The 1990’s Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp Era

Shawn Kemp was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in the first round of the NBA draft in 1989 and immediately became a recognizable force in the NBA.

He was a premier highflyer in the NBA and with his outstanding leaping skills, he made exceptional plays and dunks that gave the NBA an exciting entertainment and highlights.

In the 1990 NBA draft, the Seattle Supersonics selected Gary Payton as the second overall pick. He was already expected to be a great player as he struggled in his first two seasons, just averaging 8.2 points per game.

He proved the critics wrong soon enough he get used to NBA plays, and became one of the league’s best point guards. Along with Shawn Kemp, they formed the “Sonic Boom”, one of the best exciting and famous tandems in the history of the NBA.

The Sonics’notable cast along with Payton and Kemp were Detlef Schrempf, Sam Perkins and Nate McMillan. With George Karl starting as the head coach of the Sonics in 1992, it was the return of the team to a better season and playoff ranking.

With the progress and improvement of the tandem of Payton and 27 record in the 1992-93 season and reached Kemp along with the team, they finished the season with a 55-the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

In the 1993-94 NBA season, the Supersonics are still growing and improving, they notched the best record in that season of the NBA with 63 wins and 19 losses but it was the embarrassing postseason history in the making for them. The 8th seed Denver Nuggets defeats the Sonics and became the only first seed team to lose to an 8th seeded team at that time.

The next season, they finished it as the second place with a 57-25 record and had an early departure in the postseason. In the 1995-1996 NBA season, the Sonics had their best season and they had the strongest roster that they have acquired or ever had, they had a standing of 64 wins and 18 losses, the best of the franchise.

To name the recognizable and notable players in that season was Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Detlef Schrempf, Hersey Hawkins, Nate McMillan and Sam Perkins.

That deep roster of the Sonics was the key to their success that leads them in the NBA Finals. They lost to the best Chicago Bulls with the record of 72 wins and 10 losses in the Finals in six games. The next two seasons after that, they remained a top team in the Western Conference up until some retired like Nate McMillan in the 1997-98 season and George Karl end his job as the head coach of the Sonics.

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