SeaTown Sports Top 100 (#30-#21)
Brian and Kevin count down the top 100 professional Seattle sports athletes of all time.
In celebration of surpassing 100 subscribers, SeaTown Sports is counting down the top 100 professional Seattle sports athletes of all-time. This list will not include individual athletes like Apolo Ohno or Michael Chang and it does not include any college stars who did not play in Seattle professionally (think Steve Emtman or Kelsey Plum). Also, you won’t see any Seattle Kraken athletes on the list. We just haven’t seen any individual performers at a high enough level in the past three seasons in the deep. Kevin and Brian hope this list provides an opportunity for fun discussion as our readers keep engaging with us moving forward.
#30 - Ray Allen, Sonics
Key Accomplishments: Basketball Hall of Fame, 4x All-Star, 1x 2nd team All-NBA
Ray Allen was absurdly good as a Seattle SuperSonic. When Allen was acquired in the trade that sent away Gary Payton, it was a hard sell for Sonics fans. GP was the best Sonic ever and for many us, our favorite Sonic ever. But wouldn’t you know? Ray Allen won me over quickly. Maybe averaging 24.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game does that for a fanbase.
Allen went on to star for five total seasons in Seattle, averaging over 23 points per game in all of those seasons. Ray Ray was not only a three point marksmen, but a heck of a scorer from all three levels. The 2004-05 season was particularly awesome, with the Sonics beating Mike “Cry Bibby” and the Kings in the first round of the playoffs. Allen put up 33, 45 and 30 in the last three games of that series.
While Allen was fun to watch as a Sonic, people forget how athletic and ridiculous he was as a young player. It has nothing do with his time in Seattle, but you have to watch old Ray.
#29 - Lenny Wilkens, Sonics
Key Accomplishments: 3x All-Star, Player-Coach from 1969-1972
Lenny Wilkens’ legacy in Seattle reaches beyond the court, which is both fair and unfair. For most Seattle athletes ranked on this top 100 list, we stuck exclusively to their on court contributions and nothing they did as a coach. However, Wilkens’ time in Seattle can’t really be compared to anyone else. Traded to the Sonics from the St. Louis Hawks for Walt Hazzard, Wilkens averaged 19.5 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists in his four years in Seattle. Those numbers are already good enough in a short stint to make this list, but Wilkens also became the player-coach in his second year with the Sonics. Seattle rose up the Western Conference standings to a 47 win season in Wilkens’ final year before he was traded and they plummeted to a 26 win team.
Of course, Lenny Wilkens returned to Seattle as strictly the coach in 1977. Just one year later, the Sonics appeared in the NBA Finals and in 1979 won their only NBA championship.
#28 - Megan Rapinoe, Reign
Key Accomplishments: 1x NWSL 1st Team Best 11, 5x NWSL 2nd Team Best 11, 6th in NWSL history in goals, top goal scorer in Reign history
It is hard to separate Megan Rapinoe, the cultural and political icon, from Megan Rapinoe, the Reign soccer player, from Megan Rapinoe, the U.S. National Team star. The whole body of work would likely put Rapinoe in the top 10 in Seattle history. As a Reign player, Rapinoe had 12 more goals than any player in Seattle history while also finishing as the club’s career assist leader. The seasons of dominance were plenty for Megan Rapinoe as she earned first or second team NWSL Best XI honors six total times. Ridiculous. The Reign honored Rapinoe recently by retiring her number, making her the first to receive that distinction in club history.
#27 - Gus Williams, Sonics
Key Accomplishments: 2x All-Star, 1x 1st team All-NBA, 1x 2nd team All-NBA, ranks 6th all time in points, 4th in assists and 4th in steals in Sonics history
When you ask a Sonics fan about the greatest Sonics in franchise history, the names of Kemp, Payton and even Sikma probably come out first. Those with more time in the city will throw out Slick Watts due to his charisma or Fred Brown because he had a great nickname. Unfortunately, people forget about the great Gus Williams. Nicknamed “The Wizard”, Williams was magical on the court. He averaged 19.2 points per game in the 1978-79 season but turned it up in the playoffs with an incredible 28.6 points per game in the NBA Finals. Bringing home a NBA championship would be enough, but Williams’ fascinating story doesn’t end there. Following the 1979-80 season, Williams sat out an entire season in a contract dispute. He came back better than ever, averaging 23.4 points and 6.9 assists per game while winning NBA Comeback Player of the Year and finishing 5th in MVP voting. He did all of this while looking like he was 55 years old.
#26 - Jacob Green, Seahawks
Key Accomplishments: Seahawks Ring of Honor, 2x Pro Bowl, Seahawks all-time leader in sacks
If you are under 40 years old, you probably don’t know much about Jacob Green. He doesn’t get mentioned among the Seahawks greats like Marshawn, Kam, Sherm, Earl, Largent, Alexander, Tez and Bobby. He is the forgotten Hawk. Now imagine the Seahawks had a player on their roster who put up these sack numbers in consecutive seasons:
12 sacks
3 sacks (injured - only played 9 games)
16 sacks
13 sacks
13.5 sacks
12 sacks
9.5 sacks
9 sacks
How would you speak of a player putting up these numbers? They would be a legend. And Jacob Green is a legend. Green played 13 seasons in Seattle and finished his career third all-time in NFL history in sacks behind Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor. Read that again. Put some respect on Jacob Green’s name the next time you discuss Seahawks greats.
