The 1989–90 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 22nd season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. It was the final season for Bernie Bickerstaff as head coach of the SuperSonics.
Season summary
Off-season In the 1989 NBA draft, the SuperSonics selected point guard Dana Barros out of Boston College with the 16th overall pick, and also selected power forward Shawn Kemp out of Trinity Valley Community College with the 17th overall pick.
Regular season With the addition of Barros and Kemp, the SuperSonics played around .500 in winning percentage with a 7–7 start to the regular season. After an 18–16 start to the season, the team fell below .500 by posting a five-game losing streak in January, as the team later on held a 22–23 record at the All-Star break. The SuperSonics posted a five-game winning streak in February, which led to a 28–25 record as of February 25, 1990. However, the team played below .500 for the remainder of the season, and finished in fourth place in the Pacific Division with a 41–41 record; the SuperSonics lost the eighth seed in the Western Conference to the Houston Rockets, who finished with the same record, but were ahead after tie-breaks as the SuperSonics did not qualify for the NBA playoffs.
Dale Ellis led the SuperSonics 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, and Barros contributed 9.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Kemp averaged 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, Nate McMillan provided with 6.4 points, 7.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and Olden Polynice provided with 4.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Kemp participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. The SuperSonics finished 26th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 473,277 at the Seattle Center Coliseum during the regular season, which was the second-lowest in the league.
Notable highlights One notable highlight of the regular season occurred on November 9, 1989, in a road game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center; the SuperSonics lost to the Bucks in a quintuple-overtime game, 155–154. Ellis scored 53 points in 69 minutes, while McDaniel posted a double-double of 37 points and 13 rebounds in 68 minutes.
Aftermath This was also McDaniel's final full season in Seattle, as he would be 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 Boston College 1 17 Shawn Kemp PF / C Trinity Valley CC
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
Game log
|| 1 || November 3, 1989 || Minnesota Timberwolves || 106–94 || Ellis (33) || Cage (11) || Threatt (6) || 13,805(Seattle, Washington) || 1–0 |- || 2 || November 4, 1989 || at Sacramento Kings || 100–107 || Cage (24) || Cage (13) || McMillan and Barros (4) || 17,104(Sacramento, California) || 1-1 |- || 3 || November 7, 1989 || Charlotte Hornets || 128–88 || McDaniel and Ellis (23) || Cage (14) || McMillan (9) || 9,521(Seattle, Washington) || 2–1 |- || 4 || November 9, 1989 || at Milwaukee Bucks || 154–155 (5OT) || Ellis (53) || McDaniel (13) || McMillan (10) || 14,012(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) || 2-2 |- || 5 || November 11, 1989 || at Chicago Bulls || 102–109 || Ellis (30) || Cage (10) || McMillan (10) || 16,676(Chicago, Illinois) || 2–3 |- || 6 || November 12, 1989 || at Minnesota Timberwolves || 108–97 || McKey (32) || Cage (16) || McMillan (12) || 21,702(Minneapolis, Minnesota) || 3-3 |- || 7 || November 14, 1989 || Dallas Mavericks || 109–113 (OT) || McDaniel (31) || Cage (10) || McDaniel and McMillan (5) || 9,880(Seattle, Washington) || 3–4 |- || 8 || November 16, 1989 || Washington Bullets || 111–98 || McDaniel (26) || McKey (11) || Barros (6) || 9,562(Seattle, Washington) || 4-4 |- || 9 || November 18, 