Jack Sikma

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Jack Sikma bigraphy, stories - American basketball player-coach

Jack Sikma : biography

November 14, 1955 –

Jack Wayne Sikma (born November 14, 1955, in Kankakee, Illinois) is a retired American NBA basketball center who is currently an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was known for his distinctive curly, blonde hair in his playing days.

Notes

Family

Sikma’s son, Luke, played for the University of Portland Pilots, then signed with UB La Palma in LEB Oro. His other son, Nate, currently plays for the University of Hartford Hawks men’s basketball team.

Post-playing career

From 2003 to 2007 he worked with the Seattle SuperSonics as an assistant coach.

In June 2007 Sikma was hired by the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach to head coach, Rick Adelman. Among his duties were to tutor center, Yao Ming, in "big man" playing strategies. On December 6, 2011 he was signed as an assistant coach by the Minnesota Timberwolves, again under Adelman.

Playing career

Sikma played at Illinois Wesleyan University. He was drafted eighth overall in 1977 by the Seattle SuperSonics, Sikma was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Among his notable career achievements are his seven All-Star Game selections (from 1979 to 1985) and his championship ring won with the 1978–1979 Sonics, where Sikma teamed with talented players such as Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams and an aging Paul Silas. Sikma always averaged 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 he averaged 15.6 points (17,287 in total) and just under 9.8 rebounds per game over 14 seasons and 1107 games.

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; he averaged 84.9% in free-throw shooting for his career. Sikma also made over 200 three-pointers during his career with a 32.8% three-point accuracy.

Along with his accurate shooting, Sikma led the league in defensive rebounds in both 1981–82 and 1983–84 while playing for Seattle.