Remembering the 2005 Sonics Season
SEATTLE – The Sonics finished the 2003-04 season with a 37-45 record. Combine that with a 114-84 loss to the Clippers on opening night of the 2004-05 season, and it would have been easy for Seattle fans to temper their expectations for the year.
However, as unlikely as it seemed, ‘04-’05 would prove to be a season worth remembering.
Let’s take ourselves back. The Sonics had Mr. Sonic himself (Nate McMillan) at the helm. The team featured the lethal combination of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, who each averaged better than 20 points per game that season.
But outside of that dynamic duo, the team was filled out with a bunch of guys who really played well together that season. Antonio Daniels (11.2 ppg that season) and Vladimir Radmanovic (11.8 ppg) helped pace the team in scoring off the bench.
Joining Allen and Lewis in the starting lineup were Luke Ridnour, Jerome James and Reggie Evans.
Ridnour averaged almost six assists per game and scored in double figures, while Evans pulled down more than nine boards per night. They each knew their role and filled it perfectly.
Other notable names included Nick Collison, Ronald “Flip” Murray and Mateen Cleaves.
The Sonics definitely weren’t considered a championship contender prior to the season, but after the season-opening loss to the Clippers, the team won nine straight and 17 out of 20. All of a sudden, they were the surprise of the season.
Allen and Lewis made the All-Star team that year and led Seattle to a 52-30 regular-season record. The Sonics finished 1st in the Northwest division, securing their first division title and 50-win season since 1998.
In the first round, the Sonics dispatched the talented Mike Bibby/Peja Stojaković/Cuttino Mobley Kings in just five games. Ray Allen averaged over 32 points per game in the series, including 45 in a huge Game 4 road win. Unfortunately for Seattle, next up were the eventual-champion San Antonio Spurs at the peak of their powers.
However, the Sonics didn’t go down without a fight. San Antonio won the first two games of the series, before Seattle came back to win the next two games at home to knot up the series. It should be noted that Rashard Lewis would miss the last three games of the series with a bruised toe on his left foot. Talk about a “what could have been.”
Game 6 in Seattle went down to the wire - the Sonics fought tooth and nail to stay in the series. A Tim Duncan bank shot broke a 96-96 tie with 0.5 seconds left to play. Allen did get off a last-second 3 and, while it came close to a miracle that would have forced a Game 7, it bounced off the rim. It was a truly remarkable season, all things considered, but it was also the beginning of the end in many ways.
Coach McMillan would leave for Portland. Howard Schultz (BOO) would sell the team in 2006, and we all know how the story goes from there.
But, we remember ‘04-’05 for what it was, a pleasant surprise, an unexpected run where the scrapy Sonics, led by Allen without his co-star, went toe-to-toe with the eventual champs.