1989 || Chicago Bulls || 119–110 || McDaniel (36) || Cage (10) || McMillan (10) || 14,708(Seattle, Washington) || 5–4 |- || 10 || November 19, 1989 || at Portland Trail Blazers || 109–119 || Ellis and Cage (17) || Cage (15) || Ellis (6) || 12,884(Portland, Oregon) || 5-5 |- || 11 || November 21, 1989 || New Jersey Nets || 114–84 || McDaniel (26) || Cage (15) || McMillan (11) || 12,109(Seattle, Washington) || 6–5 |- || 12 || November 24, 1989 || at Denver Nuggets || 109–122 || Barros (18) || Cage and Kemp (8) || Johnson (10) || 13,061(Denver, Colorado) || 6-6 |- || 13 || November 25, 1989 || at Dallas Mavericks || 117–70 || McDaniel (22) || Cage (14) || McMillan (8) || 17,007(Dallas, Texas) || 7–6 |- || 14 || November 28, 1989 || at San Antonio Spurs || 104–117 || Ellis (37) || McMillan (11) || McMillan (14) || 12,115(San Antonio, Texas) || 7-7 |- || 15 || November 30, 1989 || New York Knicks || 127–122 || McDaniel (37) || McKey and McMillan (8) || McMillan (13) || 13,583(Seattle, Washington) || 8–7
|| 16 || December 2, 1989 || Detroit Pistons || 120–95 || Ellis (30) || McDaniel (10) || McMillan (14) || 14,546(Seattle, Washington) || 9–7 |- || 17 || December 5, 1989 || Houston Rockets || 133–123 || McDaniel (36) || McDaniel (10) || McMillan (11) || 9,241(Seattle, Washington) || 10–7 |- || 18 || December 9, 1989 || Los Angeles Clippers || 104–100 || Ellis (28) || Cage (15) || McMillan (6) || 12,548(Seattle, Washington) || 11–7 |- || 19 || December 13, 1989 || at Boston Celtics || 97–109 || Ellis (32) || Ellis and Cage (9) || McMillan (7) || 14,890(Boston, Massachusetts) || 11–8 |- || 20 || December 15, 1989 || at Cleveland Cavaliers || 101–120 || McKey (20) || Cage (13) || Johnson (5) || 15,072(Richfield, Ohio) || 11–9 |- || 21 || December 16, 1989 || at New York Knicks || 97–118 || Cage (19) || Cage (10) || Johnson (5) || 18,212(New York City, New York) || 11–10 |- || 22 || December 19, 1989 || at Detroit Pistons || 77–94 || Threatt (18) || Cage (9) || McMillan (7) || 21,454(Auburn Hills, Michigan) || 11-11 |- || 23 || December 21, 1989 || Portland Trail Blazers || 123–102 || Ellis (23) || Cage (13) || McMillan (14) || 13,190(Seattle, Washington) || 12–11 |- || 24 || December 23, 1989 || Indiana Pacers || 95–98 || McDaniel (29) || Cage (12) || McMillan (11) || 14,377(Seattle, Washington) || 12-12 |- || 25 || December 27, 1989 || Philadelphia 76ers || 110–106 || Ellis (33) || Cage (13) || Threatt (7) || 14,381(Seattle, Washington) || 13–12 |- || 26 || December 29, 1989 || Boston Celtics || 89–96 || McDaniel (26) || Cage (14) || McMillan (7) || 14,708(Seattle, Washington) || 13-13
|| 27 || January 3, 1990 || Utah Jazz || 108–119 || McDaniel (25) || Cage (19) || Johnson (8) || 12,314(Seattle, Washington) || 13–14 |- || 28 || January 5, 1990 || Miami Heat || 140–110 || Ellis (26) || Kemp (9) || Johnson (17) || 9,819(Seattle, Washington) || 14-14 |- || 29 || January 6, 1990 || Phoenix Suns || 120–110 || McDaniel (29) || Cage (10) || Johnson (11) || 14,430(Seattle, Washington) || 15–14 |- || 30 || January 8, 1990 || at Dallas Mavericks || 96–110 || McDaniel (19) || McDaniel and Polynice (8) || Johnson (9) || 16,561(Dallas, Texas) || 15-15 |- || 31 || January 9, 1990 || at Houston Rockets || 90–97 || Ellis (22) || McMillan (9) || McMillan (8) || 15,251(Houston, Texas) || 15–16 |- || 32 || January 11, 1990 || Dallas Mavericks || 98–87 || Ellis (29) || Cage and McMillan (8) || McMillan (10) || 9,397(Seattle, Washington) || 16-16 |- || 33 || January 13, 1990 || Atlanta Hawks || 113–106 || McDaniel (33) || McDaniel (14) || Johnson (11) || 14,330(Seattle, Washington) || 17–16 |- || 34 || January 15, 1990 || Houston Rockets || 105–101 || McDaniel (25) || Cage (11) || Johnson (7) || 11,404(Seattle, Washington) || 18–16 |- || 35 || January 17, 1990 || at Los