Jack Sikma and His Towering SODO Mural

Though the Sonics spent most of their history north of downtown, SODO is without question the epicenter of Seattle sports. The longtime home of the Seahawks and Mariners (and the Sonics for a number of years) the industrial district is synonymous with our city’s sports teams. More recently, SODO has become a hub for urban artwork, including sports murals. The latest and greatest of these murals features Sonics legend Jack Sikma and is located on 1st Ave S, about a block south of T-Mobile Park.

As the tallest superstar in Sonics history, Jack Sikma is hard to miss, making him a perfect street art candidate. Sikma has a storied history in Seattle – he was a cornerstone of the 1979 championship team and established himself as one of the best bigs of his era during his 9 years with the Sonics. Sikma’s 7 All-Star selections while in Seattle rank second in team history, behind only Gary Payton.

Taken by the Sonics with the 8th pick in the 1977 NBA draft, Jack Sikma entered the league as a little-known commodity out of NAIA Illinois Wesleyan. Immediately thrust into duty as the team’s starting Center, Sikma was a crucial part of the 1979 championship team despite only being in his second year, averaging 15 and 12 with 1.5 blocks during the course of the playoff run. Sikma’s prowess as a jump-shooting big man blazed a trail for the stretch fives and pick-and-pop bigs of the 21st century. Countless modern bigs have stolen his moves and modeled their games after his – Dirk Nowitzki most famously.

Local artist Weirdo is behind SODO’s Jack Sikma mural, an homage to the gentle giant who held down Seattle’s paint for almost a decade. The mural stands over two stories tall and features the Sikma in the fan-favorite green road jerseys.

The Sikma mural is part of a larger “Seattle Sports Hall of Fame” exhibition also featuring Edgar Martinez of the Mariners and Walter Jones of the Seahawks. Each mural stresses a different era of Seattle sports dominance – Sikma in the 70’s/80’s, Martinez in the 90’s, and Jones in the 2000’s. A recent Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee, Sikma joined Jones and Martinez as a Hall of Famer in September of 2019. In his induction speech, he noted his love for Sonics fans and the need to bring a team back to Seattle.

Want to pay Jack’s mural a visit? You can find it here.