Interview with Kevin Pelton: How did the Sonics boom (then bust)? (Basketball Mysteries of the 1970s #9)

Kevin Pelton of ESPN joins us on the latest episode of our Basketball Mysteries of the 1970s series to discuss the late ‘70s and early ‘80s Seattle Supersonics with Dennis Johnson, Jack Sikma and Gus Williams. The Sonics reached back-to-back Finals and won the 1979 NBA championship before dissension broke up the team prematurely. Also discussed in the latest episode of the Over and Back Classic NBA podcast: the young team’s Finals battles with the veteran Washington Bullets in 1978 and 1979, the aftermath of the Bill Russell era, trading away the popular Slick Watts, how Lenny Wilkens helped turn around a floundering team, Downtown Freddie Brown’s outside shooting, John Johnson’s stellar passing as a forward, whether the Sonics could have stood up to the Lakers had the team managed to keep Dennis Johnson throughout the ‘80s, forgotten classic playoff series against the Suns and Bucks, Wilkens’ feud with Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams’ year-long holdout, and much more. Also, check out Kevin’s article on Jack Sikma’s case for the Hall of Fame:http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/13629697/nba-why-jack-sikma-deserves-hall-fame-2016 Original airdate: 8/8/16 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.