Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | April 10, 2007
When
Earl Watson joined
Luke Ridnour on the sidelines Monday night, both players having sprained their left ankles in games at KeyArena, the Seattle SuperSonics were left with only
Mike Wilks to play point guard. Wilks played almost the entire final three quarters and scored 11 points and handed out eight assists, both season highs, in his longest action since coming to Seattle.
Long before injuries gave Wilks a chance to play, however, he had quietly been making an impact for the Sonics behind the scenes.
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"I don't know if I've ever been around a guy who is as absolutely perfect for his role he has on the team."
Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE/Getty
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"I don't know if I've ever been around a guy who is as absolutely perfect for his role he has on the team in terms of managing his emotions and wanting to play," says Sonics Coach
Bob Hill. "When he plays but doesn't play quite as well as he wants to or when he plays and he plays great like he did in Minnesota and I don’t play him the next night, he understands he's the third point guard. He's special to me."
The role of third point guard is a challenging one. Wilks has gone lengthy stretches without seeing any playing time. He did not play double-figures during the entire month of November. As soon as an injury strikes, however, Wilks is counted on to lead the team and run the offense and defense from the point.
"It's (the third point guard) absolutely critical in team-building, because that guy takes the team over himself," says Sonics Assistant Coach Gordon Chiesa. "It's hard not to be in this game. What he's done though, over his career, is he's embraced that role. Let's preface this - he's a good player. Mike Wilks, whenever he's called upon, has played well. It's a hard role to play. It takes a special person, and Mike Wilks is a unique person."
"My role is just being ready," Wilks says. "It's a tough role, but I have to be ready to push guys in practice, to make Luke and Earl better, make the team better. Then stay ready at all times if my number is called. I never know what's going to happen during a game. Somebody may get in foul trouble; God forbid, somebody may get hurt. I want to be a plus out there."
Wilks has turned out to be an incredible plus for the Sonics, as far as plus-minus is concerned. The Sonics have outscored opponents by 46 points this season with Wilks on the court, the highest positive total for any player on the team. Wilks has built that plus-minus rating by playing a key role in a pair of recent Sonics comebacks. He was on the floor for the entire fourth quarter of comebacks from deficits of 20 or more at Minnesota on March 27 (the Sonics were +33 with Wilks on the floor) and at Utah last Saturday (+15).
It is performances like that, changing a game with his presence off the bench, which give Wilks the most satisfaction in his role.
"I think one of the most fulfilling things for me," he says, "is when my number is called and I go out there and I'm able to do a good job - spark the team if we're down, bring the team back if we need a little bit of injury, to go out there and provide that energy, that spark that's necessary. I take great pride in just being able to go out there and do my job. It feels good to be respected by my teammates. I never want to let them down."
Wilks briefly struggled during his stint as the team's backup point guard with Ridnour sidelined by a herniated disc in his neck in early March. In a loss at Boston, Wilks missed all five of his shot attempts and committed three turnovers, but teammates told him to keep playing. Since then, Wilks has been great.
"I've seen Mike Wilks improve tremendously," says Chiesa, who has worked individually with Ridnour and Wilks after most Sonics practices this season. "Mike Wilks is an underrated shooter, both from three-point range and with the midrange game. Mike Wilks is always working on his game after practice."
Even when he has not been on the floor, Wilks has contributed to the Sonics by practicing hard and pushing Ridnour and Watson during drills and scrimmages. Within the locker room, Wilks, the team's representative to the NBA Players Association and the only player on the team to win an NBA Championship (in 2005 with San Antonio), takes on a leadership role.
"It's invaluable," Hill says. "He's great in the locker room. He leads a lot of the team prayers before we take the court and gives perfect prayers. He articulates and his message is good. His locker is organized clean and straight. He's on time. He presents himself in a professional way, wears suits all the time on the road.
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"I don't know what else to say to you. He's great in every way, shape and form."
Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty
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"I don't know what else to say to you. He's great in every way, shape and form. He's got a great attitude. He's a pro. He understands his role. He's also very good with his teammates. He's a great teammate. He reaches out to them and counsels them and consoles them - everything. He's really special."
Wilks appreciates his role as a player rep and the trust from the teammates it symbolizes.
"It's a role that I like, a role that I embrace," he says. "It's a role that my teammates voted on me to have, so it feels good that they have confidence in me to fulfill that role. I like learning about the business side of basketball. It's important, not only for the guys that are playing now, but for the future of the game. I want to make sure that the league is intact and kind of pave the way like the guys before us paved the way."
Wilks' leadership role is somewhat unorthodox in that many teams are led by their star players. 
Ray Allen does so with assistance from 
Rashard Lewis in the Sonics locker room, but Wilks also holds a place of respect.
"It's unusual, and that just shows you what a great person Mike Wilks is," explains Chiesa. "He's a natural leader. Michael Wilks is a natural leader, meaning this - he has a persona in the locker room and also on the court of helping people do the right thing. He's an encourager, and that's a skill to have."
Back in training camp, Wilks narrowly beat out Milt Palacio for the third point guard spot. Now, Hill says, "I'm really glad Mike's here." Wilks' willingness to accept a role that can be challenging at times and his understanding of how to do it have made him invaluable to the Sonics.
"You have to find a balance," Wilks concludes. "We're very competitive. Every guy wants to be out on the court. At the same time, in my role, you have to accept it without complaining, without being a cancer in the locker room, without wishing anything bad on another teammate so you can get the opportunity. I think you have to have that balance of a good attitude as well as a competitive nature. You still want to get that spot, but without being negative or doing anything negative in the locker room."
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