If and when Seattle lands a new NBA team, I want to see this uniform design come back. The half basketball with the Seattle skyline was the best logo ever.
Before the 1999 New York Knicks making the NBA Finals as an eighth seed. Before the 2007 Golden State Warriors pulled it off against the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks in a best-of-seven. You have the 1994 Denver Nuggets making the first #8 over #1 first-round upset.
Dan Issel made an appearance inside Ball Arena for the 2023 NBA Finals. The Denver Nuggets winning the 2023 NBA title is another great moment in their history.
One of the worst moments in my life... As a Sonics fan I was depressed for about a month after this... I think the part that hurt so bad was that Seattle team probably would a made it to the finals had they won this series because Utah or the Rockets Seattle had there number... This Nuggets team was just a tough group that peeked at the right time... I just learned to tip my hat to um and respect what they accomplished...NOT and easy task beating that Seattle team 3 times in a row....
Knicks fan here. As good as the Houston Rockets were that year, I have to agree with you. The Sonics had the Rockets number, and I don’t believe the Rockets make it to the NBA finals if they have to go through the Sonics. What would’ve happened with a Knicks and sonics matchup, is anyone’s guess.
As a lifelong, diehard Rockets/Nuggets fan, this is still my favorite moment. The heart and tenacity the 93-94"Nuggets had was awesome. A damn shame they couldn't build on that momentum the following seasons.
I didn't see any goaltending by Mutumbo in game 5, they were just great blocks as much as I hate to say it. Shawn Kemp got away with some goal tending as well. Typical of a Seattle team to let the opponent hang around like that with plenty of opportunities to put them away, including two overtime meltdowns.
The Denver Nuggets advancing to the 2020 Western Conference Finals after overcoming two 3-1 series leads against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers brought me here.
Back when you could hip hug. This game Brian Williams (Bison Dele) did well. You had Rodney Rogers, Brian Stith and Reggie Williams. As well as Mt Mutumbo. Nuggets had pieces but Issel wasn't there.
Yep the next year 95 was the year I got into sports nba and nfl and I remember playing nba live 95 on super nintendo. and also the sonics losting to Jordan and the Bulls in the 96 finals. But man I wish I could of seen this series cuz after 95 the nuggets didnt make the playoffs until we drafted Melo in the 04 playoffs
The Sonics were an open court team in the playoffs teams that play the half court game usually end up winning. That's why I don't believe the "Rockets got lucky avoiding them" myth because because both the Rockets and the Jazz who the Sonics would've had to face in the following round were also half court teams, when Drexler was with the Rockets they played more uptempo which favored the Sonics heavily with Houston not having a legit PF at the time.
Even though Seattle was Goliath in that series, Mutombo did seem like Goliath at the end of the final game: the big tall guy falling down and lying on his back, except in celebration with a smile on his face. And a ball in his hands like some prize.
that series haunts me to this day. that was, quite literally, the only three-game losing streak the sonics had all season. but this was NOT the beginning of the end in Seattle. 2 years later, they played tough against a Jordan-led Bulls team in the Finals. hoops was alive and well, despite the fact that the we'd missed their best chance to win a championship (no Jordan in NBA) the year of the collapse. the end of the sonics was when Ackerley sold the team to Schultz. he's an entitled loser.
Seattle had been making progress leading up to this with Kemp and Payton. 1991- make playoffs 1992- win a playoff series 1993- win 2 playoff series Each year,, going farther, But in 1994, when it seemed like they would take that final step, they instead went backwards. To think an inexperienced Nuggets team beat a SEA team that had made it to Game 7 of the ‘93 West Finals. Heck, Seattle has been in a first round game 5 the prior year with Utah so it’s not like this was unfamiliar territory
In game 4 the Sonics led by 3 with 40 seconds left and Shawn Kemp (79% FT shooter) at the line. If he had hit just one of those goddamn free throws, the Sonics win in 4 and probably go on to win the title. I was 15 at the time and remember this very vividly. Of course, he bricks both and Robert Back comes down and nails the 3 to tie the game, because GP tripped trying to defend him. Nightmare.
@funkyflights man this was our year too haha... to this day i still think we should have started Perkins in this series not Cage to make Mutumbo guard someone
@cburns1689 I hear ya...yeah starting Perk would a been good to try and draw Mutombo out of the paint... Denver was just backing off and forcing Seattle to try and shoot the ball because Payton and Gill were not great outside shooters at this time... Shremph and Perk were both great shooting outside.. But we kept forcing it in the paint playing right into Mutombo's hands...
