1968–69 Seattle SuperSonics season

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1968–69 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coachAl Bianchi
General managerDick Vertlieb
ArenaSeattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record30–52 (.366)
PlaceDivision: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTNT-TV
RadioKOMO
< 1967–68 1969–70 >

The 1968–69 Seattle SuperSonics season was the second season of the Seattle franchise in the NBA. The Sonics finished the regular season with a 30–52 record in 6th place on the Western Division. During the offseason, Seattle traded their top scorer Walt Hazzard to the Atlanta Hawks to bring three-time All-Star Lenny Wilkens, who would serve as head coach of the team the following year.

Draft picks[edit]

Main article: 1968 NBA draft

Note: only draft picks who participated in at least one game in the NBA are listed.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 3 Bob Kauffman Center / forward  United States Guilford College
2 16 Art Harris Guard  United States Stanford
5 52 Al Hairston Guard  United States Bowling Green State
10 122 Joe Kennedy Forward  United States Duke
11 136 Jim Marsh Forward  United States USC

Roster[edit]

1968–69 Seattle SuperSonics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 25 Hairston, Al 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1945–12–11 Bowling Green
G 12 Harris, Art 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1947–01–13 Stanford
F/C 22 Kauffman, Bob 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1947–01–12 Guilford
SG 11 Kron, Tommy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1943–02–28 Kentucky
SF 43 Lott, Plummer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1945–12–11 Seattle
PF 14 Meschery, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1938–10–26 Saint Mary's
F/C 24 Mueller, Erwin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1944–03–12 San Francisco
F/C 41 Murrey, Dorie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1943–09–07 Detroit Mercy
F/C 45 Rule, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1944–06–29 Colorado State
SG 44 Thorn, Rod 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1941–05–23 West Virginia
F/C 30 Tresvant, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1939–11–06 Seattle
G 19 Wilkens, Lenny 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1937–10–28 Providence
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season[edit]

Season standings[edit]

Western Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Los Angeles Lakers 55 27 .671 – 32–9 21–18 2–0 30–10
x-Atlanta Hawks 48 34 .585 7 28–12 18–21 2–1 26–14
x-San Francisco Warriors 41 41 .500 14 22–19 18–21 1–1 20–20
x-San Diego Rockets 37 45 .451 18 25–16 8–25 4–4 20–20
Chicago Bulls 33 49 .402 22 19–21 12–25 2–3 19–21
Seattle SuperSonics 30 52 .366 25 18–18 6–29 6–5 15–23
Phoenix Suns 16 66 .195 39 11–26 4–28 1–12 8–30
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents[edit]

1968–69 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS CHI CIN DET LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO SDR SFW SEA
Atlanta — 2–4 3–3 6–1 4–2 6–0 3–4 4–2 2–4 1–5 6–0 3–4 4–3 4–2
Baltimore 4–2 — 5–2 6–0 4–3 7–0 3–3 5–1 3–4 2–4 6–0 5–1 3–3 4–2
Boston 3–3 2–5 — 4–2 5–2 5–1 2–4 5–1 1–6 5–2 6–0 4–2 3–3 3–3
Chicago 1–6 0–6 2–4 — 1–5 3–3 3–4 5–1 2–4 1–5 4–2 3–3 4–3 4–3
Cincinnati 2–4 3–4 2–5 5–1 — 3–4 2–4 5–1 4–2 3–4 4–2 2–4 3–3 3–3
Detroit 0–6 0–7 1–5 3–3 4–3 — 3–3 2–4 3–4 3–4 4–2 3–3 2–4 4–2
Los Angeles 4–3 3–3 4–2 4–3 4–2 3–3 — 5–1 5–1 1–5 6–0 7–0 4–3 5–1
Milwaukee 2–4 1–5 1–5 1–5 1–5 4–2 1–5 — 0–6 0–6 6–2 4–2 3–3 3–5
New York 4–2 4–3 6–1 4–2 2–4 4–3 1–5 6–0 — 4–3 5–1 3–3 5–1 6–0
Philadelphia 5–1 4–2 2–5 5–1 4–3 4–3 5–1 6–0 3–4 — 5–1 4–2 2–4 6–0
Phoenix 0–6 0–6 0–6 2–4 2–4 2–4 0–6 2–6 1–5 1–5 — 1–7 2–4 3–3
San Diego 4–3 1–5 2–4 3–3 4–2 3–3 0–7 2–4 3–3 2–4 7–1 — 3–3 3–3
San Francisco 3–4 3–3 3–3 3–4 3–3 4–2 3–4 3–3 1–5 4–2 4–2 3–3 — 4–3
Seattle 2–4 2–4 3–3 3–4 3–3 2–4 1–5 5–3 0–6 0–6 3–3 3–3 3–4 —

