More on NBA Blog Squad

If you check the National Basketball Association (NBA) website nba.com under the Blog Squad, you’ll notice a Monday posting entitled "Filipinos love this game."

It’s my third contribution to the site and I thought writing about NBA players with Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) lineage would be interesting reading for a global audience. I noted that long before Yao Ming and company barged into the majors, a Fil-Am named Raymond Townsend–whose mother Virginia Marella is from Balayan, Batangas–played for the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers. I mentioned that 38 NBA first round picks were PBA alumni and five NBA players on rosters this season had seen action in the PBA.

Hoop fans all over the world should know that the PBA is a league of consequence and a first-class organization. As Asia’s first play-for-pay league, the PBA is an institution that provides wholesome entertainment to millions and will always be close to every basketball-loving Filipino’s heart.

Of course, I detailed Solar Sports’ mouth-watering NBA package on free and cable TV–about 1,000 games a month. You couldn’t ask more from a network that has left no stone unturned in making its NBA coverage as comprehensive and exciting as possible.

As promised, here’s the final installment of my first interview with an NBA star–newly-hired New York Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens–posted on the NBA Blog Squad box last week.

"I asked Wilkens if he’d been to the Philippines at all. To my surprise, he said he’d gone twice as a member of the volunteer NBA team on goodwill visits to Pacific-rim US military bases. He sighed as he looked forward to a Jamaican holiday with his family after the 82-game season.

"At the time, Wilkens lived in Bellevue, a posh Seattle suburb, with his wife and three children–an 8-year-old daughter, a 7-year-old boy and a five-month old daughter.

"I asked about the upcoming Phoenix game. Wilkens winced as he anticipated a tough matchup against Phoenix guard Clem (The Gem) Haskins. Wilkens mentioned that his most memorable NBA game ever was the 1971 All-Star Game where he shot 21 points in capturing MVP honors and an Atlanta outing in 1971 when he hit a career-high 41.

"One of Wilkens’ bitter disappointments came during his last season with the St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks. He recalled that in one game, he had scored 35 points by the third quarter but was benched the entire fourth period. Wilkens shook his head, obviously realizing he could’ve set a personal scoring high that night. Wilkens played eight seasons for the Hawks then was traded to Seattle for Walt Hazzard in 1968.

"Wilkens decried the poor playing standards in the ABA. He remarked that in the NBA, most big men are competitive and legitimate pros–unlike in the ‘other’ league. Wilkens added that in the ABA, defense was nearly non-existent with the accent on pure offense.

"Before the Phoenix game, Wilkens trailed Laker guard Jerry West in the league’s assist race, 9.6 to 9.7 a game. Wilkens said he’d like to win the assist title but didn’t think he could do it with Haywood and Snyder unable to play against the Suns. Wilkens said Snyder would be a beneficiary of at least six assists a game and Haywood, up to eight.

"As it turned out, Wilkens played 32 minutes against Phoenix, scoring 13 points and dishing off seven assists. The Sonics went on to play their final game against the Lakers but Wilkens sat out the contest. West picked up 11 assists against Seattle and won the assists crown by a hair.

"Wilkens said 6-6 forward Gar Heard had been starting in place of Kojis lately because of his outstanding defense and boardwork. Heard had been averaging five blocked shots and about 10 rebounds plus 10 points since Haywood and company were benched with injuries. Wilkens noted that Kojis was essentially an offensive player.

"Wilkens said the next season, he may not be back as playing coach since club owner Sam Schulman, disappointed over Seattle’s repeated failures to make the playoffs, would probably make changes. But in a statement published by a Seattle newspaper, Haywood said 90 percent of the Sonics players voted to retain Wilkens as playing coach.

"In 1973, Schulman bit the bullet. He lured ABA 1972 coach-of-the-year Tom Nissalke out of the Dallas Chapparalls to take over from Wilkens on the Sonics bench. Heard was traded to Chicago where he was united with stars Bob Love and Chet Walker. Kojis went to Kansas City and Smith, to Houston. The biggest deal of them all was sending Wilkens with Barry Clemens to Cleveland for Butch Beard. The Sonics facelift was massive.

"Nissalke didn’t last long with the Sonics and was replaced by Bucky Buckwalter during the season.

"Wilkens, now 66, would reprise his role as playing coach at Portland in 1974-75. He returned to coach Seattle in 1977 and in the 1978-79 season, won the NBA title for the Sonics. He also returned to Cleveland as coach in 1986. In 1993, he moved to Atlanta where he coached for seven seasons then in 2000, took the coaching job at Toronto. Wilkens continues his storybook NBA career as the Knicks new head coach this season.

"If there was anyone who inspired me to build a journalistic career around basketball, it was Wilkens–thanks to that meeting he undoubtedly won’t even remember at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport in 1972. When I returned to the Philippines from that US trip, I wrote a story about the meeting and it was published in a local sports magazine. I was paid the equivalent of about $5 for the piece and it officially launched my career as a professional sportswriter and broadcaster.

"I never spoke to Wilkens again since that meeting. I’ve covered five NBA Finals and three All-Star Weekends on site but unfortunately, Wilkens was not around for any of those events. I’ve remained a big Wilkens fan. I picked up a copy of his book ‘Unguarded’ at the NBA Store two years ago and last December during a visit to the US, I got a copy of an out-of-print book ‘The Lenny Wilkens Story’ from a Seattle bookstore.

"I hope to be at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles next month. I wonder if Wilkens will be there, too."