Lenny Wilkens died at 88. He made history several times in his life.
Lenny Wilkens, one of the most elegant players in NBA history, died on Sunday at the age of 88. The nine-time All-Star was inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach – an honor only he, John Wooden, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell received.
Growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of New York, Wilkens lost his father early and discovered basketball late. A heartfelt letter from his pastor secured him a scholarship to Providence College, where he rose to become a two-time All-American. The St. Louis Hawks drafted the left-handed point guard in the first round in 1960. In just his second NBA season, Wilkens led the Hawks to the playoffs, despite interim military service. In 1968, he finished second behind Wilt Chamberlain in the MVP voting.
Lenny Wilkens is an NBA legend
After the trade to the Seattle SuperSonics, Wilkens was promoted to player-coach in 1969 – a novelty for an African American at the time. “Everyone said I was a coach on the court anyway,” he later recalled. In his third season, he led the young franchise to a 47-35 record, the first positive result in club history.
His greatest hour came in 1979: With Seattle, Wilkens defeated the Washington Bullets in the Finals and gave the city its only NBA title to date. In total, he collected 1,332 wins on the sidelines – currently third on the all-time list – at stations in Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, Toronto and New York. In 1994, the league named him Coach of the Year, and two years later he won Olympic gold as head coach of the US team.
As a player (1989), coach (1998) and assistant coach of the legendary Dream Team of 1992 (2010), Wilkens immortalized himself three times in the Hall of Fame. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver honored him as “one of the 75 greatest players and 15 greatest coaches of all time.”
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