NBA Stars to Play Exhibition Game at Seattle’s Key Arena

Tragically, Seattle no longer has an NBA team. But Brandon Roy and other NBAers will give that city’s hoops fans a small glimpse of NBA action during an exhibition game this weekend. From the Oregonian: “Blazers guard Brandon Roy headlines the field of the H206 Charity Basketball Classic, billed as ‘a state-wide public celebration showcasing the contribution of basketball to the Pacific Northwest.’ Roy will lead a ‘Seattle’ team, made up of players from the area, which will take on a ‘League’ team of NBA and recently-drafted players from outside the Seattle area. Roy’s Seattle team includes former Blazer Martell Webster, who plays for Minnesota; former University of Oregon star Aaron Brooks, who is a restricted free agent with the Suns; and Atlanta guard Jamal Crawford, a former NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner. The League team includes Nolan Smith, who was drafted by the Blazers out of Duke last month; Kyle Singler, the former South Medford High School star who was Smith’s teammate at Duke and was drafted by Detroit; and former University of Portland star Pooh Jeter, who played for Sacramento this past season and is a free agent. The game tips off at 3:30 p.m. and is preceded by pre-game festivities starting at 2 p.m. that will include three-point, skills and halfcourt shot competitions. The halftime festivities will include a tribute to the Sonics 1979 NBA championship, with Lenny Wilkens, Fred Brown, Jack Sikma, Gus Williams, Paul Silas and Wally Walker invited to appear.”