Last Updated on July 29, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

League Search Page > NBA > Seattle SuperSonics > Roster & Statistics

The 1988–89 Seattle SuperSonics relied on Xavier McDaniel and Dale Ellis as their primary scoring threats, while Derrick McKey contributed across the board with versatile scoring, rebounding, and defense. Nate McMillan controlled the offense as the lead playmaker and added strong defensive production, and Michael Cage dominated the boards. Seattle’s statistical profile reflected a balanced team built on rebounding, defensive activity, and multiple reliable scoring options rather than a single offensive focal point.

Roster

No. Player Pos Height Weight Age College
1 Nate McMillan G 6’5″ 175 lbs 25 North Carolina State
2 Xavier McDaniel F 6’6″ 215 lbs 27 Wichita State
3 Michael Cage F 6’9″ 225 lbs 28 San Diego State
4 Fred Brown G 6’3″ 180 lbs 40 Iowa
5 James Bailey F/C 6’9″ 220 lbs 31 Rutgers
10 Danny Vranes F 6’7″ 210 lbs 31 Utah
11 John Lucas G 6’3″ 170 lbs 35 Maryland
20 Wally Walker F 6’7″ 215 lbs 33 Virginia
21 Sedale Threatt G 6’3″ 185 lbs 25 West Virginia
22 Tom Chambers F 6’10” 220 lbs 29 Utah
31 Jack Sikma C 6’11” 230 lbs 33 Illinois Wesleyan
32 Al Wood G/F 6’6″ 193 lbs 30 North Carolina
— Bernie Bickerstaff — — — — Head Coach

Regular Season Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOPG FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Dale Ellis SG 28 82 82 38.9 27.5 4.2 2.0 1.3 0.3 2.7 20.9 .501 4.1 .478 5.6 .816
Derrick McKey SF 22 82 82 34.2 15.9 5.7 2.7 1.3 0.9 2.3 11.8 .502 1.1 .337 4.6 .803
Michael Cage PF 27 80 71 31.7 10.3 9.6 1.6 1.2 0.7 1.6 7.9 .498 0.1 .000 3.3 .743
Nate McMillan PG 24 75 74 31.2 7.1 5.2 9.3 2.1 0.6 2.8 6.5 .410 0.9 .214 2.5 .630
Xavier McDaniel SF 25 82 10 29.1 20.5 5.3 1.6 1.0 0.5 2.6 16.9 .489 0.4 .306 5.2 .732
Alton Lister C 30 82 82 22.0 8.0 6.6 0.7 0.3 2.2 1.4 6.6 .499 0.0 — 2.2 .646
Sedale Threatt PG 27 63 0 19.4 8.6 1.9 3.8 1.3 0.1 1.2 7.6 .494 0.5 .367 1.2 .818
Jerry Reynolds SG 26 56 0 13.2 7.6 1.8 1.1 0.9 0.5 1.0 6.4 .417 0.3 .200 3.0 .760
John Lucas PG 35 74 8 11.4 4.2 1.1 3.5 0.8 0.0 0.9 4.0 .398 0.9 .265 1.0 .701
Russ Schoene PF 28 69 1 11.2 5.2 2.4 0.5 0.5 0.3 0.7 5.1 .387 1.6 .382 0.8 .807
Olden Polynice C 24 80 0 10.4 2.9 2.6 0.3 0.5 0.4 0.6 2.3 .506 0.0 .000 1.1 .593
Greg Ballard SF 34 2 0 7.5 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.0 .125 0.5 .000 2.0 1.000
Avery Johnson PG 23 43 0 6.8 1.6 0.6 1.7 0.5 0.1 0.4 1.9 .349 0.2 .111 0.4 .563
Mike Champion SF 24 2 0 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 1.5 .000 0.5 .000 0.0 —
Team Totals — — 82 82 241.2 112.1 44.3 25.4 10.5 6.0 17.1 91.2 .477 9.4 .379 29.0 .746

Playoff Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TOPG FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Dale Ellis SG 28 8 8 38.0 22.9 4.0 1.3 1.4 0.1 2.6 20.0 .450 4.6 .405 4.1 .727
Derrick McKey SF 22 8 8 35.8 13.3 6.5 2.3 0.8 1.9 2.9 11.1 .494 1.1 .111 2.6 .810
Xavier McDaniel SF 25 8 8 35.1 18.8 8.4 2.8 0.3 0.6 2.8 18.0 .403 1.1 .333 5.1 .756
Sedale Threatt PG 27 8 1 25.1 12.0 1.6 6.1 2.1 0.0 1.4 10.3 .476 0.5 .250 2.5 .850
Nate McMillan PG 24 8 7 25.0 6.8 3.1 7.9 1.3 0.6 2.4 5.0 .475 0.3 .000 3.1 .640
Michael Cage PF 27 8 0 21.9 7.1 5.8 0.6 0.9 0.4 1.0 5.0 .600 0.1 .000 2.8 .409
Olden Polynice C 24 8 0 20.3 7.1 7.8 0.1 0.8 0.5 0.6 5.1 .610 0.0 — 1.6 .538
Alton Lister C 30 8 8 20.0 7.0 4.8 0.3 0.3 2.6 1.1 4.9 .436 0.0 — 3.3 .846
Russ Schoene PF 28 3 0 14.3 4.3 1.7 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 5.7 .235 2.3 .000 2.0 .833
Jerry Reynolds SG 26 4 0 10.0 5.5 1.3 0.3 0.5 1.5 1.0 5.5 .318 1.0 .250 2.5 .700
John Lucas PG 35 4 0 9.3 2.8 0.3 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 4.3 .294 0.8 .000 0.5 .500
Avery Johnson PG 23 6 0 5.2 1.8 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.0 0.0 2.0 .417 0.7 .000 0.3 .500
Team Totals — — 8 8 30.0 102.0 43.8 23.3 8.6 7.5 15.8 87.9 .454 10.0 .263 27.6 .710

