# 1970–71 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1970–71 Seattle SuperSonics season was the Seattle SuperSonics 4th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In their second season with Lenny Wilkens as head coach, the Sonics finished in 8th place in the Western Conference with a 38–44 record.
Trouble arose with the injury of top scorer Bob Rule, who tore his Achilles tendon three games into the season during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers and lost him for the remainder of the season.

## Offseason

During the offseason, the SuperSonics traded 10-year veteran Bob Boozer and their first round selection from the 1969 NBA draft, Lucius Allen to the Milwaukee Bucks for Don Smith (later known as Zaid Abdul-Aziz). Despite the early retirement announcement made by 24-year-old Smith to the Sonics' front office, he joined the team and played in 61 games in the regular season.

### Draft picks

Note: only draft picks who participated in at least one game in the NBA are listed.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 6 | Jim Ard | Forward / center | United States | Cincinnati |
| 2 | 20 | Jake Ford | Guard | United States | Maryland Eastern Shore |
| 2 | 23 | Pete Cross | Forward / center | United States | San Francisco |
| 3 | 40 | Gar Heard | Forward | United States | Oklahoma |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 | – | 30–11 | 17–22 | 1–1 | 15–7 |
| x-San Francisco Warriors | 41 | 41 | .500 | 7 | 20–18 | 19–21 | 2–2 | 12–10 |
| San Diego Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 8 | 24–15 | 15–26 | 1–1 | 14–8 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 38 | 44 | .463 | 10 | 27–13 | 11–30 | 0–1 | 10–14 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 29 | 53 | .354 | 19 | 18–21 | 9–26 | 2–6 | 3–15 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT |
| 1 | z-Milwaukee Bucks | 66 | 16 | .805 |
| 2 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Bulls | 51 | 31 | .622 |
| 4 | x-San Francisco Warriors | 41 | 41 | .500 |
| 5 | Phoenix Suns | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 6 | Detroit Pistons | 45 | 37 | .549 |
| 7 | San Diego Rockets | 40 | 42 | .488 |
| 8 | Seattle SuperSonics | 38 | 44 | .463 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 29 | 53 | .354 |
    z – clinched division title
    y – clinched division title
    x – clinched playoff spot

### Record vs. opponents

1970–71 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BAL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CIN | CLE | DET | LAL | MIL | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SDR | SFW | SEA |
| Atlanta | — | 3–3 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 0–5 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 3–2 |
| Baltimore | 3–3 | — | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 |
| Boston | 4–2 | 3–3 | — | 4–0 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 0–6 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Buffalo | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | — | 0–4 | 0–4 | 5–7 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 6–6 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Chicago | 4–1 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 4–0 | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 6–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 |
| Cincinnati | 4–2 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 0–4 | — | 5–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–4 |
| Cleveland | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 7–5 | 0–4 | 1–5 | — | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–10 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 |
| Detroit | 5–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 1–5 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 |
| Los Angeles | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | — | 1–4 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Milwaukee | 4–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | — | 1–4 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 6–0 | 5–1 |
| New York | 3–3 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | — | 2–4 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 |
| Philadelphia | 2–4 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 4–2 | — | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Phoenix | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 2–3 | — | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 3–2 |
| Portland | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 6–6 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 10–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | — | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–4 |
| San Diego | 3–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 0–6 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–0 | — | 2–4 | 5–1 |
| San Francisco | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | — | 3–3 |
| Seattle | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–3 | — |

