1992–93 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1992–93 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 25th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. During the first month of the regular season, the SuperSonics acquired Vincent Askew from the Sacramento Kings.

Early into the regular season, the SuperSonics traveled overseas to Yokohama, Japan to play their first two games against the Houston Rockets at the Yokohama Arena. In the first game on November 6, 1992, the SuperSonics were the road team and defeated the Rockets by a score of 111–94; Shawn Kemp posted a double-double of 29 points and 20 rebounds, while Ricky Pierce scored 19 points, and Eddie Johnson added 16 points off the bench. In the second game on November 7, the SuperSonics were the home team and defeated the Rockets by a score of 89–85; Nate McMillan finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals off the bench, while Kemp posted a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Both games had an attendance of 14,544 fans at the Yokohama Arena.

With George Karl in his first full season as the team's head coach, the SuperSonics won their first four games of the regular season, posted a six-game winning streak in January, which led to a 23–8 start to the season, and later on held a 33–17 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Benoit Benjamin, and rookie shooting guard, and top draft pick Doug Christie out of Pepperdine University to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Sam Perkins. The SuperSonics posted a 10-game winning streak between February and March, and posted an eight-game improvement over the previous season by finishing in second place in the Pacific Division with a 55–27 record, and earning the third seed in the Western Conference.

Kemp averaged 17.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.9 blocks per game, while Pierce averaged 18.2 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Gary Payton provided the team with 13.5 points, 4.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In addition, sixth man Johnson contributed 14.4 points per game off the bench, while Derrick McKey provided with 13.4 points and 1.4 steals per game, and Perkins averaged 12.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 30 games after the trade. Meanwhile, Dana Barros contributed 7.8 points per game, McMillan provided with 7.5 points, 5.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game, Michael Cage averaged 6.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, and Askew contributed 6.0 points per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Kemp was selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance. In addition, Kemp was also selected to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, but withdrew due to a sore right thumb injury, while Barros participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout. Kemp finished tied in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Payton finished in sixth place in Most Improved Player voting, with Kemp finishing tied in eleventh place, and Karl finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1993 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics faced off against the 6th–seeded Utah Jazz, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Karl Malone, All-Star guard John Stockton, and Jeff Malone. The SuperSonics won Game 1 over the Jazz at home, 99–85 at the Seattle Center Coliseum, but then lost the next two games, which included a Game 3 loss on the road, 90–80 at the Delta Center as the Jazz took a 2–1 series lead. However, the SuperSonics managed to win the next two games, including a Game 5 win over the Jazz at the Seattle Center Coliseum, 100–92 to win in a hard-fought five-game series.

In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion Rockets, a team that featured All-Star center, and Defensive Player of the Year, Hakeem Olajuwon, All-Star forward Otis Thorpe, and Vernon Maxwell. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the SuperSonics had home-court advantage in the series. The SuperSonics took a 2–0 series lead over the Rockets, before losing the next two games on the road at the The Summit. After winning Game 5 at the Seattle Center Coliseum, 120–95, the SuperSonics lost Game 6 to the Rockets at The Summit, 103–90. With the series tied at 3–3, the SuperSonics won Game 7 over the Rockets at the Seattle Center Coliseum in overtime, 103–100 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series.

In the Western Conference Finals, the SuperSonics then faced off against the top–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Phoenix Suns, who were led by the All-Star trio of Most Valuable Player of the Year, Charles Barkley, three-point specialist Dan Majerle, and Kevin Johnson. The Suns took a 3–2 series lead, but the SuperSonics managed to win Game 6 at the Seattle Center Coliseum, 118–102 to even the series. However, the SuperSonics lost Game 7 to the Suns on the road, 123–110 at the America West Arena, in which Barkley scored 44 points along with 24 rebounds; the SuperSonics lost to the Suns in a hard-fought seven-game series. The Suns would advance to the 1993 NBA Finals, but would lose to the 2-time defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls in six games.

The SuperSonics finished twelfth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 646,589 at the Seattle Center Coliseum during the regular season. Following the season, McKey was traded to the Indiana Pacers, and Johnson and Barros were both dealt to the Charlotte Hornets, who then sent Barros to the Philadelphia 76ers two days later.