A Brief History of Seattle High School Basketball

Stream on KVRU 105.7 FM and kvru.org on Wednesday, October 1, at 7pm Pacific time:

Beginning in the 1890s, high school basketball in Seattle has reflected a variety of cultural and social trends while also creating an environment of excellence and achievement. Over recent decades a disproportionate amount of local talent has gone on to play in college and professionally, with the Seattle area producing 30+ National Basketball Association draft picks (including three players chosen in the first round of the 2022 draft, featuring #1 overall selection Paolo Banchero), although its metropolitan area is only 15th in population among U.S. cities. In addition to this, 10% of NBA head coaches in the 2025-26 season are Seattle high school basketball alumni.

What has led to this remarkable growth? Is the Metro League the best high school league in America? The mixture of local history and sociopolitical discourse have combined to provide a unique view of our region through the lens of basketball.

Daudi Abe is a Seattle-based professor, writer, and historian who has delivered curriculum covering topics such as culture, race, gender, law enforcement, education, hip-hop, and sports spanning four decades. He has taught all levels from kindergarten to graduate school, serving the last twenty plus years as an instructor and course developer at Seattle Central College.

Dr. Abe’s book Emerald Street: A History of Hip-Hop in Seattle was published in 2020 by University of Washington Press.

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