“In a lot of eyes, I know I have gone from hero to bum,” Sam Schulman, then owner and President of the Seattle SuperSonics, said in January 1973 after firing Coach Tom Nissalke. Did Schulman really care which one he was seen as? It seems unlikely, based on Schulman’s 16-year run with the Sonics, during which Schulman often went against the system. His ultimate reward was a team that brought home the city of Seattle’s only major professional sports championship during his tenure.

Schulman died last Thursday, June 12, in his Beverly Hills home at the age of 93. He had been suffering from a blood disease.

Schulman fought for Haywood, irreprably changing the way the NBA does business.

Nearly 20 years after Schulman sold the Sonics to Ackerley Communications, his impact can still be felt on the Sonics, if not the entire city of Seattle. Schulman ushered the city into the professional sports era when he and business partner Eugene Klein, along with several limited partners, purchased an NBA team for the expansion fee of $1.75 million. The two had previously been partners in the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. Quickly, Schulman became the public face of Sonics ownership – for better or worse.

Schulman made his biggest splash and his largest impact on the NBA as a whole in 1970, when he signed Spencer Haywood away from the ABA’s Denver Rockets. Signing Haywood violated a league rule, which at the time prohibited players from playing in the NBA before their college class had graduated. The reaction was strongly negative from around the NBA. “I have a lot of respect for Sam,” Phoenix Suns General Manager Jerry Colangelo was quoted at the time, “But I can’t see the NBA Board of Governors allowing this to take place.” Schulman, indifferent to his colleagues’ anger, vowed to help Haywood fight the NBA in court.

The case went all the way to the Supreme Court before Haywood and Schulman emerged victorious, eventually negotiating a settlement. “When it was all over, I was graciously reaccepted into the NBA,” Schulman said afterwards. “Some owners even congratulated me.” Years later, Schulman portrayed his battle as fought not out of self-interest for the Sonics, but concern for the fate of players like Haywood. It was “a matter of principle,” he told the Seattle Times in 1997. “I couldn't see any logical reason for keeping a man from making a living. I thought it was unconstitutional.” Schulman’s refusal to accept the league’s rules paved the way for early entrants like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and LeBron James.

After the Sonics won 47 games and just missed the playoffs during the 1971-72 season, Schulman made the worst mistake of his Sonics tenure. Upset the team was still looking for its first playoff appearance, Schulman gave player/coach Lenny Wilkens an ultimatum to choose one role or the other, but not both. “The original decision to have a player/coach was mine, and having mixed emotions regarding the situation, I left the final choice to Lenny as to which career he wished to pursue,” Schulman said in a statement after Wilkens resigned as coach.

Schulman forced Wilkens out as coach and traded him, but brought him back to achieve his greatest success. Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty

Wilkens was eventually traded to Cleveland for guard Butch Beard. Neither of his replacements, Beard or Nissalke, worked out, and the Sonics collapsed to a 26-56 record. Fans cheered Wilkens and booed the Sonics when the Cavaliers came to town. Nissalke was gone by mid-season, Beard traded at season’s end. With the Sonics struggling on the court and financially – he had tried unsuccessfully to follow Haywood with other ABA signings, notably Jim McDaniels and John Brisker - Schulman became unpopular with both fans and his fellow investors. His solution was to sign former Celtics great Bill Russell as the team’s coach and GM.

The move got the Sonics into the playoffs for the first time during the 1974-75 season, but by 1976-77, the Sonics had slipped back into mediocrity. After the season, Russell resigned and Schulman reached back to Wilkens to lead the Sonics back to glory. Initially re-hired as Player Personnel Director, Wilkens moved onto the bench as coach 22 games into the season. From there, the Sonics were on a roll, going all the way to the NBA Finals in 1978 and winning a rematch with the Washington Bullets in 1979 for the team’s only championship.

Success didn’t change Schulman’s willingness to battle for what he thought was right. A year later, he played a major role in the two decisions that ended, at least for one year, the team’s run. Shooting guard Dennis Johnson was traded to Phoenix for Paul Westphal, with Schulman calling Johnson “moody” at the press conference to announce the trade. The team’s other guard, Gus Williams, squared off with Schulman in a showdown over his new contract. Neither side willing to blink, Williams sat out the entire season as the Sonics slipped to 34-48.

Schulman lasted two more seasons as owner before the team was sold to Ackerley Communications. “I just didn’t feel I could give the club the dedication it needs anymore from its owner,” Schulman explained. “There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I’m going to be 74 next April and I just seem to have taken on more than ever before.”

Schulman brought Seattle into the major leagues, bringing the first pro sports franchise to a city which previously had only minor-league baseball, the University of Washington and hydroplanes to cheer. He also brought a bit of Hollywood, his hometown, with several stars frequently joining him in Seattle. For that, his legacy will live on.