Abe Pollin, whose 45 years directing the Washington Wizards made him the NBA’s longest-tenured club owner, died on Tuesday at age 85, hours before his team won a tribute triumph in an arena he built.
There was a moment of silence before the Wizards edged Philadelphia 108-107 behind 32 points and 14 rebounds from Antawn Jamison.
“He would want us to celebrate his life and not mourn his death,” Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. “That’s just the individual he was. But when you’re here going through it, it’s not that easy.”
Pollin suffered from progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disorder that affected his balance and movement.
“With Abe Pollin’s passing, the NBA family has lost its most revered member,” NBA commissioner David Stern said. “During his illness he fought with a determination and valor that will remain an inspiration to all.”
Pollin used his own money to build the Wizards home arena and was recalled by those whose lives he touched.
STILL SHOOTING
“He wanted a championship before he died and as long as I’m here that’s what I’m going to be shooting for,” Wizards star Gilbert Arenas said.
At 4-9, the Wizards are far from a championship contender, but they held a beloved space in Pollin’s heart even though their only NBA crown came in 1978.
Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan, a former Wizards coach facing his former club for the first time, felt the loss as keenly as he had the thrill of coaching his hometown team thanks to Pollin.
“I had a very close relationship with him,” Jordan said. “It’s adversity for me to overcome to focus in and get my team to play at a high level.”
Pollin bought the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets in 1964 and moved them to suburban Washington in 1973, renaming the team the Capital Bullets for one season and then the Washington Bullets.
TITLE
The Bullets won the 1978 NBA crown, the only title Pollin’s squad ever captured. The next year, Pollin took the club to China, making the team the first NBA squad to play in the Asian nation.
In 1997, Pollin renamed the Bullets as the Wizards, in part because of the huge number of gun slayings in the US capital, and moved the team from a suburban arena into a 20,000-seat downtown coliseum he built in the Chinatown neighborhood, sparking a redevelopment that continues to this day.
Stern called Pollin’s stewardship of the Wizards “a study in unparalleled dedication to the city of Washington” and saw the downtown arena as his greatest achievement for the city.
Pollin, who underwent heart bypass surgery four years ago and in 2007 suffered a broken pelvis, was known for loyalty and running an empire of sports clubs that once included hockey’s Washington Capitals.
In other NBA action, it was:
• Lakers 100, Knicks 90
• Raptors 123, Pacers, 112
• Nuggets 101, Nets 87
• Warriors 111, Mavericks 103
• Thunder 104, Jazz 94
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