Good point! Would've been nice for them to beat the Jazz and become the 1st team to overcome a 3-0 series lead. I don't think they would've beaten the Rockets though. Houston would've won in 4 or 5 games.
The Rockets were winning the West regardless of the Sonics, with Dream playing at such a high level they were the team best built to win the conference much less the championship. The reason he struggled in the series the Sonics won in a sweep was the Rockets by that point had an undersized frontline which the Sonics exploited with Schrempf and Perkins being bigs that stretched the floor which cancelled out the Rockets shooters. This was a problem for the Rockets on defense with Dream being neutralized in the paint not having help in the interior.
@sinanyongacoglu Not too long ago, the first round was best of five, while the others were still best of seven. They have since changed it to all best of seven series.
I'm a Celtics fan, but I supported the Nuggets in the '94 Play-Offs when the C's were simply mediocre. The Nuggets had championship quality in Mutombo, Reggie Slater, LaPhonso Ellis, Brian Stith, Mahmoud, and co. I was lucky to watch Games1, 4, &5 and was maybe happier than Mutombo himself with this major upset! Yeah, the NBA had real men playing the game, unlike today's spoiled bums!!!
This is a prime example of playing games with inferior teams in the playoffs had Seattle played with a sense of urgency they would have swept Denver in the playoffs and I hope superior teams in the NBA learn their lesson to not play games with teams that they supposed to beat in the playoffs
It was the Nuggets half court defense slowing the Sonics offense. The Sonics usually shot the lights out in games when it was a defensive slugfest they were more vulnerable in those situations. The thing is the Sonics had an even worse eFG% and TS% against the Rockets in their regular season series than they did against the Nuggets which debunks the "Sonics were a bad matchup for them" myth. The Sonics would've had similar problems scoring on the Rockets defense, in 96 their eFG% and TS% were the best out of all the teams the Rockets went up against with Chucky Brown at the PF position rather than Otis Thorpe. Not surprising the same thing happened in the playoffs with it being a sweep.
No the sonics choked. They choked big time. That series was the definition of a tank job. That series should've ended in four games. If only Shawn Kemp had made one freethrow in game 4. But he didn't and they lost.
It wasn't just a choke, it was first George Karl flying back to Seattle and back to Denver between Games 3 and 4, Not adjusting to the sudden up-tempo Nuggets, not guarding Rauf and in game 5, SEVEN goaltending calls against MuDumbo that were never called. WE BLEW IT in '94.
Dikembe averaged 6.2 blocks (!) this series, and held a prime Shawn Kemp to 14.8ppg on 37.1% shooting. Mt Mutombo played out of his mind!
And the Nuggets just let him walk a couple years later 🤦♂️
If and when Seattle lands a new NBA team, I want to see this uniform design come back. The half basketball with the Seattle skyline was the best logo ever.
NBA needs to bring back the sonics.
Robert Pack dunk on Kemp was filthy😱
Before the 1999 New York Knicks making the NBA Finals as an eighth seed. Before the 2007 Golden State Warriors pulled it off against the defending Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks in a best-of-seven.
You have the 1994 Denver Nuggets making the first #8 over #1 first-round upset.
It almost was the Lakers before the suns came back to win the series after being down 0-2 in last years playoffs.
Dan Issel made an appearance inside Ball Arena for the 2023 NBA Finals.
The Denver Nuggets winning the 2023 NBA title is another great moment in their history.
One of the worst moments in my life... As a Sonics fan I was depressed for about a month after this... I think the part that hurt so bad was that Seattle team probably would a made it to the finals had they won this series because Utah or the Rockets Seattle had there number... This Nuggets team was just a tough group that peeked at the right time... I just learned to tip my hat to um and respect what they accomplished...NOT and easy task beating that Seattle team 3 times in a row....
Knicks fan here. As good as the Houston Rockets were that year, I have to agree with you. The Sonics had the Rockets number, and I don’t believe the Rockets make it to the NBA finals if they have to go through the Sonics. What would’ve happened with a Knicks and sonics matchup, is anyone’s guess.
As a lifelong, diehard Rockets/Nuggets fan, this is still my favorite moment. The heart and tenacity the 93-94"Nuggets had was awesome. A damn shame they couldn't build on that momentum the following seasons.