Game log[edit]

1968–69 game log
Total: 30–52 (Home: 18–18; Road: 6–29; Neutral: 6–5)
October : 2–6 (home: 2–4; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 October 17 @ San Diego[broken anchor] L 110–128 Bob Rule (31) San Diego Sports Arena
5,332 		0–1
2 October 18 @ Phoenix L 107–116 Bob Rule (34) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
7,112 		0–2
3 October 19 San Francisco Warriors L 95–107 Bob Rule (25) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,311 		0–3
4 October 21 Baltimore L 104–111 Tom Meschery (30) Vancouver, BC
2,387 		0–4
5 October 23 San Diego[broken anchor] W 118–117 Bob Rule, Lenny Wilkens (20) Seattle Center Coliseum
3,064 		1–4
6 October 25 Atlanta W 123–112 Tom Meschery (24) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,689 		2–4
7 October 27 Baltimore L 114–126 Tom Meschery (22) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,882 		2–5
8 October 30 Phoenix L 108–115 Bob Rule (22) Seattle Center Coliseum
2,657 		2–6
November : 8–11 (home: 7–3; road: 1–8)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
9 November 2 Chicago W 101–95 Bob Rule (24) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,330 		3–6
10 November 3 New York L 108–122 Lenny Wilkens (24) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,807 		3–7
11 November 6 @ Detroit L 118–127 Rod Thorn (21) Cobo Arena
3,462 		3–8
12 November 7 @ Chicago L 105–120 Bob Rule (23) Chicago Stadium
891 		3–9
13 November 8 @ Boston W 114–112 Bob Rule (37) Boston Garden
7,606 		4–9
14 November 9 @ Philadelphia L 94–114 Lenny Wilkens (26) The Spectrum
6,756 		4–10
15 November 11 Philadelphia L 117–127 Bob Rule (29) Boston, MA 4–11
16 November 12 @ Milwaukee L 114–127 Bob Rule (28) Milwaukee Arena
4,455 		4–12
17 November 13 Atlanta L 113–142 Lenny Wilkens (27) Seattle Center Coliseum
3,102 		4–13
18 November 15 Phoenix W 128–124 (2OT) Lenny Wilkens (30) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,368 		5–13
19 November 16 Detroit W 123–119 Bob Rule (42) Seattle Center Coliseum
5,446 		6–13
20 November 17 @ Los Angeles L 94–105 Lenny Wilkens (16) The Forum
8,399 		6–14
21 November 20 Boston L 92–139 Art Harris (16) Seattle Center Coliseum
7,021 		6–15
22 November 22 @ San Diego[broken anchor] L 111–126 Bob Rule (24) San Diego Sports Arena
5,247 		6–16
23 November 23 @ San Francisco Warriors L 119–132 Lenny Wilkens (25) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
5,922 		6–17
24 November 24 Milwaukee W 141–120 Tom Meschery, Lenny Wilkens (21) Seattle Center Coliseum
3,485 		7–17
25 November 25 Milwaukee W 123–113 Lenny Wilkens (29) Vancouver, BC
2,879 		8–17
26 November 26 Chicago W 99–98 Bob Rule (28) Seattle Center Coliseum
2,895 		9–17
27 November 28 Milwaukee W 115–103 Bob Rule (27) Seattle Center Coliseum
5,210 		10–17
December : 4–11 (home: 2–5; road: 2–6)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
28 December 2 @ Phoenix W 118–108 Lenny Wilkens (33) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
2,171 		11–17
29 December 3 @ San Francisco Warriors L 122 127 Lenny Wilkens (31) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
2,116 		11–18
30 December 6 San Francisco Warriors W 109–100 (OT) Tom Meschery (29) Seattle Center Coliseum
5,941 		12–18
31 December 7 @ San Francisco Warriors W 115–107 Bob Rule (31) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
3,754 		13–18
32 December 12 Atlanta L 91–93 Lenny Wilkens (25) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,361 		13–19
33 December 14 Los Angeles L 120–136 Tom Meschery, Bob Rule (27) Seattle Center Coliseum
12,186 		13–20
34 December 15 @ Los Angeles L 114–115 Bob Rule (37) The Forum
6,878 		13–21
35 December 18 Philadelphia L 111–115 Bob Rule (36) Seattle Center Coliseum
3,389 		13–22
36 December 20 @ Milwaukee L 92–100 Lenny Wilkens (21) Milwaukee Arena
5,303 		13–23
37 December 21 @ New York L 105–131 Bob Rule (19) Madison Square Garden
13,998 		13–24
38 December 25 @ Baltimore L 112–118 Bob Rule, Lenny Wilkens (27) Baltimore Civic Center
5,261 		13–25
39 December 26 @ Atlanta L 96–126 Al Tucker (18) Alexander Memorial Coliseum
