Jack Sikma

From Hoopedia

Jack Wayne Sikma (born November 14, 1955 in Kankakee, Illinois) is an NBA coach and former NBA center.

Sikma was an all-state player at St. Anne High, Illinois, and was selected by the Chicago Sun-Times as the state Class A Player of the Year for 1973. He went on to play at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he led IWU to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships in 1975, 1976 and 1977. The 6-foot-11 center is IWU's career leader in scoring (2,272 points) and rebounding (1,405).

He was drafted eighth overall in the 1977 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.

Sikma was named to the NBA's 1977-1978 All-Rookie team. He was named to seven All-Star teams (from 1979 to 1985). He helped the Sonics win the championship in 1978-79, teaming with Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams and an aging Paul Silas. Sikma never failed to average double figures in points-per-game throughout his career, and after his stint with the Sonics, he maintained consistent numbers while playing with the Milwaukee Bucks in his final five seasons. For his career, Sikma scored 17,287 points and grabbed 10,816 rebounds.

Sikma was one of the most accurate shooting centers in NBA history. He holds the rare distinction of leading the league in free throw percentage (92.2%) while playing the center position during the 1987-88 season and averaged 84.9% for his career. Sikma also made over 200 three-pointers during his career with a 32.8% three-point percentage.

Along with his accurate shooting, Sikma led the NBA in defensive rebounds in both 1981-82 and 1983-84 while playing in Seattle. His jersey #43 was retired by Seattle during a halftime ceremony of a Sonics vs. Detroit Pistons game on November 21, 1992.

Sikma later served as an assistant coach with the SuperSonics. In June 2007 Sikma was hired by the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach to Rick Adelman. Among his duties he tutors Yao Ming in "big man" playing strategies.

External Links

• Database Basketball player stats
• Sonics bio