### Game log

1970–71 game log Total: 38–44 (Home: 27–13; Road: 11–30; Neutral: 0–1) :
October: 5–5 (home: 4–1; road: 1–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
October 14
Detroit
L 117–123
Bob Rule (37)
Seattle Center Coliseum 8,153
0–1
2
October 17
Boston
W 126–114
Bob Rule (36)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,617
1–1
3
October 21
Phoenix
W 110–106
Bob Rule (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 6,923
2–1
4
October 23
Portland
W 141–111
Dick Snyder (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,201
3–1
5
October 25
@ Milwaukee
L 107–126
Dick Snyder (24)
Milwaukee Arena 9,340
3–2
6
October 26
@ Detroit
L 111–142
Don Smith (19)
Cobo Arena 2,835
3–3
7
October 27
@ New York
L 104–117
Lenny Wilkens (24)
Madison Square Garden 14,471
3–4
8
October 28
@ Cincinnati
L 118–131
Don Smith (25)
Cincinnati Gardens 1,623
3–5
9
October 30
@ Portland
W 115–104
Lenny Wilkens (35)
Memorial Coliseum 4,344
4–5
10
October 31
Chicago
W 122–119
Lenny Wilkens (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 5,727
5–5 :
November
: 7–8 (home: 5–2; road: 2–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
11
November 3
@ Chicago
L 101–113
Lenny Wilkens (18)
Chicago Stadium 8,244
5–6
12
November 4
@ Buffalo
W 126–101
Tom Meschery (22)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 2,093
6–6
13
November 6
@ Boston
L 94–116
Dick Snyder (28)
Boston Garden 5,852
6–7
14
November 7
@ Philadelphia
L 128–134
Lenny Wilkens (32)
The Spectrum 7,623
6–8
15
November 8
@ Cleveland
W 111–105
Dick Snyder (30)
Cleveland Arena 2,448
7–8
16
November 10
New York
W 93–91
Dick Snyder (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,022
8–8
17
November 13
Cleveland
W 111–91
Dick Snyder (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 6,961
9–8
18
November 16
Buffalo
L 103–112
Dick Snyder (20)
Portland, OR 3,189
9–9
19
November 19
Los Angeles
W 111–110
Don Kojis (26)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,717
10–9
20
November 20
@ San Diego
L 106–121
Three players (17)
San Diego Sports Arena 4,211
10–10
21
November 21
San Diego
L 114–115
Lee Winfield (36)
Seattle Center Coliseum 11,316
10–11
22
November 22
@ Los Angeles
L 124–149
snyuder (29)
The Forum 11,763
10–12
23
November 26
@ Phoenix
L 115–126
Lee Winfield (19)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,192
10–13
24
November 27
San Francisco
W 101–96
Lenny Wilkens (31)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,024
11–13
25
November 29
Atlanta
W 130–107
Lenny Wilkens (41)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,965
12–13 :
December
: 6–9 (home: 4–4; road: 2–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
26
December 1
@ New York
L 109–114
Lenny Wilkens (29)
Madison Square Garden 17,449
12–14
27
December 2
@ Cincinnati
W 119–111
Don Kojis (30)
Cincinnati Gardens 1,823
13–14
28
December 4
@ Baltimore
L 116–131
Don Kojis, Dick Snyder (22)
Baltimore Civic Center 3,050
13–15
29
December 5
@ Atlanta
L 100–106
Lenny Wilkens (17)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 5,922
13–16
30
December 8
@ Philadelphia
W 107–104
Three players (21)
The Spectrum 3,584
14–16
31
December 9
@ Boston
L 121–136
Dick Snyder (28)
Boston Garden 4,608
14–17
32
December 11
Los Angeles
L 118–126
Don Kojis (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,685
14–18
33
December 13
Milwaukee
L 107–124
Don Kojis (29)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,627
14–19
34
December 16
@ San Francisco
L 91–108
Lenny Wilkens (28)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 2,218
14–20
35
December 17
Philadelphia
L 117–125
Lee Winfield (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 4,739
14–21
36
December 19
Phoenix
W 135–131
Don Kojis (36)
Seattle Center Coliseum 6,443
15–21
37
December 20
San Diego
L 108–110
Lenny Wilkens (28)
Seattle Center Coliseum 5,702
15–22
38
December 22
New York
W 119–108
Tom Meschery, Lenny Wilkens (20)
Seattle Center Coliseum 8,827
16–22
39
December 26
Boston
W 124–117
Dick Snyder (29)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,806
17–22
40
December 30
Chicago
W 128–109
Dick Snyder (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,935
18–22 :
January
: 7–8 (home: 4–2; road: 3–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
41
January 1
Portland
W 121–118
Lenny Wilkens (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,012