These were the days and times of the REAL NBA!!!
Sagittarius1500 how is that people were surprised that a number 8 seed beats a number 1
I always say that. Today the NBA is all about greedy pussies
The most shocking upset I ever saw
If UrinatingTree had been around, the rant would have been epic.
I didn't see any goaltending by Mutumbo in game 5, they were just great blocks as much as I hate to say it. Shawn Kemp got away with some goal tending as well. Typical of a Seattle team to let the opponent hang around like that with plenty of opportunities to put them away, including two overtime meltdowns.
great moment thanks so much for posting this video.
dan issel looks like goldmember
The Denver Nuggets advancing to the 2020 Western Conference Finals after overcoming two 3-1 series leads against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers brought me here.
Thats my city baby Denver. Was 5 years old then 1994 yeah
Christian Quinones I was 22 living on Quebec and Leetsdale
Great moment
Back when you could hip hug. This game Brian Williams (Bison Dele) did well. You had Rodney Rogers, Brian Stith and Reggie Williams. As well as Mt Mutumbo. Nuggets had pieces but Issel wasn't there.
that dikembe moment is priceless.
Yep the next year 95 was the year I got into sports nba and nfl and I remember playing nba live 95 on super nintendo. and also the sonics losting to Jordan and the Bulls in the 96 finals. But man I wish I could of seen this series cuz after 95 the nuggets didnt make the playoffs until we drafted Melo in the 04 playoffs
Seeing captain wiggle finger rolling on the floor crying crushed me as a Sonics fan .. still does
I still think this was the biggest upset in nba history.. the Sonics were just fucking stacked top to bottom in 94
The Sonics were an open court team in the playoffs teams that play the half court game usually end up winning. That's why I don't believe the "Rockets got lucky avoiding them" myth because because both the Rockets and the Jazz who the Sonics would've had to face in the following round were also half court teams, when Drexler was with the Rockets they played more uptempo which favored the Sonics heavily with Houston not having a legit PF at the time.
Nuggets fan here...
I used to have this game on tape... Unfortunately its been long lost.
I went nuts when they won this game.
Damn what an upset!
That was like a team winning the title!!!!! It was amazing
Even though Seattle was Goliath in that series, Mutombo did seem like Goliath at the end of the final game: the big tall guy falling down and lying on his back, except in celebration with a smile on his face. And a ball in his hands like some prize.
whats the music called at 1 min 20
that series haunts me to this day. that was, quite literally, the only three-game losing streak the sonics had all season. but this was NOT the beginning of the end in Seattle. 2 years later, they played tough against a Jordan-led Bulls team in the Finals. hoops was alive and well, despite the fact that the we'd missed their best chance to win a championship (no Jordan in NBA) the year of the collapse. the end of the sonics was when Ackerley sold the team to Schultz. he's an entitled loser.
can anyone tell me whats the background music starting at 2:43?
I remember this series. I predicted the Nuggets in 5 before the series started and I good laughed at.
Seattle had been making progress leading up to this with Kemp and Payton.
1991- make playoffs
1992- win a playoff series
1993- win 2 playoff series
Each year,, going farther,
But in 1994, when it seemed like they would take that final step, they instead went backwards.
To think an inexperienced Nuggets team beat a SEA team that had made it to Game 7 of the ‘93 West Finals.
Heck, Seattle has been in a first round game 5 the prior year with Utah so it’s not like this was unfamiliar territory
In game 4 the Sonics led by 3 with 40 seconds left and Shawn Kemp (79% FT shooter) at the line. If he had hit just one of those goddamn free throws, the Sonics win in 4 and probably go on to win the title. I was 15 at the time and remember this very vividly.
Of course, he bricks both and Robert Back comes down and nails the 3 to tie the game, because GP tripped trying to defend him.
Nightmare.
Nick C wow
Dikembe un vrai monstre
That was a mile high upset.
@funkyflights man this was our year too haha... to this day i still think we should have started Perkins in this series not Cage to make Mutumbo guard someone
R.I.P Dikembe Mutombo
Sonics vs Knicks in the finals would have been intense
@cburns1689
I hear ya...yeah starting Perk would a been good to try and draw Mutombo out of the paint... Denver was just backing off and forcing Seattle to try and shoot the ball because Payton and Gill were not great outside shooters at this time... Shremph and Perk were both great shooting outside.. But we kept forcing it in the paint playing right into Mutombo's hands...
