The2007–08 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 41st and final season of theSeattle SuperSonics in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) and the franchise's final season of play inSeattle beforerelocating to Oklahoma City to play as theThunder. With the hiring of new head coachP. J. Carlesimo as replacement ofBob Hill, who was fired at the end of theprevious season,^[1] the SuperSonics finished in 15th and last place in theWestern Conference with a franchise worst 20–62 record. Seattle's first round draft pick and number two overallKevin Durant was chosen as theRookie of the Year at the end of the season.

FollowingBob Hill andRick Sund's departures as head coach and general manager respectively,^[1] President of Basketball OperationsLenny Wilkens was charged with the responsibility of finding replacements.^[2] For the general manager position, Wilkens hiredSam Presti^[3] and months laterP. J. Carlesimo was appointed as head coach of the Sonics.^[4] Wilkens quit a day later.^[5]Presti's first order of business involved a trade with theBoston Celtics ondraft day that sentRay Allen and the SuperSonics' second round pickGlen Davis to Boston in exchange for the Celtics' first round pickJeff Green,Wally Szczerbiak andDelonte West.^[6] Weeks later the free agent period began, and the SuperSonics' front office needed to reach a decision regardingRashard Lewis' future, since Lewis opted out of his final two years and became one of the most prized free agents in the offseason.^[7] The team finally agreed to asign and trade deal with theOrlando Magic.^[8] The other trade the Sonics made during the offseason brought 12-year veteranKurt Thomas from thePhoenix Suns.^[9]

The SuperSonics began preparations for the regular season on July 7, kicking off Summer League games inLas Vegas.^[10] The team finished with a 2–6 overall record, with rookiesKevin Durant andJeff Green leading the team in scoring in the majority of the matches.^[11][12]

At the 2007 Draft Lottery the SuperSonics got the second overall pick behind thePortland Trail Blazers,^[13] matching their highest overall selection in franchise history.^[14] With their first round pick the SuperSonics selectedKevin Durant fromTexas and forwardsCarl Landry andGlen Davis in the second round. Davis and Landry were traded on draft day to theBoston Celtics and theHouston Rockets^[15] respectively.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	2	Kevin Durant	SF	United States	Texas
2	32	Carl Landry	PF	United States	Purdue
2	35	Glen Davis(traded toBoston)	PF	United States	LSU

The SuperSonics kicked off a ten-game pre-season on October 9, with a 98–104 loss visiting theSacramento Kings. Following a victory against theCleveland Cavaliers in their next match three days later, the SuperSonics went on a 5-game losing streak before closing the exhibition tour with a victory against thePhoenix Suns inVancouver, Canada.

Kevin Durant andJeff Green's regular season debuts were in doubt, since each player had to deal with sprained ankle injuries during the pre-season.^[16] Durant managed to return in time for the season opener onHalloween night, scoring 18 points in a loss against theDenver Nuggets.^[17] After their home opener (a loss against thePhoenix Suns), chances for the team to remain in Seattle took a heavy blow, as Sonics' ownerClay Bennett made public his desire to relocate the team toOklahoma City.^[18] The SuperSonics remained on a losing streak that reached 8 games,^[19] their worst start in franchise history,^[20] and remained the only team in the league without a win before defeating theMiami Heat, followed by a Durant game-winner two days later to get past theAtlanta Hawks.^[21] The SuperSonics finished the month of November snapping a 6-game losing streak^[19] with their first home victory in a game against theIndiana Pacers, with Durant scoring a career-high 35 points.^[22] Before the win against the Pacers, the Sonics were 0–7 at home.^[19]

The Sonics registered their best record of the season in December,^[19] struggling with injuries toLuke Ridnour,Delonte West andKurt Thomas adding to the absence of centerRobert Swift.^[23][24] Kevin Durant matched again his career-high 35 points in a win against theMilwaukee Bucks,^[25] one of their four victories at home that month. After a 2–3 road trip that ended with a loss against theUtah Jazz in which the Sonics were held to one of their lowest scoring outputs in the season,^[19] the team returned to theKeyArena to close the year with a 5-game homestand.

After a loss against thePhiladelphia 76ers in the last game of 2007, the Sonics went on their longest losing streak of the season,^[19] dropping their first 13 games of January in a combined franchise worst 14-game losing streak.^[26] During the first games of the month, the team were without the services of their second best scorerChris Wilcox^[27] and point guardLuke Ridnour, who were sidelined with injuries.^[28] The Sonics halted the streak by defeating the defending championsSan Antonio Spurs and proceeded to win their next two games at home.