19–22
42
January 4
@ Milwaukee
L 110–124
Don Kojis (24)
Milwaukee Arena 8,835
19–23
43
January 5
@ Baltimore
L 101–109
Lenny Wilkens (27)
Baltimore Civic Center 4,631
19–24
44
January 6
@ Boston
L 112–137
Dick Snyder (26)
Boston Garden 4,152
19–25
45
January 8
@ Buffalo
W 110–102
Lenny Wilkens (30)
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 3,024
20–25
46
January 9
@ Cincinnati
W 114–110
Don Kojis (29)
Cincinnati Gardens 3,879
21–25
47
January 14
Baltimore
W 114–110
Lenny Wilkens (34)
Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson Pavilion 7,093
22–25
48
January 17
Baltimore
L 96–111
Lenny Wilkens (20)
Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson Pavilion 7,557
22–26
49
January 19
@ Detroit
L 102–106
Spencer Haywood (24)
Cobo Arena 5,287
22–27
50
January 20
@ Atlanta
W 112–108
Lenny Wilkens (24)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 4,661
23–27
51
January 22
Cincinnati
W 132–131 (OT)
Spencer Haywood (30)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,657
24–27
52
January 24
Philadelphia
L 119–145
Spencer Haywood (30)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,841
24–28
53
January 28
Buffalo
W 120–110
Dick Snyder (35)
Seattle Center Coliseum 7,452
25–28
54
January 29
@ Los Angeles
L 115–122
Dick Snyder (26)
The Forum 12,547
25–29
55
January 30
@ Phoenix
L 116–134
Spencer Haywood (29)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 10,412
25–30 :
February
: 6–9 (home: 5–4; road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
56
February 2
@ Chicago
L 101–118
Dick Snyder (24)
Chicago Stadium 8,813
25–31
57
February 3
@ Cleveland
W 98–95
Lenny Wilkens (30)
Cleveland Arena 2,515
26–31
58
February 5
Atlanta
L 120–121 (OT)
Lenny Wilkens (30)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,136
26–32
59
February 7
San Diego
L 107–124
Spencer Haywood (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 8,259
26–33
60
February 9
@ San Diego
L 115–132
Spencer Haywood (22)
San Diego Sports Arena 4,192
26–34
61
February 10
@ San Francisco
L 122–133
Spencer Haywood (26)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 2,913
26–35
62
February 11
Cincinnati
W 119–101
Dick Snyder (31)
Seattle Center Coliseum 13,013
27–35
63
February 12
@ Portland
L 125–137
Lee Winfield (23)
Memorial Coliseum 7,313
27–36
64
February 14
San Francisco
W 146–101
Spencer Haywood (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,529
28–36
65
February 17
Portland
W 130–126
Dick Snyder (25)
Seattle Center Coliseum 6,679
29–36
66
February 19
Milwaukee
L 112–128
Dick Snyder (31)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,685
29–37
67
February 21
Philadelphia
W 135–128
Lenny Wilkens (28)
Seattle Center Coliseum 8,003
30–37
68
February 24
Cleveland
W 123–101
Dick Snyder (24)
Seattle Center Coliseum 5,631
31–37
69
February 26
@ Los Angeles
L 121–145
Tom Meschery (24)
The Forum 14,294
31–38
70
February 27
Chicago
L 114–129
Don Kojis, Lee Winfield (20)
Seattle Center Coliseum 10,801
31–39 :
March
: 7–5 (home: 5–1; road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
71
March 2
Atlanta
L 116–128
Dick Snyder (22)
Seattle Center Coliseum 9,810
31–40
72
March 5
@ San Diego
W 111–110
Dick Snyder (28)
San Diego Sports Arena 10,138
32–40
73
March 6
Los Angeles
W 121–109
Don Smith (21)
Seattle Center Coliseum 12,949
33–40
74
March 8
@ Milwaukee
L 99–104
Spencer Haywood (30)
Milwaukee Arena 10,746
33–41
75
March 9
@ New York
W 114–99
Don Smith (37)
Madison Square Garden 19,500
34–41
76
March 11
Detroit
W 130–97
Don Smith (29)
Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson Pavilion 5,681
35–41
77
March 12
@ San Francisco
L 98–111
Spencer Haywood (23)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 5,122
35–42
78
March 14
Baltimore
W 124–121
Spencer Haywood (35)
Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson Pavilion 5,810
36–42
79
March 18
Milwaukee
W 122–121
Don Smith (28)
Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson Pavilion 8,970
37–42
80
March 19
@ Portland
L 128–135
Spencer Haywood (32)
Memorial Coliseum 11,140
37–43
81
March 20
@ Phoenix
L 107–114
Jake Ford, Gar Heard (17)
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 7,134
37–44
82
March 21
San Francisco
W 119–106
Dick Snyder (23)
Clarence S. "Hec" Edmundson Pavilion 7,634
38–44 :
1970–71 season schedule :

