Events in Sport
- 1966-12-20 NBA awards Seattle Supersonics a franchise for 1967-68 season
- 1967-10-13 Seattle SuperSonics (now OKC Thunder) lose NBA debut game, 144-116 to the San Francisco Warriors at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Wilt Chamberlain
1967-12-01 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 52 points in 76ers' 133-109 win over Seattle SuperSonics; sets NBA record for 22 free throw misses
Wilkens Oldest MVP
1971-01-12 21st NBA All-Star Game, San Diego Sports Arena: West beats East, 108-107; MVP: Lenny Wilkens, Seattle SuperSonics, PG; oldest MVP in All-Star history (33); scores 21 points
- 1973-12-02 Capital Centre (USAir Arena) opens in Landover Maryland; NBA's Washington Bullets beat Seattle SuperSonics, 98-96 in opening game; arena demolished 2002
NBA Finals
1978-06-07 32nd NBA Championship: Washington Bullets defeat Seattle Supersonics in 7 games; MVP: Wes Unseld
- 1979-06-01 NBA Championship, Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland: Seattle Supersonics beat Washington Bullets, 97-93 for a 4-1 series victory; Seattle's first major pro sports championship win
- 1985-01-10 Lenny Wilkens becomes first to coach in 1,000 NBA games when his Seattle SuperSonics defeat the Golden State Warriors, 89-86
- 1987-02-08 37th NBA All-Star Game, Kingdome, Seattle, WA: West beats East, 154-149 (OT); MVP: Tom Chambers, Seattle SuperSonics, C
Sports History
1989-04-23 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores 10 points in his last game as a Laker in a 121-117 win over Seattle SuperSonics at the LA Forum
- 1989-11-03 NBA expansion Minnesota Timberwolves make NBA debut; lose 106-94 against SuperSonics at Seattle Center Coliseum; Tyrone Corbin T-Wolves top scorer with 20 points
- 1991-01-06 Portland Trail Blazers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 114-111 before a sellout crowd at the Portland Memorial Coliseum; marks the Blazers' 600th consecutive sellout at home
- 1993-01-14 Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton blocks 2 shots in a 96-89 win over Seattle SuperSonics; becomes only 2nd player in NBA history (along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) to record 3,000 career blocks
- 1994-01-21 Dallas Mavericks suffer 19th straight loss at Reunion Arena, 91-87 to the Seattle SuperSonics; extends an unwanted NBA record for the most consecutive home defeats
- 1995-11-04 KeyArena opens in Seattle, Supersonics beat the LA Lakers 103-89
- 1996-06-16 50th NBA Championship: Chicago Bulls beat Seattle Supersonics, 4 games to 2; the Bulls' 4th title in 6 years
- 1997-12-02 MCI Center opens in Washington, D.C., Wizards vs SuperSonics
- 2008-04-18 NBA owners give approval of a potential Seattle SuperSonics' relocation to Oklahoma City in a 28–2 vote by the Board of Governors
- 2008-07-02 A settlement is reached allowing former NBA franchise the Seattle SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; new owner Clay Bennett agrees to pay City of Seattle $45 million to wriggle out of last 2 years of KeyArena lease
Birthdays in Sport
- 1934-11-03 Bob Hopkins, American basketball forward and coach (Syracuse Nationals; Seattle SuperSonics), born in Jonesboro, Louisiana (d. 2015)
Lenny Wilkens (86 years old)
1937-10-28 American NBA Point Guard and Head Coach (Seattle SuperSonics), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1939-07-15 Don Kojis, American basketball forward (NBA All-Star 1968, 69; Detroit Pistons, SD Rockets, Seattle SuperSonics), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2021)
- 1942-05-09 George Wilson. American basketball center (NCAA C'ship 1962 Uni of Cincinnati; Olympic gold 1964; Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns), born in Meridian, Mississippi (d. 2023)
- 1943-07-12 Paul Silas, American College Basketball HOF forward (NBA C'ship 1974, 76 Boston Celtics, 1979 Seattle SuperSonics; 2 x NBA All-Star) and coach (Charlotte/NO Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats), born in Prescott, Arkansas (d. 2022)
