The 1994–95 Seattle SuperSonics season was the 27th season for the Seattle SuperSonics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The SuperSonics acquired the eleventh overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft from the Charlotte Hornets, and selected Carlos Rogers out of Tennessee State University,^[2][3][4][5] but then traded him to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Šarūnas Marčiulionis and Byron Houston,^[6][7][8] and signed free agent Bill Cartwright during the off-season; Cartwright won three championships with the Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s.^[9][10][11] For the duration of the season, the Sonics switched venues and played their home games at the Tacoma Dome while their original stadium, the Seattle Center Coliseum, was being rebuilt to keep pace with NBA standards.^[12][13] The Sonics struggled with a 3–4 start to the season, but then won 13 of their next 16 games, then posted a 10-game winning streak in January,^[14] which led them to a successful 33–12 start at the All-Star break,^[15] despite a few team troubles along the way,^[16] and with Cartwright only playing just 29 games due to a groin injury.^[17][18] The team finished second in the Pacific Division with a 57–25 record.^[19]

Three members of the team, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf were all selected for the 1995 NBA All-Star Game.^{[20][21][22][23]} Payton averaged 20.6 points, 7.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game, while Kemp averaged 18.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, as both players were named to the All-NBA Second Team. In addition, Detlef Schrempf averaged 19.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game, and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team, while Kendall Gill contributed 13.7 points and 1.6 steals per game, and Sam Perkins provided the team with 12.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Vincent Askew contributed 9.9 points per game, while Marčiulionis contributed 9.3 points per game, and defensive guard Nate McMillan averaged 5.2 points, 5.3 assists and 2.1 steals per game.^[24] Payton also made the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while McMillan was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Payton also finished in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[25] and McMillan finished in fourth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[26]

However, after a shocking first round exit in the 1994 NBA Playoffs against the 8th-seeded Denver Nuggets, the Seattle franchise would once again exit early in the 1995 Playoffs. After winning Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round, at home over the 5th-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, 96–71,^[27][28][29] the Sonics lost the next three games to the Lakers, thus losing the series in four games.^{[30][31][32][33]}

During the season, Gill and head coach George Karl both feuded with each other in public, as Gill dealt with depression.^{[34][35][36][37]} Following the season, Gill was traded back to his former team, the Charlotte Hornets,^{[38][39][40][41]} while Marčiulionis and Houston were both dealt to the Sacramento Kings,^[42][43][44] and Cartwright retired.^[45]

• 1994–95 NBA season