## Player statistics

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Tom Black | 55 | – | 14.1 | .414 | – | .699 | 4.1 | .8 | – | – | 5.0 |
| Barry Clemens | 78 | – | 16.5 | .470 | – | .728 | 3.1 | 1.2 | – | – | 7.4 |
| Pete Cross | 79 | – | 27.8 | .442 | – | .690 | 12.0 | 1.4 | – | – | 8.0 |
| Bob Rule | 4 | – | 35.5 | .480 | – | .833 | 11.5 | 1.8 | – | – | 29.8 |
| Jake Ford | 5 | – | 13.6 | .360 | – | .727 | 1.8 | 1.8 | – | – | 6.8 |
| Spencer Haywood | 33 | – | 35.2 | .449 | – | .734 | 12.0 | 1.5 | – | – | 20.6 |
| Gar Heard | 65 | – | 15.8 | .381 | – | .656 | 5.0 | .7 | – | – | 5.9 |
| Don Kojis | 79 | – | 27.1 | .446 | – | .778 | 5.5 | 1.6 | – | – | 14.6 |
| Tom Meschery | 79 | – | 23.1 | .463 | – | .750 | 6.1 | 1.4 | – | – | 9.3 |
| Don Smith | 61 | – | 20.9 | .441 | – | .739 | 7.7 | .7 | – | – | 10.9 |
| Dick Snyder | 82 | – | 34.4 | .531 | – | .837 | 3.1 | 4.3 | – | – | 19.4 |
| Rod Thorn | 63 | – | 12.2 | .472 | – | .676 | 1.6 | 2.9 | – | – | 5.6 |
| Lenny Wilkens | 71 | – | 37.2 | .419 | – | .803 | 4.5 | 9.2 | – | – | 19.8 |
| Lee Winfield | 79 | – | 20.3 | .466 | – | .664 | 2.4 | 2.8 | – | – | 10.5 |
* $^a$ Statistics with the Seattle SuperSonics.

## Awards and records

* Lenny Wilkens was named Most Valuable Player at the 1971 NBA All-Star Game.

## Transactions
### Overview

| Players Added Via draft Jake Ford Gar Heard Via trade Don Kojis Don Smith Via free agency Tom Black (later waived) Spencer Haywood | Players Lost Via trade Bob Boozer Lucius Allen |
$^^$ The Sonics signed Haywood as a free agent after he spent a season with the American Basketball Association's Denver Rockets, who signed Haywood after his sophomore year at the University of Detroit Mercy under a hardship clause. Because eligibility rules of the National Basketball Association at the time required a span of four years after high school graduation for a player to be picked by any team, a legal battle ensued, with the federal court ruling in favor of Haywood.

### Trades

| September 17, 1970 | To Seattle SuperSonicsDon Smith Cash considerations | To Milwaukee BucksLucius Allen Bob Boozer |