3,697 		13–26
40 December 28 New York L 108–111 Lenny Wilkens (19) Seattle Center Coliseum
7,602 		13–27
41 December 29 New York L 112–120 Art Harris (21) Vancouver, BC
2,894 		13–28
42 December 30 Phoenix W 120–118 Art Harris, Rule (24) Seattle Center Coliseum
3,920 		14–28
January : 5–9 (home: 1–1; road: 4–8)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
43 January 4 @ San Diego[broken anchor] L 105–122 Lenny Wilkens (28) San Diego Sports Arena
4,878 		14–29
44 January 6 Boston L 97–121 Bob Rule (36) Seattle Center Coliseum
6,636 		14–30
45 January 7 @ Phoenix L 112–116 Three players (23) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
2,875 		14–31
46 January 9 Cincinnati W 119–110 Bob Rule (32) Cleveland, OH
2,017 		15–31
47 January 10 @ Milwaukee L 104–115 Bob Rule, Al Tucker (17) Milwaukee Arena
4,150 		15–32
48 January 11 @ Chicago L 86–119 Lenny Wilkens (21) Chicago Stadium
3,870 		15–33
49 January 17 New York L 94–114 Bob Rule (16) Philadelphia, PA 15–34
50 January 18 @ Boston L 97–111 Bob Rule (29) Boston Garden
9,320 		15–35
51 January 21 @ New York L 106–113 Lenny Wilkens (31) Madison Square Garden
11,227 		15–36
52 January 22 @ Baltimore W 98–94 Lenny Wilkens (22) Baltimore Civic Center
3,619 		16–36
53 January 27 Milwaukee W 128–107 Bob Rule (31) Tacoma, WA
4,150 		17–36
54 January 29 Boston W 124–122 (OT) Bob Rule (26) Philadelphia, PA 18–36
55 January 30 Detroit L 118–144 Bob Rule (26) Baltimore, MD 18–37
56 January 31 @ Atlanta W 119–112 Bob Rule (32) Alexander Memorial Coliseum
3,550 		19–37
February : 6–8 (home: 5–6; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
57 February 1 @ Cincinnati L 96–111 Bob Rule (20) Cincinnati Gardens
6,114 		19–38
58 February 3 Los Angeles W 114–107 Bob Rule (38) Seattle Center Coliseum
7,721 		20–38
59 February 4 @ San Francisco Warriors W 116–111 Lenny Wilkens (28) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
2,145 		21–38
60 February 5 Philadelphia L 115–119 Art Harris, Rule (27) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,956 		21–39
61 February 7 Cincinnati W 102–97 Lenny Wilkens (32) Seattle Center Coliseum
7,350 		22–39
62 February 9 San Francisco Warriors L 120–121 Bob Rule (31) Seattle Center Coliseum
7,545 		22–40
63 February 12 Los Angeles L 92–109 Bob Rule (24) Seattle Center Coliseum
11,218 		22–41
64 February 16 Detroit W 127–119 Bob Rule (36) Seattle Center Coliseum
6,367 		23–41
65 February 18 Chicago W 114–113 Bob Rule (27) Seattle Center Coliseum
5,002 		24–41
66 February 19 Detroit L 124–131 Bob Rule (32) Seattle Center Coliseum
3,356 		24–42
67 February 21 Philadelphia L 109–115 Bob Rule (31) Seattle Center Coliseum
8,638 		24–43
68 February 23 Boston W 118–116 Lenny Wilkens (35) Seattle Center Coliseum
8,742 		25–43
69 February 25 @ Los Angeles L 111–114 (OT) Lenny Wilkens (26) The Forum
10,311 		25–44
70 February 26 Chicago L 122–124 Bob Rule (30) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,138 		25–45
March : 5–7 (home: 4–1; road: 1–6)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
71 March 1 Cincinnati W 134–122 Bob Rule (47) Seattle Center Coliseum
9,477 		26–45
72 March 3 Cincinnati L 107–113 Bob Rule (32) Seattle Center Coliseum
4,028 		26–46
73 March 4 San Diego[broken anchor] W 130–116 Lenny Wilkens (33) Seattle Center Coliseum
5,010 		27–46
74 March 8 Baltimore W 138–117 Lenny Wilkens (32) Seattle Center Coliseum
12,382 		28–46
75 March 12 San Diego[broken anchor] W 125–112 Lenny Wilkens (36) Vancouver, BC
5,998 		29–46
76 March 13 Milwaukee W 141–118 Tom Meschery (21) Green Bay, WI
3,461 		30–46
77 March 15 @ Chicago L 83–101 Lenny Wilkens (26) Chicago Stadium
5,254 		30–47
78 March 16 @ Atlanta L 127–131 (OT) Art Harris (31) Alexander Memorial Coliseum
7,190 		30–48
79 March 18 @ Baltimore L 120–130 Lenny Wilkens (26) Baltimore Civic Center
8,020 		30–49
80 March 19 @ Philadelphia L 115–136 Bob Rule, Rod Thorn (16) The Spectrum
11,474 		30–50
81 March 21 @ Detroit L 104–110 Erwin Mueller (15) Cobo Arena
4,669 		30–51
82 March 22 @ Cincinnati L 127–134 Lenny Wilkens (25) Cincinnati Gardens
2,534 		30–52
1968–69 season schedule