- 1947-10-18 (John) "JJ" Johnson, American NBA basketball player, 1970-82 (Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, and 2 other teams), born in Carthage, Mississippi (d. 2016)
- 1948-07-07 Fred Brown, American basketball guard (NBA C'ship 1979; NBA All-Star 1976; NBA Three-Point % Leader 1980; Seattle SuperSonics), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 1950-11-30 Paul Westphal, American Basketball Hall of Fame guard (NBA C'ship 1974; NBA All-Star 1977–81; Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns) and coach (Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, Sacramento Kings), born in Torrance, California (d. 2021)
- 1954-07-13 David Thompson, American NBA guard, 1975-84, 4X All-Star (Denver Nuggets, Seattle Supersonics), born in Shelby, North Carolina
- 1955-10-19 Lonnie Shelton, NBA forward (NY Knick, Seattle Supersonics)
- 1955-11-14 Jack Sikma, NBA center (Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks), born in Kankalee, Illinois
- 1959-05-01 Eddie Johnson, American basketball guard/forward (NBA Sixth Man of the Year 1989; Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1959-06-21 Tom Chambers, American NBA player (Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns), born in Ogden, Utah
- 1959-08-14 Frank Brickowski, American NBA player (Seattle Supersonics), born in Bayville, New York
- 1960-08-06 Dale Ellis, American NBA basketball guard/forward, 1983-2000 (Seattle Supersonics, Denver Nuggets, and 5 other teams), born in Marietta, Georgia
- 1961-06-14 Sam Perkins, American NBA forward and center (Seattle Supersonics), born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1963-01-21 Detlef Schrempf, German-American NBA forward, 1985-2001 (Mavericks, Pacers, Supersonics), born in Leverkusen, West Germany
- 1963-06-04 Xavier McDaniel, American basketball forward (NBA All-Star 1988; NBA All-Rookie First Team 1986; Seattle SuperSonics), born in Columbia, South Carolina
- 1964-08-03 Nate McMillan, American NBA guard and head coach (Indiana Pacers 2016-19; Portland, Seattle; NBA steals leader 1994), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
- 1966-02-28 Vincent Askew, NBA guard/forward (Seattle Supersonics, Trailblazers)
- 1966-09-29 Hersey Hawkins, American NBA guard (Seattle Supersonics, Olympic bronze 1988), born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1967-11-15 Greg Anthony, NBA guard (Vancouver Grizzlies, Seattle Supersonics)
- 1967-12-21 Ervin Johnson, NBA center (Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1968-07-23 Gary Payton, American basketball guard (Olympic gold 1996, 2000; NBA All-Star 1994–98, 2000–03; Seattle SuperSonics), born in Oakland, California
- 1969-11-26 Shawn Kemp, American NBA forward (Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle Supersonics), born in Elkhart, Indiana
- 1971-11-23 Vin Baker, American NBA forward (Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks), born in Lake Wales, Florida
- 1972-07-30 Jim McIlvaine, American NBA center (Washington Bullets, Seattle Supersonics), born in Racine, Wisconsin
- 1973-04-24 Eric Snow, American NBA guard (Philadelphia 76ers, Seattle Supersonics), born in Canton, Ohio
- 1975-12-14 James Cotton, American NBA guard (Seattle Supersonics), born in Los Angeles, California
Deaths in Sport
- 2015-05-15 Bob Hopkins, American basketball forward and coach (Syracuse Nationals; Seattle SuperSonics), dies of heart and kidney failure at 80
- 2016-01-07 (John) "JJ" Johnson, American NBA basketball player, 1970-82 (Cleveland Cavaliers, Seattle SuperSonics, and 2 other teams), dies at 68
- 2021-11-19 Don Kojis, American basketball forward (NBA All-Star 1968, 69; Detroit Pistons, SD Rockets, Seattle SuperSonics), dies at 82
- 2022-12-10 Paul Silas, American College Basketball HOF forward (NBA C'ship 1974, 76 Boston Celtics, 1979 Seattle SuperSonics; 2 x NBA All-Star) and coach (Charlotte/NO Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats), dies from a heart attack at 79
- 2023-07-29 George Wilson. American basketball center (NCAA C'ship 1962 Uni of Cincinnati; Olympic gold 1964; Cincinnati Royals, Chicago Bulls, Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns), dies at 81