Regular Season Totals

Player Pos Age G GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Dale Ellis SG 28 82 82 3190 2253 342 164 108 22 218 1710 857 339 162 462 377
Derrick McKey SF 22 82 82 2804 1305 464 219 105 70 188 970 487 89 30 375 301
Michael Cage PF 27 80 71 2536 825 765 126 92 52 124 630 314 4 0 265 197
Xavier McDaniel SF 25 82 10 2385 1677 433 134 84 40 210 1385 677 36 11 426 312
Nate McMillan PG 24 75 74 2341 532 388 696 156 42 211 485 199 70 15 189 119
Alton Lister C 30 82 82 1806 657 545 54 28 180 117 543 271 0 0 178 115
Sedale Threatt PG 27 63 0 1220 544 117 238 83 4 77 476 235 30 11 77 63
John Lucas PG 35 74 8 842 310 79 260 60 1 66 299 119 68 18 77 54
Olden Polynice C 24 80 0 835 233 206 21 37 30 46 180 91 2 0 86 51
Russ Schoene PF 28 69 1 774 358 165 36 37 24 48 349 135 110 42 57 46
Jerry Reynolds SG 26 56 0 737 428 100 62 53 26 57 357 149 15 3 167 127
Avery Johnson PG 23 43 0 291 68 24 73 21 3 18 83 29 9 1 16 9
Greg Ballard SF 34 2 0 15 6 7 0 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 4 4
Mike Champion SF 24 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 0
Team Totals — — 82 82 19780 9196 3635 2083 864 494 1381 7478 3564 774 293 2379 1775

Playoff Totals

Player Pos Age G GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Dale Ellis SG 28 8 8 304 183 32 10 11 1 21 160 72 37 15 33 24
Derrick McKey SF 22 8 8 286 106 52 18 6 15 23 89 44 9 1 21 17
Xavier McDaniel SF 25 8 8 281 150 67 22 2 5 22 144 58 9 3 41 31
Sedale Threatt PG 27 8 1 201 96 13 49 17 0 11 82 39 4 1 20 17
Nate McMillan PG 24 8 7 200 54 25 63 10 5 19 40 19 2 0 25 16
Michael Cage PF 27 8 0 175 57 46 5 7 3 8 40 24 1 0 22 9
Olden Polynice C 24 8 0 162 57 62 1 6 4 5 41 25 0 0 13 7
Alton Lister C 30 8 8 160 56 38 2 2 21 9 39 17 0 0 26 22
Russ Schoene PF 28 3 0 43 13 5 2 2 0 0 17 4 7 0 6 5
Jerry Reynolds SG 26 4 0 40 22 5 1 2 6 4 22 7 4 1 10 7
John Lucas PG 35 4 0 37 11 1 8 0 0 2 17 5 3 0 2 1
Avery Johnson PG 23 6 0 31 11 4 5 4 0 0 12 5 4 0 2 1
Team Totals — — 8 8 1920 816 350 186 69 60 124 703 319 80 21 221 157

HeatingUp Impact Index: Team Impact Spotlight

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK Impact Index* Notes Awards
Dale Ellis Primary Scorer 38.9 High 27.5 4.2 2.0 1.6 17.65 Go-to scoring option; high-volume shooter with excellent efficiency; strong perimeter threat AS, NBA3
Xavier McDaniel Secondary Scorer 29.1 High 20.5 5.3 1.6 1.5 14.75 Power forward with scoring versatility; excelled in transition; strong slashing ability 6MOY-5
Derrick McKey Wing Facilitator 34.2 Medium 15.9 5.7 2.7 2.2 13.15 Versatile small forward; reliable secondary scorer and solid defender; good spacing  
Michael Cage Defensive Anchor 31.7 Medium 10.3 9.6 1.6 1.9 11.7 Key rebounder and interior defender; consistent rim protector; low usage offensively  
Nate McMillan Primary Playmaker 31.2 High 7.1 5.2 9.3 2.7 12.15 Floor general; high assist numbers, defensive-minded; often initiates offense from PG  
Alton Lister Role Rim Protector 22.0 Low 8.0 6.6 0.7 2.5 8.9 Veteran center; defensive and rebounding specialist; limited offensive involvement  
Sedale Threatt Secondary Playmaker 19.4 Medium 8.6 1.9 3.8 1.4 7.85 Backup point guard; provides scoring punch off the bench; steady ball handler  
Jerry Reynolds Spot Scorer 13.2 Low 7.6 1.8 1.1 1.4 6.95 Bench shooting guard; contributes in bursts; decent perimeter threat  
John Lucas Veteran Backup PG 11.4 Low 4.2 1.1 3.5 0.8 4.8 Experienced point guard; situational playmaker; limited scoring  
Russ Schoene Floor Stretch PF 11.2 Low 5.2 2.4 0.5 0.8 4.95 Small forward/power forward; spot shooting role; limited defensive impact  
Olden Polynice Reserve Center 10.4 Low 2.9 2.6 0.3 0.9 3.4 Young backup center; minor minutes; provides occasional rim protection  
Greg Ballard Veteran Reserve 7.5 Very Low 3.0 3.5 0.0 0.0 3.25 Limited role in rotation; veteran presence; minimal on-court impact  
Avery Johnson Situational PG 6.8 Very Low 1.6 0.6 1.7 0.6 2.05 Third-string PG; primarily used for situational play; small contribution  
Mike Champion Fringe Bench SF 2.0 Very Low 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Minimal playing time; negligible impact