1987–88 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1987–88 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 21st season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. The SuperSonics received the fifth overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, and selected small forward Scottie Pippen from the University of Central Arkansas, but soon traded him to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for rookie center, and top draft pick Olden Polynice from the University of Virginia; the SuperSonics also had the ninth overall pick, and selected small forward Derrick McKey from the University of Alabama. During the off-season, the team acquired Sam Vincent from the Boston Celtics.

With the addition of McKey, the SuperSonics lost three of their first four games of the regular season, but later on posted a six-game winning streak in January, and held a 25–20 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Vincent to the Bulls in exchange for Sedale Threatt. Despite losing 9 of their 13 games in February, the SuperSonics finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 44–38 record, and earned the seventh seed in the Western Conference; it was head coach Bernie Bickerstaff's first season with a record above .500 in winning percentage.

Dale Ellis led the SuperSonics in scoring averaging 25.8 points per game, and also led them with 107 three-point field goals, while Xavier McDaniel averaged 21.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and Tom Chambers provided the team with 20.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. In addition, second-year guard Nate McMillan contributed 7.6 points, 8.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and Alton Lister provided with 5.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Off the bench, McKey averaged 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team, while Kevin Williams contributed 6.3 points per game, Russ Schoene provided with 6.0 points per game, Polynice averaged 4.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and Danny Young contributed 3.2 points and 2.8 assists per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, McDaniel was selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his first and only All-Star appearance. Meanwhile, Ellis participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third consecutive year. McMillan finished tied in eighth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1988 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion Denver Nuggets, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Alex English, All-Star guard Fat Lever, and sixth man Jay Vincent. The Nuggets took a 2–1 series lead, but the SuperSonics managed to win Game 4 at home, 127–117 at the Seattle Center Coliseum to even the series. However, the SuperSonics lost Game 5 to the Nuggets on the road, 115–96 at the McNichols Sports Arena, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.

The SuperSonics finished 16th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 475,983 at the Seattle Center Coliseum during the regular season. Following the season, Chambers signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns, while Williams was left unprotected in the 1988 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Miami Heat expansion team, and Young signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.