Remembering Lonnie Shelton And The 1979 Title Winning , Seattle SuperSonics

Exactly thirty five years and one week before the ’18 Warriors completed a 4 game sweep of the Cavaliers on Friday night June 8th, the Seattle SuperSonics,  winning games (2-5), claimed the NBA crown on Friday night June 1, 1979.

Today in light (hopefully we all eventually go to it, and here’s hoping we see another context of the word light, while on earth) of the passing of that title team’s fine forward, Lonnie Shelton at age 62, I recall that truly fine team.

Seattle under Lenny Wilkens, a rare tremendous player and coach, went to the NBA final in 1978, losing in 7 to the Washington Bullets and a year after their title, were denied in games (2-5) of the semis, by the eventual champion Lakers.

This year a Washington team (the NHL Capitals) won the city/district’s first crown since the 1978 Bullets, doing so 40 years later and by winning games (2-5) of a series, as the Super Sonics did in ’79 and had done to them in the ’80 semis.

Both ’79 title team Johnsons, the great player and ’79 Final Series MVP, after a horror game 7 in ’78, Dennis Johnson and the fine forward, classy John Johnson, predeceased Mr. Shelton.

What a team and hopefully the “heaven” team can wait; what nice memories even “Horse” (aka Brent Musburger, saying “D.J”, “J.J”and other nicknames incessantly during the telecasts, all live, albeit 4 of the 5 either 11:30 P.M. Eastern Time starts or played on Sunday afternoons).

The ’13 Seahawks own the only other modern Seattle major sports league title.