National Basketball Association

Family, friends pay last respects to Pollin

Published Nov. 28, 2009 12:18 a.m. ET

foxsports

Abe Pollin cared so deeply for his Washington Wizards that former coach Wes Unseld remembers him coming into the locker room after victories and giving players a celebratory peck on the cheek.

Once, an uncomfortable player told Unseld he'd punch Pollin if it happened again.

"You go ahead and knock him out," Unseld recalled telling the player. "But your career is over. You're not going to be able to get up yourself, because I'm going to take care of you."

The NBA's longest-tenured owner, Pollin died Tuesday at 85. Unseld and others remembered him Friday during a funeral at the Washington Hebrew Congregation.