After managing to win only 2 of their 16 games in January, the SuperSonics finished February with a 4–8 record and snapped an 8-game losing streak of road games with a victory against theSacramento Kings, obtaining their first road win since mid-December.^[19]Robert Swift returned from his injuries and played his first game since November 11 in a loss against theChicago Bulls,^[29] but would be sidelined for the remainder of the season after two more appearances.^[30]The SuperSonics reached theAll-Star break with a 13–38 record,^[19] 10 games behind their worst record in franchise history at the time.^[31] RookiesKevin Durant andJeff Green participated in theT-Mobile Rookie Challenge against the second-year players.^[32]Near thetrade deadline, the Sonics sentKurt Thomas to theSan Antonio Spurs forBrent Barry,Francisco Elson and a2009 second round draft pick.^[33] Barry was waived the next day.^[34] The Sonics made one more move before the deadline, that sentWally Szczerbiak andDelonte West to theCleveland Cavaliers in a three-team deal with theChicago Bulls.^[35]

The Sonics finished the month of March with their worse record in the regular season, winning only two games, with losing streaks of 11 and 3 games.^[19] At this point the Sonics had a 17–57 record and were six games away from their franchise worst 23–59. On March 16, theDenver Nuggets dealt the Sonics their worst loss in franchise history,^[36] with a 116–168 score. It was the most points the Nuggets' scored since a January 11, 1984, game against theSan Antonio Spurs.^[37] Nearing the end of the month, injuries plagued the roster.Mickaël Gelabale tore his ACL during a practice and was out for the remainder of the season.^[38]Chris Wilcox re-injured his pinky finger, an injury that ultimately made him miss the remainder of the season,^[39] andNick Collison andFrancisco Elson were also sidelined with other injuries.^[40]

In April, the Sonics stretched their March losing streak to five games before winning in a double overtime match against theDenver Nuggets. After losing another three straight games, the Sonics played their last home game in Seattle, defeating theDallas Mavericks 99–95 and closing the regular season with a road victory against theGolden State Warriors. The SuperSonics finished the season with a 20–62 overall record, their worst in franchise history.

On September 21, 2007, majority ownerClay Bennett applied for arbitration by a federal judge on the issue of whether the team could break its lease on theKeyArena in 2008.^[41] Bennett initially set a deadline for October 31, 2007, for theCity of Seattle to reach an agreement regarding a new facility,^[42] and two days past that date Bennett informed theNBA commissionerDavid Stern of his intentions to relocate the team toOklahoma City.^[18] Seattle had filed a lawsuit on September 23, 2007, in an attempt to keep the Sonics from leaving before the end of their lease in 2010.^[43]

Microsoft CEOSteve Ballmer made a new offer on aKeyArena expansion on March. Ballmer proposed to pay half of the US$300 million required for the expansion and set an April 10, 2008, deadline for the City of Seattle to accept the offer.^[44] After the deal fell through, all hopes rested on the lawsuit set for June 2008.^[45]

On April 13, 2008, the SuperSonics played their last game in Seattle, defeating the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 95-99. Heartbroken fans chanted "Save our Sonics" as the game ended. On April 18, the NBA Board of Governors approved the team's relocation toOklahoma City by a 28–2 vote.Mark Cuban, owner of theDallas Mavericks andPaul Allen of thePortland Trail Blazers were the only ones against the move.^[46] On July 2, 2008, the City of Seattle and the Sonics' ownership reached a settlement that allowed the franchise to move to Oklahoma City.^[47] According to the settlement, Bennett and his group would pay $45 million immediately to the City to break the KeyArena lease, then an additional $30 million if Seattle failed to get a new team within five years. In addition, items associated with the SuperSonics' history in Seattle, including trophies, banners, and retired jerseys, stayed in the city and were placed in the Museum of History and Industry.^[48]

• ¹ Statistics with the Seattle SuperSonics.

• Kevin Durant won theWestern Conference Rookie of the Month Award for every month with the exception of February.^[49] At the end of the season, Durant was namedRookie of the Year^[50] and was selected to theNBA All-Rookie First Team alongJeff Green.

• Robert Swift missed the majority of the season aftertearing his ACL the previous season. After playing in only 8 games, Swift underwent knee surgery on March to repair a torn lateral meniscus and was out for the remainder of the season.^[51]
• Mickaël Gelabale tore his ACL during a team practice on March and was sidelined for the rest of the season.^[52]

• ^a Sent during the regular season to theCleveland Cavaliers as part of a 3-team trade that also involved theChicago Bulls.
• ^b Later waived.^[34][55]
• ^c Thomas was later traded to theSan Antonio Spurs.
• ^d Signed for the rest of the season after a 10-day contract.

• 2007–08 NBA season

• Seattle SuperSonics seasons
• 2007–08 NBA season by team
• 2007 in Seattle
• 2008 in Seattle
• 2007 in sports in Washington (state)
• 2008 in sports in Washington (state)

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