Good point! Would've been nice for them to beat the Jazz and become the 1st team to overcome a 3-0 series lead. I don't think they would've beaten the Rockets though. Houston would've won in 4 or 5 games.
You know if the NBA today would followed the 1st round playoff with 3 wins, Lakers 2011 would have been out.
The Rockets were winning the West regardless of the Sonics, with Dream playing at such a high level they were the team best built to win the conference much less the championship. The reason he struggled in the series the Sonics won in a sweep was the Rockets by that point had an undersized frontline which the Sonics exploited with Schrempf and Perkins being bigs that stretched the floor which cancelled out the Rockets shooters. This was a problem for the Rockets on defense with Dream being neutralized in the paint not having help in the interior.
It's funny. George Karl coaches the Nuggets now.
@sinanyongacoglu Not too long ago, the first round was best of five, while the others were still best of seven. They have since changed it to all best of seven series.
@src1tube unfortunaley me too.... as a sonics fan its still something im sad about hha
The nuggets heard that Seattle checked out of the hotel and knew they were going to win game 3
I'm a Celtics fan, but I supported the Nuggets in the '94 Play-Offs when the C's were simply mediocre. The Nuggets had championship quality in Mutombo, Reggie Slater, LaPhonso Ellis, Brian Stith, Mahmoud, and co. I was lucky to watch Games1, 4, &5 and was maybe happier than Mutombo himself with this major upset! Yeah, the NBA had real men playing the game, unlike today's spoiled bums!!!
Could George Karl be on the short end again in this matchup in 2011?
this game pissed me the fuck off. i thought the sonics had the championship fo sho
Sounds much better.
Excuse me... Robert PACK, who apparently after the 94 playoffs disappeared off the face of the Earth.
This is a prime example of playing games with inferior teams in the playoffs had Seattle played with a sense of urgency they would have swept Denver in the playoffs and I hope superior teams in the NBA learn their lesson to not play games with teams that they supposed to beat in the playoffs
It was the Nuggets half court defense slowing the Sonics offense. The Sonics usually shot the lights out in games when it was a defensive slugfest they were more vulnerable in those situations.
The thing is the Sonics had an even worse eFG% and TS% against the Rockets in their regular season series than they did against the Nuggets which debunks the "Sonics were a bad matchup for them" myth. The Sonics would've had similar problems scoring on the Rockets defense, in 96 their eFG% and TS% were the best out of all the teams the Rockets went up against with Chucky Brown at the PF position rather than Otis Thorpe. Not surprising the same thing happened in the playoffs with it being a sweep.
I laughed so hard when this happened!
+Brian Julien lol narcissist!!
Jinga Mavi who?
Brian Julien don't take it seriously ... was a joke!!
1:25 kemp nearly got posterized lol
oh that's a poster alright
No the sonics choked. They choked big time. That series was the definition of a tank job. That series should've ended in four games. If only Shawn Kemp had made one freethrow in game 4. But he didn't and they lost.
4:08 DAFUQ MIKE BROWN?!!
I peeped him too...lol...still kissing star ass back then
taintedtapper 4:08
Anyone here after Jamal did his thing
...back when the Sonics were good ...or even still in existence, for that matter!
An anti-championship curse.
Is there another kind of curse in sports?
A George Karl special…
@IwasBannedfromYtube Um, why? Lakers won 4-2... If it was 3 wins it would have been 3-2. They may get out the 2nd round though which sucks
Classic
yeah...even UW basketball got cheated out of a possible championship in 2006
Lakers were #2 this year.. I am a Lakers fan. Just letting you know. Spurs lost and so glad.
what was 4:12
Lilac
It wasn't just a choke, it was first George Karl flying back to Seattle and back to Denver between Games 3 and 4, Not adjusting to the sudden up-tempo Nuggets, not guarding Rauf and in game 5, SEVEN goaltending calls against MuDumbo that were never called. WE BLEW IT in '94.
ha they upseted OKC
This was the funniest shit I e ever seen.
sit down.
the sonics lost cause karl couldn't coach in big games they had sam perkins as a post up player and 3 point shooter and he was left out of the offense
George Karl is a bad coach, thats why!
@bigjoe23465 ROFL lol