Hoops Habit
Fansided

Oklahoma City Thunder: 25 Best Players To Play For The Thunder

By Phil Watson

May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors in game six of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
May 28, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; General view of t-shirts lining the seats before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors in game six of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 26
Next
Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Seattle SuperSonics Lonnie Shelton (8) in action vs Los Angeles Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) at The Forum. Inglewood, CA 4/22/1980 - 4/30/1980 CREDIT: Peter Read Miller (Photo by Peter Read Miller /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X24444 )
Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Seattle SuperSonics Lonnie Shelton (8) in action vs Los Angeles Lakers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (33) at The Forum. Inglewood, CA 4/22/1980 – 4/30/1980 CREDIT: Peter Read Miller (Photo by Peter Read Miller /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X24444 ) /

PF. 1978-83. Lonnie Shelton. 20. player. 149. Compensation from New York Knicks, Oct. 4, 1978.

The Seattle SuperSonics acquired Lonnie Shelton in October 1978 along with first-round draft picks in 1979 and 1981 as compensation for the New York Knicks‘ signing of veteran free agent Marvin Webster.

What the Sonics got was the missing link to an NBA champion.

Seattle had reached the NBA Finals the year before, losing in seven games to the Washington Bullets. With Shelton in tow manning the power forward spot, Jack Sikma was able to slide over to his natural center position.

The Sonics returned to the Finals and Shelton put up 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 29.4 minutes per game on 38.9 shooting from the floor while going 3-for-6 at the line as Seattle won its first NBA title in five games over Washington.

Shelton was an All-Star for the Sonics in 1982 and was named All-Defensive in 1981-82, an imposing specimen at 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds.

In June 1983, Shelton was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a 1983 second-round pick.

In five seasons in Seattle, Shelton averaged 13.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 30.6 minutes per game, shooting .498/2-for-19/.746. He does not appear on any of the franchise’s all-time leaderboards.

He averaged 17.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as a junior at Oregon State before signing with the ABA’s Spirits of St. Louis in April 1976.

With the ABA wobbling on its last legs, the Knicks selected Shelton in the second round, 25th overall, in the 1976 NBA Draft.

When the Spirits folded in August 1976 as part of the merger between the rival leagues, Shelton was not placed in the dispersal draft and his rights were instead assigned to New York.

He wound up earning a starting job as a rookie.

Injuries slowed Shelton in 1984-85 and 1985-86 and he retired after the latter season having played in only 44 games.

Next: Downtown Made A Career Of It In Seattle

Home/Oklahoma City Thunder