#25 - Chad Marshall, Sounders
Key Accomplishments: 2014 MLS Defender of the Year, 2x MLS Best XI
Want to get people riled up about rankings? Put a Sounders defender as the 25th best player in Seattle Sports history. With apologies to Ozzie Alonso and Nico Lodeiro fans, Chad Marshall was the best at his position in MLS history. Take your Walker Zimmermans and hit the road. Chad Marshall was the man. What other athlete can look like your dad and dominant you on the pitch at the same time? Only Chad Marshall.
Before coming to Seattle, Marshall was already amazing as he recorded two MLS Best XI awards with Columbus. Dad Chad hit the ground running in Seattle, winning the MLS Defender of the Year award in 2014. Marshall led the Sounders defense to two MLS Cup titles and is only player in league history to win three defender of the year awards.
Don’t come for our dad. Chad is the man.
#24 - Shaun Alexander, Seahawks
Key Accomplishments: 2005 NFL MVP, 3x Pro Bowl, 1x All-Pro, 1x second-team All-Pro, 2x NFL Rushing Touchdown leader, NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, Seahawks all-time rushing yards leader and rushing touchdowns leader
Once Alexander’s eyes saw the end zone, it’s like they got bigger, and he was going to score. Better yet, if it was a primetime game, Alexander was almost guaranteed to score a touchdown.
A few examples:
In his second season in 2001 on Sunday Night Football against the Oakland Raiders, Alexander rushed for a franchise-record 266 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown.
In 2002 on Sunday Night Football against the Minnesota Vikings, Alexander scored five touchdowns in the first half.
His 2005 MVP season which resulted in the Seahawks making its first ever Super Bowl included two four-touchdown games, and he became the first player in NFL history to score 19 touchdowns in only 10 games.
#23 - Kam Chancellor, Seahawks
Key Accomplishments: 4x Pro Bowls, 2x Second-Team All-Pro, Super Bowl XLVIII Champion
The first member of the Legion of Boom enters the list at No. 23. If Richard Sherman was the brains and Earl Thomas was the skills of LOB, Chancellor could be aptly described as LOB’s hammer. One of his best games was Super Bowl XLVIII where he made ten combined tackles, deflected two passes, and intercepted a pass by quarterback Peyton Manning.
Chancellor turned in another memorable playoff performance in the 2014 divsional round game against the Carolina Panthers when he made hit after hit after hit, and also leapt over the Panthers’ offensive line two times. After that game, Sherman said that Chancellor, “damages people’s souls.” Him and Marshawn are arguably the most physical players in Seahawks history.
#22 - Jack Sikma, Sonics
Key Accomplishments: Basketball Hall of Fame, 7x All-Star, NBA champion, ranks 3rd in points, 1st in rebounds, 6th in assists and 5th in blocks in Sonics history
One of Jack Sikma’s best features in his storied NBA career was his hair. Just an incredible mop. If Sikma wasn’t known for his hair, he might be known for his unorthodox jumper. Whether you remember him more for his hair or jumper, Sikma was a stud on the court. With seven straight seasons averaging a double-double in Seattle, Jack Sikma was the epitome of a consistent star. All seven of those seasons, he earned an All-Star berth and he was the starting center on the NBA championship team in 1979 as just a 23 year old. There are so many things to point out about Sikma’s career. He was a 84.9% free throw shooter as a big. He was extremely durable. He received MVP votes to place him in the top 15 in four different seasons. Simply put, Sikma was the first homegrown star in Seattle.
#21 - Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks
Key Accomplishments: 4x Pro Bowls, 1x 1st Team All-Pro, 2x NFL rushing touchdown leader, NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, Super Bowl XLVIII Champion
Where to start? In six years, Beast Mode became not only one of the best and most-loved Seahawks of all-time, he etched his name into Seattle sports history with memorable moment after moment. Before the Super Bowl run, Lynch caused an earthquake with a 67-yard touchdown run and nine broken tackles in Seattle’s playoff win against the New Orleans Saints. During the Super Bowl run, Lynch consistently put forth awesome performance after performance, scoring at least one touchdown in each of Seattle’s playoff victories. There is not enough room to even begin to talk about Marshawn Lynch off the field, nor is there enough room to talk about how he was robbed from a Super Bowl repeat and a game-winning touchdown.
Jack Sikma is hands down my favorite Seattle athlete. The original stretch-5. He was a big part of Sonic's winning the ‘79 title and larger than life to me, the 7 year old kid watching him at the time. His teammates Freddy Brown, Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams and Paul Silas gave me a lot to cheer about cause’ our other Hawks and M’s teams stunk it up back then!
Lenny Wilkins really had some muscles for a player of that era.
Re: Gus Williams, I've never heard of a player being Comeback Player of the Year before when what had derailed him was a contract dispute. But I guess Le'Veon Bell shows how even a voluntary absence can be hard to overcome.
It looks like Comeback Player of the Year hasn't been awarded in the NBA since 1985-1986, otherwise Michael Jordan's return from baseball would have made for an interesting question. But Jordan probably would have been insulted by such a lowly award! With his return to the Wizards, I guess he could have won it twice.
I find Shaun Alexander a prince of a guy, too, in addition to having enjoyed his style and accomplishments.
Kam Chancellor that high surprises me. My view of him, probably off, was that he was kind of one-dimensional.