1993–94 Seattle SuperSonics season

The 1993–94 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 26th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the SuperSonics acquired All-Star forward, and 2-time Sixth Man of the Year Detlef Schrempf from the Indiana Pacers, and acquired Kendall Gill from the Charlotte Hornets.

With the addition of Schrempf and Gill, the SuperSonics got off to a fast start by winning their first ten games of the regular season. The team got off to a 26–3 start to the season, and later on held a league-best 35–10 record at the All-Star break. The SuperSonics posted a nine-game winning streak between March and April, won 17 of their final 19 games of the season, and finished in first place in the Pacific Division with a league-best 63–19 record, earning the first seed in the Western Conference for the first time since the 1978–79 season, where they won their first NBA championship.

Shawn Kemp averaged 18.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.1 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Gary Payton averaged 16.5 points, 6.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and Schrempf provided the team with 15.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. In addition, Ricky Pierce contributed 14.5 points per game off the bench, but only played 51 games due to a left foot injury, while Gill provided with 14.1 points and 1.9 steals per game, and Sam Perkins averaged 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Vincent Askew contributed 9.1 points per game off the bench, defensive sixth man Nate McMillan provided with 6.0 points, 5.3 assists and 3.0 steals per game also off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Michael Cage averaged 4.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kemp and Payton were both selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while head coach George Karl was selected to coach the Western Conference; it was Payton's first ever All-Star appearance. In addition, Kemp also participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for the fourth time. Payton finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Kemp finished tied in seventh place, and McMillan finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind Dell Curry of the Charlotte Hornets, and with Pierce finishing in fourth place; Payton finished in fifth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while McMillan finished tied in seventh place, Payton also finished in third place in Most Improved Player voting, with Askew finishing tied in seventh place, and Karl finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the SuperSonics faced off against the 8th–seeded Denver Nuggets, a team that featured defensive shot-blocker Dikembe Mutombo, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and second-year star LaPhonso Ellis. The SuperSonics won the first two games over the Nuggets at home at the Seattle Center Coliseum, but then lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss at the McNichols Sports Arena in overtime, 94–85 as the Nuggets tied the series at 2–2. The SuperSonics would not make it past the first round, losing Game 5 to the Nuggets at the Seattle Center Coliseum in overtime, 98–94, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series; it was the first time in NBA playoffs history that a #8 seed defeated a #1 seeded team.

The SuperSonics finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 601,369 at the Seattle Center Coliseum during the regular season. Following the season, Pierce was traded to the Golden State Warriors after feuding with Payton, and Cage signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers.