[Note: a great deal of help in writing this came from reading Blaine Johnson's book, What's Happenin'? which chronicled the 1976-77 Seattle season, and sparked a lot of my own memories. Also, scores were obtained from the ScoreProject, as usual.]

Ah, the Glory days. The Sonics were the team to beat in the West and the Lakers were struggling. What sweet memories. The late 70's. In the 1976-77 season, however, no one would have thought that the Sonics would soon become the elite team in the West.

1976-77 was the first year that the ABA (Indiana, San Antonio, the Nets, and Denver) merged into the NBA, and fans were expecting that this would provide a freer and more entertaining form of hoops in the league.

Bill Russell, the legendary Celtic player, was still coach. The team was talented, and hopes were high that Russell would lead the team deep into the playoffs. Russell had coached the team for the past three years, making forays into the playoffs before -- though last year they had been humiliated in the first round by the eventual Western Champion Phoenix Suns. Fans were expecting more out of the 11-time champion Russell.

The problem was that Russell wasn’t a player, he was GM and coach -- an enigmatic, aloof man who expected his players to play their hearts out no matter how little he said to them. After the Sonics had seemingly degenerated back to their selfish ways in the playoffs the prior year, Russell realized that he disliked the team as players and as people. He didn't want to be coach. So in the 1976-77 season, he hardly did anything. During timeouts he rarely spoke; after losses he rarely said anything except to yell and put the players down; during practices he let the assistant coaches do most of the talking. He didn't scout the opposition, didn't even bother to tell the players who to defend until they asked; didn't look at game videos, didn't call plays. He mostly sat on the sideline, his mind apparently somewhere else. He was miserable, and the players soon became miserable too. Some were frightened at losing their jobs as well. It didn't help that he seemed to play them at random and with little explanation.

In his book, Second Wind, Russell admitted that it was the hardest year of his adult life, and a huge mistake to coach that season.

Russell had accomplished most of what he had set out to do as coach: he had turned them into a playoff team while drastically cutting the payroll. He knew they weren't capable of being molded into a championship team. There was no reason to stay, other than pride and, perhaps, money.

What he had to work with was an odd assortment of ego and “potential”:

--rookie 2nd-round pick Dennis Johnson, who played tenacious defense and could jump out of the building, but at the time was inconsistent enough to have nearly been cut.
--local favorite Slick Watts, a point guard with absolutely no outside (or midrange) shot but a guy who created chaos for opponents on defense
--Fred Brown, the most productive scorer on the team, with an amazing array of shots.
--Tom Burleson, a North Carolina 7+-footer who showed flashes of brilliance -- extremely brief flashes of brilliance -- usually in the playoffs, or when an opponent managed to make him mad.
--There was powerful forward Leonard Gray, former ABA star Mike Green, another former ABA player, Bruce Seals, plus rugged Mike Bantom, high-energy rookie, Bobby Wilkerson, and Seattle University star Frank Oleynick, known for his shooting brilliance at the collegiate level.

The Lineup:

I did not indicate starters, since Russell shuffled his lineup like a deck of cards that season. Most of the players averaged 25 minutes or less per game; sometimes one might start only to find himself on the bench and playing only a few minutes the next game.

Center: Tom Burleson had shown he could play great ball when healthy and motivated. Mainly, such times had come only during the playoffs, when over the last two years he had averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds. In 1976-77, Burleson had bulked up to 255 pounds on his fit 7-2 frame, but his love for the game was missing. He knew he needed someone else to push him in order to motivate his play; but he was disappointed that Russell didn't even try to motivate him. Burleson's game seemed less consistent than ever; he might go for 31 points in one game and get blanked the next. He averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds, and about 1.5 blocks in 22 minutes per game.

Center-Forward: Mike Green, 6-10, 200 pounds, had been drafted by the Sonics and fled to the ABA after being critized by Russell for being weak and soft. He earned good money and played well in the ABA for three years and then, after the ABA merged with the NBA, returned to the Sonics and played 25 minutes per game. He averaged 10 points, 7 rebounds, and nearly 2 blocks per game.

Power Forward: Willie Norwood was 6-7 and 225; he sometimes started and sometimes did not, depending on Russell's unfathomable plans. He averaged less than 20 minutes per game, 7.7 points, about 4 rebounds, a little more than one assist and a little less than one steal per game. He was tough but not a jumper; he blocked few shots.

Power Forward: Leonard Gray, at 6-7, 255, did not seem to have recovered from his knee injury late the previous season. He played the first 25 games of the season for the Sonics, averaged 11.5 points, only 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in 25 minutes per game. His temper got the better of him: he knew that Russell had control of the team and did not like complainers; but Gray complained and generally was uncooperative with Russell because of his lack of playing time, so he was quickly traded to Washington, finished the year and then re-injured his knee playing tennis. The injury ended his career.

Forward: Nick Weatherspoon was a 6-7, 190 pound forward who played tough despite his small stature. He joined the Sonics after 25 games (in the Leonard Gray trade) and averaged 13 points, 8 rebounds, one assist and one steal in 30 minutes per game. Arguably, he was a bit of an upgrade over a hurting Gray, except in the strength department.

Forward: Mike Bantom played well at times and disappeared at others. Part of the reason for this was that Russell might pull him after he played particularly well -- not out of spite, but without any more than "I got what I wanted out of you" as explanation. Russell concentrated more on player combinations and overall team performance than on individual play, he claimed, but it hurt Bantom's motivation and his game suffered. He, like Gray, complained about the lack of a coherent lineup schedule, about how the coach generally neglected to give defensive assignments, and called few plays. The players generally seemed to wing it. In midseason, Bantom was traded to the Nets after being so outspoken. As a Sonic, in 44 games that season, he played an average of 17 minutes per game, but in that small time was quite productive: 7.5 points, over 4 rebounds, an assist, and a steal per game. He went on to start for Indiana for several years.

Small Forward: Bruce Seals was, at 6-8, 210, athletic and quick. He played 25 minutes a game and averaged 11 points, 4.5 rebounds, an assist per game.

Small Forward: Dean Tolson had been banished to the Eastern (developmental) League because Russell thought the 6-8 player was too weak and had regularly taunted him in the preseason. He returned after having bulked up and he made the team; he had great leaping ability and shot well from inside (56.6% field goals). He hustled but was prone to frequent mistakes. He played in 60 games, only 10 minutes per game, but managed to average 6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and about half an assist and half a steal per game.

Shooting Guard: Fred Brown was one of the few players who saw consistent playing time, though he came off the bench a few times and sat out with suspect injuries for 10 games. He played 29 minutes per game, averaged 17.2 points, 3 rebounds, just over 2 assists (low for him), and 1.7 steals per game. He continued to shoot well (47.9% field goals, 88.4% free throws.) Brown was generally not talkative to the press; when he spoke, he was often rather coy. But late in the season even Brown complained openly about Russell and about the lack of team play.

Shooting Guard: Bob Wilkerson was 6-6 and 195. He was the Sonics' first round pick and played very intensely on both ends of the floor -- he had the kind of inner drive that Russell was looking for. This season, he played about 20 minutes per game, scored 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists and 1 steal per game. But his main asset was the hustle and energy he added on the court. After the season he was traded to Denver and played well.

Shooting Guard: Dennis Johnson was 6-4, 200 pounds, and had great leaping ability. He, like Wilkerson, played very hard. He was a true competitor, and over the course of the season developed more than even Russell had expected he would. He played great defense, and was dominating on both ends of the court in clutch situations. He was so competitive and temperamental, though, that he tended to lash out at those around him when the team was losing, when he wasn't getting enough playing time, or when a ref called a foul he didn't agree with. But in his rookie season those tendencies were less pronounced than in his prime. DJ played about 20 minutes per game, tried few stupid shots (hitting 50.4% from the field), and averaged 9 points, nearly 4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and about 0.7 blocks per game. His selection was, perhaps, the best thing that Bill Russell did for the Sonics. DJ went on to become one of the alltime great defensive players in NBA history. (Though kudos should also go to Bob Hopkins, who did the scouting.)

Point Guard: Slick Watts was the only true ball handler for the Sonics, and he saw the most playing time. He averaged 34 minutes, 13 points, 2.8 rebounds, 8 assists (second in the league), 2.7 steals (third in the league), though his shooting continued to be poor (42.2% field goals, 58.7% free throws.) He was one reason the Sonics managed to stay close to .500 during the year -- without much of a system on offense or defense, they needed someone who thrived in such chaos. Unfortunately, he had a tendency to hold onto the ball too much, and when he did pass it early his teammates tended to go one on one far too often. Watts played 223 consecutive games as a Sonic; when he injured his knee and was out three games, he seemed to play with diminished confidence. Late in the season he flip-flopped between asking to be traded and saying he was happy despite his small salary; certainly, something had changed in this usually upbeat fan favorite.

Guard: Frank Oleynick, the "future" Oscar Robertson as Russell had hoped, struggled with injury problems and continued to play erratically. His minutes (10 minutes per game, with some starts and even more DNP's) were as erratic as his shooting (36.3% field goals.) He averaged 4 points per game, and about 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 foul. He played in only 50 games, partly from injury and partly from Russell's game time decisions.

The Season:

The preseason began with Russell bragging about his deep platoon of guards (Brown, Watts, Oleynick, DJ, and Wilkerson); rumors flew that Brown would be traded to Houston for sharp shooter Mike Newlin, who played more aggressive defense. Brown and Russell supposedly did not get along, but the deal never materialized.

The Sonics had ended the last season winning 17 straight at home, and losing four in a row on the road. The regular season continued those trends, and because of the winning at home, attendance remained high (around 13,000 per game.)

Seattle started the season going 3-2. On October 27, Brown was benched in a 106-92 loss against Detroit, since he looked like he wasn't playing hard. The next game he got 29 points in a 106-103 win over Detroit. The Sonics looked good in that game, as if Brown's benching had done some good. They switched on defense, they passed, and Brown hit his shots. But it did not last. Generally they played just well enough to win at home; on the road, they played confused, fell behind early, and struggled to catch up.

At home, they sometimes played great defense. For example, Cleveland came in to the Coliseum with an 11 2 record and a hot offense; Seattle, led by Watts, held them to 78 points -- extremely low for those days. Seattle won 92-78.

Rookie Bob Wilkerson, normally reserved, came out and complained to the press about the locker room dysfunction, and that he wanted more playing time. Soon after, Russell played the rookies more -- Wilkerson reminded him of the kind of player from his past, dedicated, with great character and a wide range of skills. [A note: I have read enough of other old players' recollections to know Russell's "memories" were either a hogwashed dream or a peculiar bit of luck on his part; even "great" players had plenty of weaknesses--Bob Pettit was one of the NBA's worst dribblers; Dolph Schayes could not and would not play defense; Russell himself had absolutely no shot, except for a close in hook shot and a dunk; many players would be classified as alcoholics by today's standards; there were plenty of fights and career-ending cheap shots on court . . . the great old-time "character" and "skill" list could go on; it's nothing personal I have against Russell, I just see this kind of youth-bashing too often in many areas of life.]

Soon the veteran players grumbled that Russell's two new pets, Dennis Johnson and Bob Wilkerson, were getting too much playing time (about 20 minutes per game.) The jealousy festered, and to my knowledge Russell made no effort to smooth things over. Instead he threatened to trade those who didn't play well or who tried to bring him down (according to What's Happenin'?)

Slick Watts had his career high in scoring on November 28, 1976 against the Washington Bullets. He hit 15 of 27 shots, scored 37 points, had 13 assists, and 5 steals in a 117-116 Seattle victory. A few days later, on December 1 at Boston, Fred Brown led the Sonics with 36 points in a 107-103 Seattle loss.

They were 8-8 in November. They won 12 straight at home, making their home winning streak 29 continued from last season; they lost their first 10 road games, giving them a 14 game road losing streak from last season. They looked like two completely different teams at home and on the road.

They broke their road losing streak against the mighty Philadelphia 76ers on December 3, winning 121-112. Then on December 7, they played the worst team in the league (the New Orleans Jazz) without the Jazz' best player, Pete Maravich. The Jazz beat the pants off the Sonics 110-98.

In December, rumors abounded that Bob McAdoo of Buffalo, who had recently led the league in scoring, rebounding, and shot blocking for a few seasons, was coming to Seattle in return for Burleson and another Sonic such as Mike Green. In fact, owner Sam Schulman had an oral agreement with the Braves owner. But McAdoo preferred New York; and the Buffalo Braves franchise was in transition between owners. The deal fell through at the last minute -- Schulman ended up concluding that he had been used as a bargaining dupe for the Braves to get more money from the Knicks. But Russell desperately wanted McAdoo; when the deal fell through, Russell became even less interested in the Sonics.

On December 12, Seattle's home winning streak came to an end in a 96-92 loss to Moses Malone, Rudy Tomjanovich, Calvin Murphy, Mike Newlin, of the Houston Rockets.

In mid-December, after playing 25 games, Leonard Gray was traded to the Washington Bullets for Nick Weatherspoon. On December 19, against Buffalo, signs appeared in the Coliseum (and were quickly taken down by security) such as "Der Fuhrer Strikes Again" and "Trade Russell." Former Sonic Zaid Abdul-Aziz, who had played a bit under Russell, but was played much less than his talent deserved, happened to be playing for Buffalo that season. Aziz sparked the Braves to a 99-98 win.

It became common for fans to boo Russell in pre-game introductions. When Frank Oleynick went public with his complaints about lack of playing time, the fans booed both him and Russell. Sooner or later, as complaints surfaced, most of the team was booed. The fans came in droves, and they booed in droves too. It was not a happy season.

On January 5, 1977, Boston came to Seattle, led by John Havlicek and Charlie Scott. With 10 seconds remaining, Seattle was down by 1. Burleson and Watts double teamed Scott, who lost the ball; Burleson grabbed the ball like a tiny nerf ball, pivoted to move around Scott and stuffed it for the win. A few days later Watts shut down Pete Maravich ( to 12 points on lousy shooting) in a 92-76 Seattle win.

On January 19 Slick was injured and out for three games. The Sonics had risen to a 25-20 record, and looked like they were getting things together. But without Watts they lost three straight. On January 21, without Slick, Seattle turned the ball over 33 times -- Oleynick turned it over 7 times in one quarter, and the Sonics ended up with a 120-106 loss to the Nuggets, who were not known for their defense. Watts returned to spark a victory over the Lakers, but he was not his old self; the Sonics went 15-22 after he was injured.

In Watts' return game, on January 26, Burleson came alive. He had been abused by Abdul-Jabbar in their previous meeting. Again Kareem was pounding on him, and something woke up inside Tommy. He scored 26 points, shut Abdul-Jabbar down to 14 points, and led Seattle to a 118-103 blowout of the Lakers.

A few days later, Mike Bantom was dealt to the Nets and the Sonics collected aging Bulls star Bob Love off of waivers (everyone in the league knew his career was over, except, apparently, Russell.) Bantom, when he had played, had done well -- just a few weeks earlier he had led Seattle to a victory over the Knicks, shooting 7 of 9. Russell had told him it was his best game as a Sonic, and Bantom's mood improved greatly. Then he was benched, hardly played at all, and finally traded for a washed up player nobody wanted. The fans booed Russell with newfound enthusiasm.

Burleson and the rest of the team sank back into a funk. Watts tried to renegotiate his contract, but Schulman refused; then Watts asked to be traded. Then Downtown Fred Brown asked to be traded, because the team was in chaos.

Watts, Brown, and Russell were all booed.

Watts took back his statements and said he'd play for Seattle with all his heart.

Tolson complained to the press that he didn't know what Russell wanted out of him. Russell had no response.

By now everyone knew that Russell's days were numbered, except apparently owner Sam Schulman, who spent little time in Seattle that year. Schulman, though unhappy with Russell's behavior, still thought that Russell was too well-liked in the city to fire.

The trades didn’t help the Sonics get beyond mediocrity. Weatherspoon was serviceable, but nothing special. Love spent more time nursing injuries than playing. And rumors abounded that most of the Sonics were interested more in increased playing time -- and in maximum partying time -- than in actually winning. Their 40-42 record supported the notion.

Sometime in March or April, three Sonics challenged the legendary defensive ace, Bill Russell, to see if they could score off of him. First Slick Watts, then Dennis Johnson, then Nick Weatherspoon all tried their hand; their layups shots were all blocked. Russell was still quick, agile, and knew where the ball was at all times. He smirked and quit after they each made a failed drive against them. His knees probably ached for a week after that. (This story was relayed again by in What's Happenin'?) Things calmed down after that, a bit.

On April 2, 1977, Bruce Seals scored 38 points in a 109-102 win over the Golden State Warriors. It was Seals' career high.

For the first time in three years, the Sonics missed the playoffs. Sonics fans could only look south in envy as the Trailblazers’ team-oriented game won them a NBA championship over the amazingly talented 76ers (with former ABA superstars Dr. J. and George McGinnis headlining the show, along with Doug Collins, World B Free, and Darryl Dawkins.) The Blazers’ success would serve as a lesson to the Sonics that talent is one crucial ingredient for a team, but dedication and teamwork win championships.

Meanwhile, Bill Russell stepped down as coach of the Sonics. Jerry Tarkanian was offered the job. But despite the bushel of money offered, Tarkanian wouldn't touch the Sonics with a 10-foot towel.

Sam Schulman must have been worried. Who could he get that might raise the team above mediocrity?

The answer, of course, lay in the past. But it would take a while for Schulman to realize it.