SuperSonics’ success stems from Lewis

One of the reasons the Seattle SuperSonics have compiled their scintillating start (17-3) is that small forward Rashard Lewis appears to have taken another step in his development.

Through the first quarter of the season, Lewis is playing much like the All-Star the team expected him to become when he was signed to a seven-year, $60 million contract.

He has led the Sonics in scoring in half the team’s 20 games, compared to nine games for Ray Allen. Lewis is 19th in league scoring at 21 points a game, and is averaging a team-high 1.21 blocks a game.

But perhaps the thing that sets Lewis apart more than anything this season is the leadership he has displayed in his seventh year in the league.

Quiet by nature, it is not generally in Lewis’ makeup to be demonstrative.

Yet he is making it an emphasis this year. Lewis admits it sometimes takes a conscious effort to be animated because of his quiet demeanor.

“I just try to go out on the court and get the job done,” he said. “This year, I think I am more emotionally into the game so it kind of just flows out. And I feel like we have a good team, and we are more of a family, so it makes it a whole lot easier to talk to guys who are going to listen.”

There are two indicators of Lewis’ maturation. In the past, like a child trying to test his boundaries, Lewis would jabber at the officials on what he felt were bad calls, sometimes berating them to the point of earning a technical foul. Now, more often than not, Lewis simply walks away.

Also, Lewis said he took it upon himself this summer at his home in Houston to study the issue of leadership.

“Over the summer, I talked to a lot of different … leaders of their teams,” Lewis said. “I listened to them in interviews talking about being a leader. Lawyer Milloy (the Buffalo Bills defensive back), I talked with him over the summer. We have the same agent. He was talking about how he was a leader, how they rely on him out on the field.

“Everybody I talked to, they said your team only goes as far as your leader. And I felt this year I had to be more vocal for this team to be successful. I always show it in practice and out on the court, but I need to be more vocal, too.”

The Sonics now huddle at midcourt after every game to say a few words about the game just played, and the one upcoming. Anybody can speak, the players say, but almost always there are some words from both Allen and Lewis.

“I most definitely think it is another step in the learning process of being a leader out on the floor,” Lewis said.