THE TEAM
The 1979 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series played at the conclusion of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 1978–79 season. The Western Conference champion Seattle SuperSonics played the Eastern Conference champion Washington Bullets, with the Bullets holding home-court advantage, due to a better regular season record. The SuperSonics defeated the Bullets 4 games to 1. The series was a rematch of the 1978 NBA Finals, which the Washington Bullets had won 4–3.
Dennis Johnson of the SuperSonics was named as the NBA Finals MVP, while Gus Williams of the SuperSonics was the top scorer, averaging 28.6 points per game.
Coincidentally, this series (along with the 1978 NBA Finals) was informally known as the George Washington series, because both teams were playing in places named after the first President of the United States (the SuperSonics represented Seattle, the most populous city in the state of Washington, and the Bullets represented Washington, D.C., albeit playing in nearby Landover, Maryland).
This is the most recent time that a Western Conference team not based in Texas or California has won an NBA title, and the last of only two occasions alongside the 1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers when a team from the present-day Northwest Division has won the league title, which is by 27 years the longest league championship drought for any division of the four major North American sports leagues.(2006 Indianapolis Colts) [note 1] Since then, the following Western teams have gone on to win an NBA title: the Los Angeles Lakers (eleven times), the San Antonio Spurs (five times), the Golden State Warriors (three times), the Houston Rockets (twice), and the Dallas Mavericks (once). The remaining twenty titles since 1980 have been won by Eastern Conference teams.
THE COACH
LENNY WILKINS, THE 3X HALL OF FAMER, VOTED IN AS A HEAD COACH, OLYMPIC COACH, AND NBA HOF PLAYER, ALSO THE NBA HEAD COACH WITH THE MOST WINS IN NBA HISTORY WHEN HE RETIRED.
Lenny Wilkens
 Wilkens in 1968
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 28, 1937 Brooklyn, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Boys (Brooklyn, New York) |
| College | Providence (1957–1960) |
| NBA draft | 1960 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall |
| Selected by the St. Louis Hawks | |
| Playing career | 1960–1975 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 32, 15, 14, 19, 17 |
| Coaching career | 1969–2005 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1960–1968 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1968–1972 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1972–1974 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1974–1975 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| As coach: | |
| 1969–1972 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1974–1976 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1977–1985 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1986–1993 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 1993–2000 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2000–2003 | Toronto Raptors |
| 2004–2005 | New York Knicks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach: |
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| Career playing statistics | |
| Points | 17,772 (16.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 5,030 (4.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 7,211 (6.7 apg) |
Stats  |
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Career coaching record | |
| NBA | 1332–1155 (.536) |
| Basketball Hall of Fame as player | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame as coach | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 |
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Medals
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Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as a player, as a coach in 1998, and in 2010 as part of the 1992 United States Olympic “Dream Team,” for which he was an assistant coach. He is also a 2006 inductee into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Wilkens was a combined 13-time NBA All-Star as a player (nine times) and as a head coach (four times), was the 1993 NBA Coach of the Year, won the 1979 NBA championship as the head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, and an Olympic gold medal as the head coach of the 1996 U.S. men’s basketball team.
During the 1994–95 season, Wilkens set the record for most coaching wins in NBA history, a record he held when he retired with 1,332 victories. Wilkens is now second on the list closely beating out Gregg Popovich; yet, falling behind Don Nelson, who broke it in 2010. He won the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2010–11 NBA season.[1] Wilkens is also the most prolific coach in NBA history, at 2,487 regular-season games, 89 more games than Nelson, and over 400 more than any other coach.
Awards and honors
- Three-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee
- class of 1989 as a player
- class of 1998 as a coach
- class of 2010 as a member of the “Dream Team”
- U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (class of 2009 – as a member of the “Dream Team”)
- FIBA Hall of Fame (class of 2017 – as a member of the “Dream Team”)
- College Basketball Hall of Fame (class of 2006)
- Providence College Hall of Fame.
- 1979 NBA champion (as head coach of Seattle)
- Two-time Olympic gold medal winner
- 1992 as an assistant coach with the “Dream Team”
- 1996 as head coach of the U.S. men’s team
- 13-time NBA All-Star
- nine times as a player
- four times as a head coach
- 1971 NBA All-Star Game MVP
- 1994 NBA Coach of the Year
- 1994 Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award
- 1999 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement[5]
- 2011 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award
- No. 19 retired by Seattle SuperSonics (carried over to the Oklahoma City T
Later years
On November 29, 2006 he was hired as vice chairman of the Seattle SuperSonics‘ ownership group, and was later named the Sonics’ President of Basketball Operations on April 27, 2007. Wilkens currently is seen on Northwest FSN Studio as a College Hoops analyst and occasionally appears on College Hoops Northwest at game nights. He is the founder of the Lenny Wilkens Foundation for Children and lives in Medina, Washington.
Quotes
- “I learned my basketball on the playgrounds of Brooklyn. Today, being a playground player is an insult. It means all you want to do is go one-on-one, it means your fundamentals stink and you don’t understand the game. But the playgrounds I knew were tremendous training grounds.”
- “Show people how to have success and then you can push their expectations up.
Where are they now? Championship Sonics remain near and far between
Zollie Volchok
Position: General manager.
Born: Sept. 22, 1916, in Salem, Ore.
Residence: Mercer Island.
Occupation: Retired.
Family: Married 64 years to wife Sylvia. Three sons, Gary, Michael and Tony; 10 grandchildren, five great grandchildren.
Favorite Sonics memory: “Well, there’s two. The first is the seventh game against Phoenix to decide who was going to be the Western champions (in 1979). We played it in the Kingdome and at the time, it was the biggest game ever. We had 37,552 watch that game. And we won, 114-110. Then I remember the sick feeling when we played the Bullets and lost the first game (of the ’79 NBA Finals). That was the most nerve-wracking.”
Last NBA season: Replaced by Les Habegger in 1983.
Lenny Wilkens
Position: Coach and director of player personnel.
Born: Oct. 28, 1937, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Residence: Medina.
Occupation: Semiretired, speaker, basketball consultant.
Family: Wife, Marilyn; children Leesha, Randy and Jaime; grandchildren Ashley and Nicole.
Favorite Sonics memory: “When I came back (in 1977), I came back in the front office as director of player of personnel and the first thing I remember is I stopped the trade involving Fred Brown. I didn’t think it was a good trade. Then we traded Tom Burleson to Denver for Willie Wise, Marvin Webster and Paul Silas. Gus Williams was a free agent and I convinced (owner) Sam Schulman that we should sign him. I picked John Johnson for a couple of second-round picks and before that season, we got Lonnie (Shelton). So the pieces were coming together.”
Last NBA season: Released by the Toronto Raptors in April after three seasons as coach.
Gus Williams
Position: Guard.
Born: Oct. 10, 1953.
Residence: Mount Vernon, N.Y.
Occupation: Entrepreneur who is starting his own business.
Favorite Sonics memory: “I remember that Game 6 (of the 1979 Western Conference finals). Jack (Sikma) came through in a big way for us and was able to make some big buckets for us to win that game on the road. It was a great feeling and it just seemed like we were destined to do it.”
Last NBA season: Williams’ final season was his only season with the Atlanta Hawks, 1986-87. He averaged just 4.2 points in 33 games.
Dennis Johnson
Position: Guard.
Born: Sept. 12, 1956, in San Pedro, Calif.
Residence: Los Angeles.
Occupation: Portland Trail Blazers scout.
Family: Married to wife Donna for 28 years. Children: Dwayne, 22; Denise, 11; Daniel, 9.
Favorite Sonics memory: “We were playing at San Diego and Lonnie (Shelton)’s two brothers came down and spent the night in his room. Lonnie was 6-7 and maybe 284 pounds at that time. His brothers were 6-4, maybe 310. Big dudes. And Lonnie stayed awake the whole night to capture his brothers snoring. Played it back for us on the bus and said, ‘Hey, listen to this.’ And it wasn’t funny because they were snoring, but just the fact that he stayed awake all night for this mess. We did wild stuff like that.”
Last NBA season: Played 75 regular-season games in 1989-90 in Boston and five postseason games before the Celtics were eliminated in the first round.
John Johnson
Position: Forward.
Born: Oct. 18, 1947, in Carthage, Miss.
Residence: Bellevue.
Occupation: Retired.
Family: Son, Mitch, 16.
Favorite Sonics memory: “We were winning, everything was happy. It was back-to-back, big-time parties all over the Northwest. We dictated what everybody did.”
Last NBA season: Finished his career with the Sonics, playing just 14 games of the 1981-82 season.
Lonnie Shelton
Position: Forward.
Born: Oct. 19, 1955, in Bakersfield, Calif.
Residence: Bakersfield, Calif.
Occupation: Supervisor for special education group.
Family: Five sons, Lonnie Jr., Marlon, Titus, Timothy and Dion.
Favorite Sonics memory: “Finally winning the championship. Just having it over. We were in Washington when it happened. We were on the road. That was the best moment. Being in the locker room and celebrating.”
Last NBA season: Played 44 games during the 1985-86 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jack Sikma
Position: Center.
Born: Nov. 14, 1955, in Kankakee, Ill.
Residence: Seattle.
Occupation: Sonics assistant coach.
Family: Wife, Shawn; sons Jacob, Lucas, Nathan.
Favorite Sonics memory: “It still would have to be when the buzzer blew at Washington in Game 5 and we finally put it away. We’d been so close the year before. To be there and to finally get it done, it ranks as my top memory. I remember Gus throwing the ball up in the air as the buzzer sounded. I still have the image in my mind.”
Last NBA season: Retired after 1990-91 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Fred Brown
Position: Guard.
Born: July 17, 1948.
Residence: Mercer Island.
Occupation: Senior Vice President and Northwest Region Small Business Executive for Bank of America.
Family: Wife, Linda; sons Fred Jr., Terik, Bryan.
Fred Brown, nicknamed “Downtown Freddie Brown”, is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) guard from the University of Iowa, he played 13 seasons (1971–1984) in the NBA, all with the Seattle SuperSonics. Known for his accurate outside shooting, Brown was selected to the 1976 NBA All-Star Game and scored 14,018 points in his career.
Paul Silas
Position: Forward.
Born: July 12, 1943, in Prescott, Ark.
Residence: Bratenahl, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb.
Occupation: Cleveland Cavaliers head coach.
Family: Married 37 years to wife, Carolyn. Children: Donna, Paula and Stephen, who is an assistant Cavs coach.
Favorite Sonics memory: “The thing I remember the most is we (lost free agent) Marvin Webster and we got Lonnie Shelton in return (as compensation from Knicks for signing Webster). That cemented our team because we were able to put Jack Sikma at the center spot and Lonnie at the 4. JJ played the 3. Gus and DJ were the guards and me and Freddie Brown were coming off of the bench. But the key was getting Lonnie.”
Born in Prescott, Arkansas, Silas attended Creighton University, where he set an NCAA record for the most rebounds in three seasons and averaged 20.6 rebounds per game in 1963. In the NBA, Silas collected more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds during his sixteen-year career, played in two All-Star games, and won three championship rings (two with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, and one with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979). He was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team twice, and to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team three times.
Tom LaGarde
Born: Feb, 10, 1955, in Detroit.
Residence: Manhattan.
Occupation: Owner of Sports Rejuvenation Inc., a health and sports company in New York. Also markets a product, “Extra Corporal Shockwave” that treats patella tendinitis.
Family: Wife, Heather, is expecting a child in March. Daughter, Hadden.
Favorite Sonics memory: “The journey is more important than the destination. It was a fun group of guys to play with. We had some young players and some very nurturing guys like Paul Silas. It was a lot more like a college team than any other professional team I’ve been on. Don’t think it was the classic NBA team.”
Last NBA season: Played the 1981-82 season in Dallas before spending a year in Italy. Returned to the NBA and played one game with the New Jersey Nets during the ’84-85 season before suffering a career-ending calf injury.
Wally Walker
Position: Forward.
Born: July 18, 1954, in Bradford, Pa.
Residence: Seattle.
Occupation: Sonics president and CEO the past two years.
Family: Wife, Linda; son, Joseph; daughters, Sara and Molly.
Favorite Sonics memory: “We were down 3-2 in an elimination game at Phoenix, I was sitting and looking at Paul (Silas) in the locker room and he just sat in a chair away from everyone else. His eyes were bloodshot, he had stick ’em on his fingers. And no one would speak to him. It set a great tone because it was mostly a young team that hadn’t been in that position and here’s a guy who had been there and here’s how we’ve got to approach this game. Just the look on his face, he set the tone. We won that game, won the series, but it was clearly the most pivotal game of the season.”
Last NBA season: Finished his eight-year career in 1983-84 with Houston.
Dennis Awtrey
Position: Forward/center.
Born: Feb. 26, 1948, in Hollywood, Calif.
Residence: Phoenix for past 20 years.
Occupation: Retired.
Family: Married two years to wife, Peggy. Daughter Trista, 30, and son David, 27.
Favorite Sonics memory: “I didn’t get there until January. I was with Boston and I remember we played in Seattle in January. On the bus in, (Celtics player/coach) Dave Cowens leaned across and said, ‘How would you like to play for these guys?’ I said, ‘Fine with me.’ My first three games there, we drew 27,000 and I couldn’t believe it.”
Last NBA season: Finished his 12-year career with Portland, 1980-81.
Dick Snyder
Position: Guard.
Born: Feb. 1, 1944.
Residence: Paradise Valley, Ariz.
Occupation: Insurance agent for the past 23 years.
Family: Married to high-school sweetheart, Terie. Son, Brian. Other son, Brad, killed in a 1995 automobile accident.
Favorite Sonics memory: “The best part of that season was being part of a team that was on the floor in front of 20,000 people at the Kingdome. It felt good to be a part of that team and give something to the fans.”
Last NBA season: Played his final game in Game 5 of the 1979 NBA Finals.
Joe Hassett
Position: Guard.
Born: Sept. 11, 1955, in Providence, R.I.
Residence: East Greenwich, R.I.
Occupation: Money manager for Fleet Financial group for the past 20 years.
Family: Married 24 years to wife, Paula. Four children, Matthew, Shawna, Whitney and Brooke.
Favorite Sonics memory: “We all liked each other. That’s unusual in professional sports. I remember this time, we all went to the movies one time. It was about nine of us. That’s absurd. NBA guys don’t do that. It was just a fun group of guys. Everybody enjoyed each other. The nice thing about that team, everybody got along so well.”
Last NBA game: Nov. 9, 1982. While playing with Golden State, broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder. Played just six games that season.
Seattle SuperSonics
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Washington Bullets
| 1978–79 Washington Bullets roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Series summary
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Sunday, May 20 | Washington Bullets | 99–97 (1–0) | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Game 2 | Thursday, May 24 | Washington Bullets | 82–92 (1–1) | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Game 3 | Sunday, May 27 | Seattle SuperSonics | 105–95 (2–1) | Washington Bullets |
| Game 4 | Tuesday, May 29 | Seattle SuperSonics | 114–112 (3–1) | Washington Bullets |
| Game 5 | Friday, June 1 | Washington Bullets | 93–97 (1–4) | Seattle SuperSonics |
Game 1
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May 20
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| Seattle SuperSonics 97, Washington Bullets 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–26, 25–33, 21–23, 26–17 | ||
| Pts: Gus Williams 32 Rebs: John Johnson 11 Asts: Dennis Johnson 7 |
Pts: Larry Wright 26 Rebs: Wes Unseld 12 Asts: Tom Henderson 6 |
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| Washington leads the series 1–0 | ||
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Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035 Referees:
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The Bullets controlled the game and led by 18 in the fourth, but Seattle mounted a furious comeback to tie it at 97. Larry Wright, who had 26 points off the bench, drove to the basket as time ran down and had his shot blocked by Dennis Johnson, but the referees called a foul on Johnson. Wright went to the line with one second left and hit two of three foul shots (NBA rules at the time awarded an extra free throw attempt when a team was in the penalty foul situation) to win the game.
Game 2
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May 24
9 p.m. EDT |
| Seattle SuperSonics 92, Washington Bullets 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–23, 21–29, 19–14, 24–16 | ||
| Pts: Gus Williams 23 Rebs: Jack Sikma 13 Asts: D. Johnson, J. Johnson 6 each |
Pts: Bob Dandridge 21 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 14 Asts: Bob Dandridge 5 |
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| Series tied 1–1 | ||
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Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035 Referees:
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Elvin Hayes had 11 points in the first quarter, but only nine the rest of the way as Seattle turned its defense up a notch, holding the Bullets to 30 points in the second half.
Outside of the two metropolitan areas of the competing teams, as well as Baltimore and Portland, the game was shown on tape delay beginning at 11:35 Eastern and Pacific/10:35 p.m. Central and Mountain. This was the first of six championship series games shown by CBS on tape delay over a three-season span. Four of the six games in the championship series two years later were shown on tape delay outside of the markets of the competing clubs.
Game 3
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May 27
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| Washington Bullets 95, Seattle SuperSonics 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 19–24, 22–26, 29–24 | ||
| Pts: Bob Dandridge 28 Rebs: Unseld, Hayes 14 each Asts: Bob Dandridge 5 |
Pts: Gus Williams 31 Rebs: Sikma 17 Asts: D. Johnson 9 |
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| Seattle leads the series 2–1 | ||
Seattle dominated this game, which wasn’t as close as the final margin indicated. Gus Williams scored 31 points, Jack Sikma had 21 and 17 rebounds, and Dennis Johnson had a fine all-around game with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and two blocked shots.
Game 4
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May 29
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| Washington Bullets 112, Seattle SuperSonics 114 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 37–28, 28–32, 23–20, Overtime: 8–10 | ||
| Pts: Three Players 18 Rebs: Unseld 16 Asts: Tom Henderson 8 |
Pts: Gus Williams 36 Rebs: Sikma 17 Asts: John Johnson 13 |
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| Seattle leads the series 3–1 | ||
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Seattle Center Coliseum, Seattle
Attendance: 14,098 Referees:
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The Sonics won a close one in OT 114–112, staving off a late Bullets comeback behind 36 points by Gus Williams and 32 by Dennis Johnson. Williams and Johnson dominated the Bullets’ guards all series, as they were plagued by poor shooting. Johnson also had four blocks in the game, the last on Kevin Grevey with 4 seconds left to ensure the Seattle victory.
Game 5
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June 1
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| Seattle SuperSonics 97, Washington Bullets 93 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–30, 24–21, 23–18, 31–24 | ||
| Pts: Gus Williams 23 Rebs: Sikma 17 Asts: John Johnson 6 |
Pts: Elvin Hayes 29 Rebs: Elvin Hayes 14 Asts: Bob Dandridge 7 |
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| Seattle wins the series 4–1 | ||
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Capital Centre, Landover, Maryland
Attendance: 19,035 Referees:
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Dennis Johnson
 Dennis Johnson shooting a layup.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 18, 1954 San Pedro, California |
| Died | February 22, 2007 (aged 52) Austin, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Dominguez (Compton, California) |
| College |
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| NBA draft | 1976 / Round: 2 / Pick: 29th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Playing career | 1976–1990 |
| Position | Point guard / Shooting guard |
| Number | 24, 3 |
| Coaching career | 1993–2007 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1976–1980 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1980–1983 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1983–1990 | Boston Celtics |
| As coach: | |
| 1993–1997 | Boston Celtics (assistant) |
| 1999–2000 | La Crosse Bobcats |
| 2000–2003 | Los Angeles Clippers (assistant) |
| 2003 | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 2004–2005 | Florida Flame |
| 2005–2007 | Austin Toros |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 15,535 (14.1 ppg) |
| Assists | 5,499 (5.0 apg) |
| Steals | 1,477 (1.3 spg) |
| Stats |
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame as player | |
Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed “DJ”, was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association‘s (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. He was an alumnus of Dominguez High School, Los Angeles Harbor College and Pepperdine University.
A prototypical late bloomer, Johnson overcame early struggles and had a successful NBA playing career. Drafted 29th overall in 1976 by the Seattle SuperSonics, Johnson began his professional career as a shooting guard. He eventually led the Sonics to their only NBA championship in 1979, winning the Finals MVP Award. After three seasons with the Phoenix Suns, he became the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics, with whom he won two more championships. Johnson was voted into five All-Star Teams, one All-NBA First and one Second Team, and nine consecutive All-Defensive First and Second Teams.[3] Apart from his reputation as a defensive stopper, Johnson was known as a clutch player who made several decisive plays in NBA playoffs history.
The Celtics retired Johnson’s No. 3 jersey, which hangs from the rafters of the TD Garden, the home arena of the team. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially inducted Johnson to the Hall posthumously in 2010. He is considered by several sports journalists to be one of the most underrated players of all time.
Fred Brown (basketball)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 7, 1948 Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 182 lb (83 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Lincoln (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
| College |
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| NBA draft | 1971 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall |
| Selected by the Seattle SuperSonics | |
| Playing career | 1971–1984 |
| Position | Shooting guard / Point guard |
| Number | 32 |
| Career history | |
| 1971–1984 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Points | 14,018 (14.6 ppg) |
| Assists | 3,160 (3.3 apg) |
| Steals | 1,149 (1.4 spg) |
| Stats |
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Fred Brown (born August 7, 1948), nicknamed “Downtown Freddie Brown”, is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) guard from the University of Iowa, he played 13 seasons (1971–1984) in the NBA, all with the Seattle SuperSonics. Known for his accurate outside shooting, Brown was selected to the 1976 NBA All-Star Game and scored 14,018 points in his career.
Gus Williams (basketball)
 Williams in 1981
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 10, 1953 Mount Vernon, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, New York) |
| College | USC (1972–1975) |
| NBA draft | 1975 / Round: 2 / Pick: 20th overall |
| Selected by the Golden State Warriors | |
| Playing career | 1975–1987 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 1 |
| Career history | |
| 1975–1977 | Golden State Warriors |
| 1977–1984 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1984–1986 | Washington Bullets |
| 1987 | Atlanta Hawks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Points | 14,093 (17.1 ppg) |
| Assists | 4,597 (5.6 apg) |
| Steals | 1,638 (2.0 spg) |
| Stats |
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| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Gus Williams (born October 10, 1953) is a retired American professional basketball player most noted for his play with the NBA‘s Seattle SuperSonics, with whom he was a member of the 1979 NBA championship team. Known as “The Wizard”, he also played for the Golden State Warriors, Washington Bullets and Atlanta Hawks.
Paul Silas
 Paul Silas with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1977
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 12, 1943 Prescott, Arkansas |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | McClymonds (Oakland, California) |
| College | Creighton (1961–1964) |
| NBA draft | 1964 / Round: 2 / Pick: 10th overall |
| Selected by the St. Louis Hawks | |
| Playing career | 1964–1980 |
| Position | Power forward / Small forward |
| Number | 29, 12, 35, 36 |
| Coaching career | 1980–2012 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1964–1969 | St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks |
| 1969–1972 | Phoenix Suns |
| 1972–1976 | Boston Celtics |
| 1976–1977 | Denver Nuggets |
| 1977–1980 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| As coach: | |
| 1980–1983 | San Diego Clippers |
| 1988–1989 | New Jersey Nets (assistant) |
| 1989–1992 | New York Knicks (assistant) |
| 1992–1995 | New Jersey Nets (assistant) |
| 1995–1997 | Phoenix Suns (assistant) |
| 1997–1999 | Charlotte Hornets (assistant) |
| 1999–2002 | Charlotte Hornets |
| 2002–2003 | New Orleans Hornets |
| 2003–2005 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2010–2012 | Charlotte Bobcats |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career playing statistics | |
| Points | 11,782 (9.4 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 12,357 (9.9 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,572 (2.1 apg) |
| Stats |
|
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Career coaching record | |
| NBA | 387–488 (.442) |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2017 |
|
Paul Theron Silas (born July 12, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player and former NBA head coach.
Playing career
Born in Prescott, Arkansas, Silas attended Creighton University, where he set an NCAA record for the most rebounds in three seasons and averaged 20.6 rebounds per game in 1963. In the NBA, Silas collected more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds during his sixteen-year career, played in two All-Star games, and won three championship rings (two with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, and one with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979). He was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team twice, and to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team three times.
Lonnie Shelton
 |
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 19, 1955 Bakersfield, California |
| Died | July 8, 2018 (aged 62) Westminster, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Foothill (Bakersfield, California) |
| College | Oregon State (1973–1976) |
| NBA draft | 1976 / Round: 2 / Pick: 25th overall |
| Selected by the New York Knicks | |
| Playing career | 1976–1986 |
| Position | Power forward / Center |
| Number | 8 |
| Career history | |
| 1976–1978 | New York Knicks |
| 1978–1983 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1983–1986 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 8,049 (12.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 4,136 (6.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,459 (2.2 apg) |
| Stats |
|
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Lonnie Jewel Shelton (October 19, 1955 – July 8, 2018) was an American National Basketball Association (NBA) player and NBA CHAMPION, who played from 1976 to 1985.
