This is going to be an electrifying end to the regular season as the Franchises teams are battling it out to gain a spot in the fast-paced playoff scene and to grip onto their projections of earning a Finals spot. As the teams fight it out with each other a lot of the Franchises teams have a struggle with themeselves, with the players contract demands ever increasing most of the Franchises teams are finding it tough to remain afloat in the present financial predicament. In this article we will have a close look into the Seattle SuperSonics, a franchise with a rich history and massive support across the world. Several present Franchises teams are established with enormous money being invested when the Franchise For Sale catches were on the table to prospective owners. This is becoming more influential in the present economic struggle as Franchise For Sale catches are tough to establish, easily in the NBA. Most of the dependable owners are holding onto their investments through this financial struggle and are awaiting a revolution in the financial market. Throughout this time owners will be functioning their Franchises teams as a Home Based Franchise, which expresses that they are limiting costs only paying out the absolute minimum. A Home Based Franchise takes pleasure in not having much costs and therefore using the Franchises teams shrewdness to make a profit at the end of the year. The present Franchises teams are taking this lin, as they do not wish a Franchise For Sale sign hung at their HQ. Throughout a lot of the Franchises teams stories there has been major changes, in owners, players and finances as this Seattle SuperSonics article will demonstrate.
Along with the San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets), the SuperSonics were selected to the NBA in the 1967-68 season as an expansion franchise. Lenny Wilkens became the teams player-coach in 1969, and he and forward-centre Spencer Haywood led the Seattle SuperSonics to their first winning season, a 47-35 mark in 1971-72.
In the 1977-78 season, six players in the Seattle team averaged more than 10 points per game but smaller than 20 points per game. This balanced scoring was fortified by the SuperSonics hard defence and lineup play. In the playoffs Seattle unpredictably advanced to the NBA Finals, where they were narrowly beaten by the Washington Bullets in seven games. The SuperSonics attack appeared much the same the very next season, 1978-79. The SuperSonics won the Pacific Division, surged through the playoffs, and in a rematch with the Bullets, won the NBA trophy in five games.
The Seattle SuperSonics recovered from an unreliable seven-year period in 1986-87. That season Seattle featured three explosive forwards Dale Ellis, Xavier McDaniel, and Tom Chambers who each averaged more than 20 points per game. Despite the SuperSonics losing record in the regular season, Seattle defeated the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets in the playoffs before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
The Seattle SuperSonics retooled in the late 1980s with a group of young players, notably Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. George Karl, a previous San Antonio Spurs player, became head coach in 1992. He introduced a strong defence and a fast-paced offence. Seattle won more than 50 games in five consecutive seasons, 1992-93 through 1996-97, and achieved the playoffs each year. In 1993 the SuperSonics advanced to the Western Conference Finals, losing to the Phoenix Suns in seven games. The Seattle SuperSonics followed two first-round playoff exits in 1994 and 1995 by advancing to the NBA Finals in 1996. There the SuperSonics lost to the Chicago Bulls.
