As rumors swirl about possible NBA expansion in the Emerald City, it’s worth remembering that the region is a hotbed for hoops.
, Cedric Walker, tells the Guardian. “To watch your childhood get shipped off to another city, it sucked.”
For the Seattle born-and-raised Walker, 33, who was introduced to the game in elementary school by his mother Gaynell, a now-retired public-school educator, the Sonics were his inspiration. As a teen, heat Summit High School. And Walker and his mother would go to Sonics games during the week, sometimes sitting in the nosebleeds, catching a glimpse of the Payton/Kemp-era squad. He remembers attending the playoffs against the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz, the “electric” crowds.
Perhaps the biggest feather in Seattle’s basketball cap, however, is its association with the great Bill Russell,. The centerpiece of the original Boston Celtic dynasty, Russell boasted more championship rings than fingers and after his stint as a player/coach for the C’s in the late 1960s, Russell migrated to the Pacific Northwest to helm the young SuperSonics as the team’s coach from 1973-1977. Russell, the namesake of the NBA Finals MVP trophy, lived in the area until his death.
But it’s not just the professionals. In Seattle, the roots of the game go deeper, from high school through college. Christie, Crawford and Murray are graduates of Rainier Beach High School, a perennial Washington state champion located in the south-end of the city. Smack-dab in the center of town, there’s Garfield High School, which graduated Roy. There’s O’Dea High School, which produced the No 1 pick in the 2022 draft, Banchero .
Even prominent local musicians have gotten into the mix. Pearl Jam originally named itself Mookie Blaylock after the former New Jersey Nets All-Star point guard. In 2009, Seattle’s Grammy-nominated rock group, Band of Horses, released a popular song,
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