farmer (26)Cage (14)McMillan (13)8,115 (Seattle, Washington)32–30
63March 15, 1990at Utah Jazz95–117Polynice (18)Kemp (8)McKey (4)12,616 (Salt Lake City, Utah)32–31
64March 18, 1990at Golden State Warriors121–116Ellis (30)McKey (11)McMillan (7)15,025 (Oakland, California)33–31
65March 20, 1990San Antonio Spurs106–128Kemp (20)Cage (9)McMillan and Barros (6)14,541 (Seattle, Washington)33–32
66March 22, 1990Denver Nuggets125–118McDaniel (24)Cage (15)McMillan (16)9,830 (Seattle, Washington)34–32
67March 24, 1990at Phoenix Suns95–121Kemp (16)McKey (9)McMillan (4)14,487 (Phoenix, Arizona)34–33
68March 25, 1990at Los Angeles Lakers94–116Kemp (19)Cage (9)McMillan (6)17,505 (Inglewood, California)34-34
69March 27, 1990at San Antonio Spurs103–115Ellis (36)Cage (7)McMillan (14)14,345 (San Antonio, Texas)34–35
70March 30, 1990Golden State Warriors139–108McDaniel (34)Cage (12)Threatt (13)13,542 (Seattle, Washington)35-35 :
April
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
71April 1, 1990at Los Angeles Clippers103–104Ellis (39)Cage (21)McMillan (8)11,815 (Los Angeles, California)35–36
72April 3, 1990Portland Trail Blazers136–134 (OT)Ellis (30)Kemp (8)McMillan (4)11,414 (Seattle, Washington)36-36
73April 5, 1990Utah Jazz101–91Threatt (19)McDaniel (12)Barros (5)12,573 (Seattle, Washington)37–36
74April 6, 1990at Denver Nuggets103–119Threatt (22)Cage (11)McMillan (8)16,212 (Denver, Colorado)37-37
75April 9, 1990Sacramento Kings105–106Ellis (33)Cage (12)McMillan (12)11,678 (Seattle, Washington)37–38
76April 10, 1990at Utah Jazz102–114Ellis (30)McKey (6)Ellis (6)12,616 (Salt Lake City, Utah)37–39
77April 12, 1990Denver Nuggets113–103McDaniel (26)Cage (14)McKey (7)10,617 (Seattle, Washington)38–39
78April 14, 1990Phoenix Suns96–89Ellis (30)Cage (13)Threatt (11)12,903 (Seattle, Washington)39-39
79April 17, 1990Los Angeles Lakers101–102Ellis (28)Cage (12)McMillan (10)14,489 (Seattle, Washington)39–40
80April 19, 1990at Sacramento Kings130–118 (OT)Ellis (43)Cage (11)Threatt (12)17,014 (Sacramento, California)40-40
81April 20, 1990Los Angeles Clippers121–99Ellis (36)Cage (12)McMillan (10)12,090 (Seattle, Washington)41–40
82April 22, 1990at Golden State Warriors122-124Ellis (33)McDaniel (14)McDaniel and Threatt (6)15,025 (Oakland, California)41-41 :
1989–90 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Legend

* GP: Games played
* GS: Games started
* MPG: Minutes per game
* FG%: Field goal percentage
* 3FG%: 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

### Season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Dana Barros | 81 | 25 | 20.1 | 40.5% | 39.9% | 80.9% | 1.6 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 9.7 |
| Michael Cage | 82 | 82 | 31.6 | 50.4% | – | 69.8% | 10.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 9.7 |
| Quintin Dailey | 30 | 2 | 16.4 | 40.4% | 20% | 78.8% | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 8.2 |
| Dale Ellis | 55 | 49 | 37.0 | 49.7% | 37.5% | 81.8% | 4.3 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 23.5 |
| Jim Farmer | 38 | 0 | 10.5 | 43.8% | 29.6% | 71.3% | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 6.4 |
| Avery Johnson | 53 | 10 | 10.8 | 38.7% | 25% | 72.5% | 0.8 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.6 |
| Steve Johnson | 21 | 0 | 11.5 | 53.3% | – | 60% | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 5.6 |
| Shawn Kemp | 81 | 1 | 13.8 | 47.9% | 16.7% | 73.6% | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 6.5 |
| Xavier McDaniel | 69 | 67 | 35.2 | 49.6% | 29.4% | 73.3% | 6.5 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 21.3 |
| Derrick McKey | 80 | 80 | 34.4 | 49.3% | 13% | 78.2% | 6.1 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 15.7 |
| Nate McMillan | 82 | 69 | 28.5 | 47.3% | 35.5% | 64.1% | 4.9 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 6.4 |
| Scott Meents | 26 | 0 | 5.7 | 43.2% | – | 73.9% | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2.1 |
| Olden Polynice | 79 | 7 | 13.7 | 54% | 50% | 47.5% | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 4.6 |
| Brad Sellers | 45 | 0 | 13.0 | 42.4% | 0% | 80.3% | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 4.8 |
| Sedale Threatt | 65 | 18 | 22.8 | 50.6% | 25% | 82.8% | 1.8 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 11.4 |
    1.^ Statistics with the SuperSonics.

## Awards, records, and honors

The Sonics did not have any awards, records, and honors.

## Transactions
### Overview

| Players Added Via draft Dana Barros Shawn Kemp Via free agency Scott Meents Jim Farmer Quintin Dailey Via trade Brad Sellers Steve Johnson | Players Lost Via draft (1989 NBA Expansion Draft) Jerry Reynolds Via free agency John Lucas Via trade Alton Lister Brad Sellers |

### Trades

| June 26, 1989 | To Seattle SuperSonicsBrad Sellers | To Chicago BullsConditional 1989 first round pick |
| June 27, 1989 | To Seattle SuperSonicsConditional 1989 first round pick | To Golden State WarriorsConditional 1990 first round pick |
| June 27, 1989 | To Seattle SuperSonicsConditional 1993 second round pick | To Chicago BullsSeattle's agreement not to draft B. J. Armstrong with the 16th or 17th draft pick. |
| August 7, 1989 | To Seattle SuperSonicsConditional 1990 first round pick | To Golden State WarriorsAlton Lister |
| February 22, 1990 | To Seattle SuperSonicsSteve Johnson | To Minnesota TimberwolvesBrad Sellers |

### Free agents

Player Transactions Citation: