1968–69 Seattle SuperSonics season

1968–69 Seattle SuperSonics season
Head coach	Al Bianchi
General manager	Dick Vertlieb
Arena	Seattle Center Coliseum
Results
Record	30–52 (.366)
Place	Division: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KTNT-TV
Radio	KOMO

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

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

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 Al Bianchi Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

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

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

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 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 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 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 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 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 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

Player statistics

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

• Art Harris was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
• Lenny Wilkens made his sixth All-Star appearance for the West in the 1969 NBA All-Star Game held in Baltimore, Maryland.

Transactions

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

Overview

Players Added Via draft Al Hairston Art Harris Bob Kauffman Joe Kennedy Via trade Erwin Mueller Dick Smith John Tresvant Lenny Wilkens

Players Lost Via draft (1968 NBA Expansion Draft) Bud Olsen (To Milwaukee) Bob Weiss (To Milwaukee) George Wilson (To Phoenix) Via trade Walt Hazzard

Trades

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