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Land of the lost: PNW ballers are the new NBA gems

March 10, 2010

by Charles Tuggle

Not traditionally thought of as a hoops hotbed, the Pacific Northwest, and more specifically the greater Seattle area, has recently become the launching point for many successful NBA careers. Often overlooked by basketball Meccas such as New York, Southern California, and the Baltimore/District of Columbia area, Seattle has become one of the surefire regions to provide skilled, NBA-ready ball players. When you get down to it these players fall into three distinct groups with the overall pool of Pacific Northwesterners in the NBA growing every year.

The Truth
The first tier of these Pacific Northwest players is occupied solely by the much beloved Brandon Roy. A graduate of Garfield High in Seattle, Roy went on to star for four years at the University of Washington before effortlessly becoming the best player drafted in 2006. Roy won the Rookie of the Year award in 2007 and has become a perennial All-Star, having been selected every subsequent year. B. Roy is the truth and the measuring stick by which the rest of the PNW ballers are measured.

The Almost Theres
The second tier belongs to consistent NBA players who have played influential roles on playoff teams, providing above-average on-court production. Highlighted by Dallas Mavericks super sixth man, Jason Terry (Franklin High), the second tier also includes Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford (Rainier Beach), newly acquired Boston Celtic Nate Robinson (Rainier Beach), and Houston Rocket Aaron Brooks (Franklin High). Terry is averaging 17 points per game for what is looking to be one of the league’s deepest and deadliest team, while Crawford is averaging 17.3 ppg for the playoff-bound Hawks and is looking like the front-runner for the Sixth Man of the Year award. The always enigmatic Krypto-Nate is averaging 12.3 ppg for the Celtics, while recent Rocket savior Brooks is averaging 19.9 ppg and 5.2 assists. With such consistent production, it is safe to say that the greater Seattle area has undoubtedly become a potent talent-pool for the NBA.

The Wanna Bes
There are countless other Pacific Northwest-bred basketball players that are maintaining quite a comfortable career in the NBA. These include Portland Trailblazer Martell Webster (Seattle Prep), Detroit Piston Rodney Stuckey (Kentwood High), Atlanta Hawk Marvin Williams (Bremerton High), Minnesota Timberwolves and former Lewis & Clark College neighbor Kevin Love (Lake Oswego High), and Sacramento King Spencer Hawes (Seattle Prep).  As well as Milwaukee Bucks’ point gurad Luke Ridinour (Blaine) and Los Angeles Laker reserve and former no. three overall pick Adam Morrison (Mead).

In last year’s NBA draft alone two more PNW ballers made the league. Terrence Willaims (Rainer Beach) was drafted by the New Jersey Nets and former University of Washington big man Jon Brockman (Snohomish), who currently plays for the Sacramento Kings.

So, what is it about the Pacific Northwest that has provided a stepping stone for solid NBA production? I have no real answer to this apparent athletic anomaly. However, I can certainly speculate. Perhaps, the Pacific Northwest area has simply been ignored. There has been a noticeable and recent increasing trend of players from the Seattle area working their way into the NBA. With the advent of AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) teams travelling all over the nation, the coverage and availability of scouting has increased as well. The employment of the Internet in basketball scouting has also increased in the past decade, causing the unfarmed talent of the Pacific Northwest to no longer go unnoticed. Whatever combination of reasons it may be, the basketball world has started to take a keen eye to the Pacific Northwest, and so should you.