1970–71 Seattle SuperSonics season
The 1970–71 Seattle SuperSonics season was the Seattle SuperSonics 4th season in the National Basketball Association. In their second season with Lenny Wilkens as head coach, the Sonics finished in 8th place in the Western Conference with a 38–44 record. Trouble arose with the injury of top scorer Bob Rule, who tore his Achilles tendon three games into the season during a match against the Portland Trail Blazers and lost him for the remainder of the season.Offseason
During the offseason, the SuperSonics traded 10-year veteran Bob Boozer and their first round selection from the 1969 NBA draft, Lucius Allen to the Milwaukee Bucks for Don Smith . Despite the early retirement announcement made by 24-year-old Smith to the Sonics' front office, he joined the team and played in 61 games in the regular season.Draft picks
Note: only draft picks who participated in at least one game in the NBA are listed.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 6 | Jim Ard | Forward / Center | United States | Cincinnati |
| 2 | 20 | Jake Ford | Guard | United States | Maryland Eastern Shore |
| 2 | 22 | Pete Cross | Forward / Center | United States | San Francisco |
| 3 | 40 | Gar Heard | Forward | United States | Oklahoma |
Roster
Depth chart
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
Player statistics
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| | 55 | – | 14.1 | .414 | – | .699 | 4.1 | .8 | – | – | 5.0 |
| 78 | – | 16.5 | .470 | – | .728 | 3.1 | 1.2 | – | – | 7.4 |
| 79 | – | 27.8 | .442 | – | .690 | 12.0 | 1.4 | – | – | 8.0 |
| 4 | – | 35.5 | .480 | – | .833 | 11.5 | 1.8 | – | – | 29.8 |
| 5 | – | 13.6 | .360 | – | .727 | 1.8 | 1.8 | – | – | 6.8 |
| 33 | – | 35.2 | .449 | – | .734 | 12.0 | 1.5 | – | – | 20.6 |
| 65 | – | 15.8 | .381 | – | .656 | 5.0 | .7 | – | – | 5.9 |
| 79 | – | 27.1 | .446 | – | .778 | 5.5 | 1.6 | – | – | 14.6 |
| 79 | – | 23.1 | .463 | – | .750 | 6.1 | 1.4 | – | – | 9.3 |
| 61 | – | 20.9 | .441 | – | .739 | 7.7 | .7 | – | – | 10.9 |
| 82 | – | 34.4 | .531 | – | .837 | 3.1 | 4.3 | – | – | 19.4 |
| 63 | – | 12.2 | .472 | – | .676 | 1.6 | 2.9 | – | – | 5.6 |
| 71 | – | 37.2 | .419 | – | .803 | 4.5 | 9.2 | – | – | 19.8 |
| 79 | – | 20.3 | .466 | – | .664 | 2.4 | 2.8 | – | – | 10.5 |
Overview
The Sonics signed Haywood as a free agent after he spent a season with the American Basketball Association's Denver Rockets, who signed Haywood after his sophomore year at the University of Detroit Mercy under a hardship clause. Because eligibility rules of the National Basketball Association at the time required a span of four years after high school graduation for a player to be picked by any team, a legal battle ensued, with the federal court ruling in favor of Haywood.Trades