Angeles Lakers || 90–100 || Threatt (26) || McDaniel (7) || McMillan (9) || 17,505(Inglewood, California) || 18–17 |- || 36 || January 18, 1990 || at Los Angeles Clippers || 95–105 || McDaniel (30) || McDaniel and McKey (8) || Threatt (6) || 11.150(Los Angeles, California) || 18-18 |- || 37 || January 20, 1990 || at Phoenix Suns || 98–117 || Threatt (21) || Cage (8) || McMillan (6) || 14,487(Phoenix, Arizona) || 18–19 |- || 38 || January 24, 1990 || Milwaukee Bucks || 112–119 || McDaniel (32) || McMillan (9) || McDaniel (8) || 10,903(Seattle, Washington) || 18–20 |- || 39 || January 26, 1990 || at Golden State Warriors || 102–114 || Threatt (36) || McDaniel (15) || McDaniel (7) || 15,025(Oakland, California) || 18–21 |- || 40 || January 27, 1990 || San Antonio Spurs || 109–98 || McDaniel (34) || Cage (9) || McMillan (8) || 14,519(Seattle, Washington) || 19–21 |- || 41 || January 31, 1990 || at Minnesota Timberwolves || 82–110 || McKey (16) || McKey (9) || McMillan (8) || 24,153(Minneapolis, Minnesota) || 19–22
|| 42 || February 2, 1990 || at Indiana Pacers || 87–86 || McDaniel (25) || Cage (12) || McMillan and Barros (4) || 12,858(Indianapolis, Indiana) || 20–22 |- || 43 || February 3, 1990 || at Washington Bullets || 94–92 || McDaniel (29) || McDaniel and Cage (8) || McMillan (8) || 12,066(Landover, Maryland) || 21–22 |- || 44 || February 5, 1990 || at Charlotte Hornets || 101–100 || McDaniel (22) || Cage (10) || McMillan, McDaniel, Sellers (4) || 23,901(Charlotte, North Carolina) || 22-22 |- || 45 || February 7, 1990 || Phoenix Suns || 124–128 || McKey (26) || Polynice (8) || McMillan (8) || 11,420(Seattle, Washington) || 22–23 |- || 46 || February 13, 1990 || Portland Trail Blazers || 106–110 || McDaniel (35) || McKey and Cage (10) || McMillan (15) || 12,717(Seattle, Washington) || 22–24 |- || 47 || February 15, 1990 || at New Jersey Nets || 103–92 || McKey (31) || McKey (14) || McMillan (9) || 9,304(East Rutherford, New Jersey) || 23–24 |- || 48 || February 16, 1990 || at Philadelphia 76ers || 96–100 (OT) || McDaniel (25) || McKey (13) || McMillan (12) || 16,190(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) || 23–25 |- || 49 || February 18, 1990 || at Charlotte Hornets || 85–70 || McDaniel (20) || Cage (11) || McMillan (4) || 23,901(Charlotte, North Carolina) || 24–25 |- || 50 || February 20, 1990 || at Orlando Magic || 117–102 || McDaniel (27) || McDaniel and Cage (10) || McMillan (17) || 15,077(Orlando, Florida) || 25-25 |- || 51 || February 21, 1990 || at Miami Heat || 92–85 || Barros (18) || Cage (12) || McMillan (7) || 15,008(Miami, Florida) || 26–25 |- || 52 || February 23, 1990 || Sacramento Kings || 97–85 || McKey (24) || Cage (20) || McMillan (9) || 13,023(Seattle, Washington) || 27–25 |- || 53 || February 25, 1990 || Golden State Warriors || 110–102 || McKey (33) || Cage (13) || McMillan (8) || 11,775(Seattle, Washington) || 28–25 |- || 54 || February 27, 1990 || at Los Angeles Clippers || 99–103 || Barros (28) || McKey (10) || McKey and McMillan (5) || 10,826(Los Angeles, California) || 28–26 |- || 55 || February 28, 1990 || Los Angeles Lakers || 107–112 || Barros (20) || McKey (11) || McMillan (7) || 14,542(Seattle, Washington) || 28–27
|| 56 || March 2, 1990 || Minnesota Timberwolves || 99–83 || McKey (18) || McKey (9) || McMillan (10) || 11,272(Seattle, Washington) || 29–27 |- || 57 || March 3, 1990 || at Portland Trail Blazers || 98–110 || McKey (22) || McMillan and Cage (10) || McMillan (7) || 12,884(Portland, Oregon) || 29–28 |- || 58 || March 6, 1990 || Cleveland Cavaliers || 95–90 || Barros (23) || Cage (13) || McKey, McMillan, Barros (4) || 12,019(Seattle, Washington) || 30–28 |- || 59 || March 8, 1990 || at Houston Rockets || 97–111 || Cage (20) || Cage (14) || Barros (6) || 16,611(Houston, Texas) || 30–29 |-