The NBA left Seattle nearly a decade and a half ago, but its influence still percolates throughout the city, with Christian King the latest connection.
On Sunday night, the 6-foot-8 King, the son of former Sonics center Rich King who plays for Seattle Preparatory School, announced on social media that he was committing to Mike Hopkins' Husky basketball program — the second recruit in the next class with a family pro basketball link to do so.
Earlier, 6-foot-4 shooting guard Wesley Yates, a cousin for Quincy Pondexter, the former UW and NBA forward and a current Hopkins assistant coach, and from Beaumont, Texas, offered his pledge to the next Husky recruiting class.
This King is a different body and playing type than his father, standing four inches shorter than Rich, who was a first-round pick out of Nebraska and set up in the paint in five NBA seasons.
This younger King brings a 3-point shooting touch and averaged 23 points per game as a junior. He chose the Huskies over UCSB, Seattle U, Lehigh, and Lorenzo Romar's Pepperdine program.
Besides King and Yates, the Huskies previously have welcomed the likes of Shawn Kemp Jr., Spencer Hawes, Donald Watts and Pondexter, all sons or nephews of NBA players.
The younger Kemp, the 6-foot-9 son of the Sonics standout of the same name, was last a UW starter during the 2014-15 season and averaged 9.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The 7-foot-1 Hawes, whose uncle Steve was a UW and NBA standout, spent 10 years in the NBA himself after playing only the 2006-07 season with the Huskies.
Watt, who averaged 16.9 points per game for the UW in 1997-98, is the son of former Sonics point guard Slick Watts and helped the Huskies to a pair of NCAA tournament berths.
The 6-foot-7 Pondexter, who averaged 19.7 points per game as a senior for the UW in 2009-20, is the nephew of Cliff Pondexter, a former NBA player for the Chicago Bulls, and the son of Roscoe, who was a third-round draft pick for the Boston Celtics but played overseas.
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