[1]

Player statistics[edit]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Art Harris 80 – 32.0 .395 – .641 3.8 3.2 – – 12.4
Al Hairston 39 – 7.0 .333 – .571 .9 1.0 – – 2.2
Bob Kauffman 82 – 20.2 .442 – .702 5.9 1.0 – – 7.8
Joe Kennedy 72 – 17.2 .395 – .790 3.3 .8 – – 6.2
Tommy Kron 76 – 14.8 .392 – .701 2.8 2.5 – – 5.1
Plummer Lott 23 – 7.0 .258 – .400 1.3 0.3 – – 1.6
Tom Meschery 82 – 32.6 .453 – .736 10.0 2.4 – – 14.0
Erwin Mueller [a] 26 – 18.6 .431 – .597 4.0 2.4 – – 7.0
Dorie Murrey 38 – 12.2 .387 – .639 3.9 .6 – – 5.6
Bob Rule 82 – 37.9 .469 – .682 11.5 1.7 – – 24.0
Rod Thorn 29 – 19.6 .463 – .732 2.9 2.8 – – 11.5
John Tresvant [a] 26 – 30.8 .488 – .673 10.3 2.4 – – 13.6
Al Tucker [a] 56 – 22.5 .432 – .637 5.7 1.0 – – 10.3
Lenny Wilkens 82 – 42.2 .440 .770 6.2 8.2 – – 22.4
  • a Statistics with the Seattle SuperSonics.

Awards and records[edit]

Transactions[edit]

Lenny Wilkens averaged 22.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game in his first season with the SuperSonics.

Overview[edit]

Players Added

Via draft

Via trade

Players Lost

Via draft
(1968 NBA Expansion Draft)

Via trade

Trades[edit]

October 12, 1968 To Seattle SuperSonics

Lenny Wilkens

To Atlanta Hawks

Walt Hazzard

November 15, 1968 To Seattle SuperSonics

Dick Smith

To Atlanta Hawks

Rights to Richie Guerin

January 31, 1969 To Seattle SuperSonics

Erwin Mueller

To Chicago Bulls

1970 fourth round pick
Cash considerations

January 31, 1969 To Seattle SuperSonics

John Tresvant

To Cincinnati Royals

Al Tucker

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Seattle SuperSonics 1968-69 Schedule & Results". champsorchumps.us. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
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