Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | September 14, 2006
Spencer Haywood remains the Seattle SuperSonics all-time career leader in both points and rebounds per game. It took a Supreme Court ruling just to get Haywood in the Green and Gold, however, as he became the first player to enter the NBA before exhausting his college eligibility. The NBA responded by creating a hardship rule that paved the way for players to enter the NBA early, making Haywood a true pioneer. Haywood and Slick Watts will be honored this Saturday, when 
the Sonics & Storm Legends Tour stops at the Magnolia Community Center/Catherine Blaine Elementary.
Haywood chatted with SUPERSONICS.COM in advance of the event, but his storytelling style doesn't lend itself to a traditional Q&A, so we've grouped his comments into several sections.
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"We've made a lot of history together, the Seattle Sonics and I. We have a lot of history. I'm sure fans will look that up and see what kind of history."
Wen Roberts/NBAE Photos
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On the city of Seattle ...:
It's always wonderful to come home to Seattle - I always say it's my first home. I got my start there, basically, with the Sonics. I went through to the Supreme Court and went there with the Sonics, in a Sonics jersey. We've made a lot of history together, the Seattle Sonics and I. We have a lot of history. I'm sure fans will look that up and see what kind of history.
I just remember what an enthusiastic group of people and one of the best cities, if not the best cities, that I have ever visited or lived in, because of its openness at that time - and it probably still is. There was just an openness coming out of the '60s and into the '70s. Racism, I didn't see any of that, that so permeated that era. Everybody seemed to be above it all, as if I was living in Canada or someplace like that. It's just a great place, a very wonderful place.
One of the great things about it is there's a lot of great food to choose from. At that time, it was called the Public Market - now it's the Pike Place Market. To go down there and get sockeye salmon and get that fresh halibut, and then I'd go down to Ivar's and get halibut and other fish. I love fish a lot and I love the fishes of Seattle, of Washington - they're very fresh.
Seattle, the city - let me give you a picture of it when I first arrived. It was this hilly place, I remember seeing Mt. Rainier, that snow cap. It's a pictureqsque town. Coming in on that private jet, I was landing at Boeing Field, I thought I was looking at a giant, beautiful, mosaic picture - the houses and all of the water and so green I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'Is this some kind of garden? Is this the Garden of Eden? This is the prettiest place I've ever seen.'
When I hit the ground, there were all these people - white, black, Asian - speaking to me and saying, 'Hi, how are you doing?' There was a warmness I had never felt in America, and I haven't felt it since or after. It's a very unique place. Originally when I got there, I said, 'When I win this case and get to playing full time, I'm going to bring my whole family out here - my sisters and brothers, my mama and everybody.' And guess what? I brought them all out there. I brought seven sisters and brothers out there. Right now, we still have three that live there. One worked for Boeing for 35 years - she just retired. My niece now works with the city of Seattle. She's been there for 26 years. My other sister, she's been there for 30 years, working with the cities. That's the kind of place it was - and still is. I don't want to speak of it in the past, I want to speak of it in the present as well. Seattle has not changed - you've got a few more Californian people.
On Sonics fans ...:
They were my family. That brought all of us closer. When the Coliseum was full, I could point to every person in there and knew their first name, basically. That's how Seattle was. You associated with the fans. You were promoting NBA basketball, but you were promoting the Sonics. We did fundraisers, we did basketball camps and we did them at the blink of the eye, because that was part of your duty to promote the team that you were with.
It was exciting, because it felt pretty good. You want to be around the people there. The fans were always incredible. I know fans that walk up to me someplace when I'm other places or when I come through Seattle. They'll say, 'Do you remember me sitting in seat number five in row 15?' I try to remember their names - I remember the faces, because you knew everybody. If I had been in any other city, it would have been extremely difficult, because the place was so liberal, so open for an idea like this.
That's how I felt every game I played there - the most enthusiastic fans that I have ever experienced. We were the only thing in town - this was before baseball, before football, before the Kingdome, before the new stadiums. We had one leaky Coliseum.
When I look at Seattle and look at the Supreme Court and what happened, it was my time and God had placed me in the right place, in the right hands, in the right location for everything to happen smoothly. That's the role Seattle played.
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"That's how I felt every game I played there - the most enthusiastic fans that I have ever experienced."
Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty
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On the 1971-72 season ...:
We won 47 games and we missed the playoffs. Can you believe that you win 47 games and miss the playoffs? Let me just tell you what happened. Lenny (Wilkens) was the player-coach - he was our starting guard and the head coach. Rod Thorn, who is now the president and GM of the New Jersey Nets, was the assistant coach. We had a sweet, sweet, hard-working team. I got hurt that year with about five games to go and I think Dick Snyder got hurt with about four to go. We possibly would have made the playoffs, but we missed it by one game.
Lenny and I were with the USA team that was training in Las Vegas, working out and playing golf. We happened to sit around and start talking about this, wow, like it was yesterday. Bill Walton and everybody else was amazed - how are you going to win 47 games and miss the playoffs?
On the path he took to Seattle ...:
I had played in Mexico City, which is very important, playing there for the U.S. Olympic squad. We won the gold. I'm the youngest player in the history of America, still to this day, to do such a thing. It just so happens that I finished with the most points, the most rebounds and the highest field-goal percentage in the Olympics to this day. We got a chance to travel to Russia, Yugoslavia, Finland, all over the world at a young age.
Then I went back to the University of Detroit, then from there to Denver of the ABA. In Denver, I was Rookie of the Year, the leading scorer, leading rebounder, MVP and the first player to go hardship at that time - I left college early.
Then the following year, I went to Seattle. I had signed with Seattle in Los Angeles, where (then-owner) Sam Schulman was doing business. That's where we signed the contract. I thought that we were going to have a nice start and the league would not challenge us because I had played that year in the ABA and had been accepted by professional basketball, but the league decided to sue the Seattle SuperSonics and Spencer Haywood. That led to me going through the lower courts all the way to the state court and the Supreme Court. So the whole town of Seattle was involved in that ride to the Supreme Court that ultimately made basketball what it is, if you think about the people that have (declared early), going all the way back to the McAdoos to the Jordans to the Magics to the LeBrons to the Kobes to the Shaqs to the Garnetts and so forth.
On the 2006-07 season ...:
Good luck this season. Tell the Sonics fans please support the team.
