I was lucky enough to watch Lonnie Shelton when he was at the top of his game. He was a rebounding force for the Seattle Supersonics and was part of the 1979 title team. He also was an outstanding member of the Oregon State Beavers from 1973 thru 1976.
Lonnie was in poor health in recent weeks due to high blood pressure after a heart attack in May. Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune tweeted that Lonnie was in a medically induced coma the past two weeks because of that high blood pressure. Lonnie was just 62 years old.
Lonnie will be survived by his three sons LJ, Tim and Titus. Athleticism clearly runs in the family, as LJ played in the NFL, Titus played college basketball at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Marlon played basketball for the University of Washington.
Shelton was always willing to take the time to chat after games at the Kingdome and was a guy you could depend on for that key rebound.
He was also selected to play in the 1982 All-Star Game along with two Sonics teammates Jack Sikma and Gus Williams.