Jack Sikma

A true 7-footer, Jack Sikma played basketball in an era when the game’s most effective big men were confined to a spot deep in the post, back turned to the basket, extended arm calling for the pass, forever trying to score from two feet in. Not Jack Sikma. Sikma was a more skilled, more polished player than most men his size, adept at passing and capable of stretching the floor with his soft touch. His inside reverse pivot froze would-be defenders and gave him the space he needed to get off his high-release shot. Appropriately named the Sikma Move, the farmboy from Illinois Wesleyan University perfected the maneuver through repetition and hard work. Sikma arrived in Seattle the small-college Player of the Year, an unknown really, but by his second season in the NBA when he helped the Supersonics to the franchise’s only championship, Seattle fans rightfully recognized the double-double machine as one of the great centers of the era. In Milwaukee, Sikma added three-point range to his ever evolving skill set. Sikma is the only center in history to lead the NBA in free throw percentage.