Payton was part of Seattle sports fabric

The problem with today's sports heroes is that very often they're not heroes, and most of the time, we share them with somebody else. There are only so many Cal Ripkens and Hank Aarons to go around, spending most or all of their athletic lives with one franchise.

Gary Payton is raw and rude and if you sat close enough for Sonics games at KeyArena, you could hear him yap a familiar phrase to an opposing player: "You can't guard me."

He was as bawdy as a belch at a dinner party, but he was ours. Payton, traded yesterday to the Milwaukee Bucks, ranks as an enduring icon of Seattle sports.

It figures that the Bucks would be in town tonight to play the Sonics, though Payton won't play. No circle-your-calendar-six-weeks-from-now date. Payton's in your face, post-haste.

Payton never won a championship in Seattle, but other than the 1979 Sonics and the 1991 Washington football team, who has?

"Gary's just been a great, great player for Seattle," said the man who coached the 1979 Sonics, Lenny Wilkens, yesterday from Toronto. "He's brought a lot of memorable moments to them. He's been a professional. He's been unique.

"They should feel fortunate for the years they've had him. Unfortunately, professional sports is a business, even though sometimes we don't want to realize that."

Sonics' all-time leaders *Regular season only Points 1. Gary Payton 18,207 2. Fred Brown 14,018 3. Jack Sikma 12,034 Assists 1. Gary Payton 7,384 2. Nate McMillian 4,893 3. Fred Brown 3,160 Rebounds 1. Jack Sikma 7,729 2. Shawn Kemp 5,978 3. Gary Payton 4,240 Steals 1. Gary Payton 2,107 2. Nate McMillian 1,544 3. Fred Brown 1,149 Games played 1. Gary Payton 999 2. Fred Brown 963 3. Nate McMillan 796 Minutes played 1. Gary Payton 36,858 2. Jack Sikma 24,707 3. Fred Brown 24,422 Three-pointers 1. Gary Payton 917 2. Dale Ellis 699 3. Sam Perkins 592

The list of figures who have made a dramatic impact on sports in Seattle isn't long. In most cases, it requires longevity and excellence, two elements that escape most of jockdom here as elsewhere. It helps when your sport is prominent enough to warrant attention outside its own sphere.

"I think he belongs up there with them," Wilkens said. "He's had a tremendous impact on Seattle."

Some figures, such as baseball's Edgar Martinez and football's Steve Largent, were revered as much for their professionalism and willingness to be down to earth as their ability.

Others win acclaim simply because of the majesty of their work or the consistency of it. Twelve years after the Mariners were born, Ken Griffey Jr. finally brought excitement to the franchise and shortly thereafter, Lou Piniella brought credibility as the manager.

If Griffey was charismatic, Don James was as understated as a dinner salad. But he won, more than any other Washington football coach.

Huskies football is the longest-running big thing in this town. Because of the nature of college sports, the athletes aren't as enduring as the coach, even guys such as Steve Emtman or Hugh McElhenny.

The criteria thus get fuzzy. Wilkens' 1979 Sonics — Jack Sikma, Fred Brown, Gus Williams and Co. — are remembered warmly for doing what no other major-league sports franchise has done here, bring a championship to the city.

There are others whose imprint is uniquely Seattle, almost as much for quirky circumstances as for their numbers. Jim Zorn's scrambles were symbolic of Seattle's early days in the NFL. Jay Buhner was Everyman, making bald beautiful as a Mariner.

Don Duncan, the former Times columnist who authored the book "Washington: The First One Hundred Years," advances the names of Fred Hutchinson, the baseball pitcher and manager; Bill Muncey, unlimited hydroplane driver; and Helene Madison, who won three swimming gold medals in the 1932 Olympics. Another whose achievement predated pro sports here was Jim Whittaker, the first American to scale Mount Everest in 1963.

It seems so long ago that Payton was frequently criticized for his play with the Sonics. In the early days, there were people who said he couldn't shoot and that he was more of a No. 2 guard than a point.

Ultimately, he proved them wrong. He worked on his shot and whatever number guard he was, he performed. Even in the times when he feuded with teammates, coaches or an owner, he put out. He didn't cheat any fan.

"He was a guy who wasn't afraid to take the big shot," observed Wilkens.

In the Seattle sports landscape, he was one as well.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com