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Lenny Wilkens Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The inductee, both a player and coach, died Sunday at age 88.
Wilkens, who played 15 years in NBA — including four seasons as a player-coach — was one of five men inducted into the Hall of Fame in both roles. Others were John Wooden, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell.
“Lenny Wilkens represented the very best in the NBA – as a Hall of Fame player, a Hall of Fame coach and one of the game’s most respected ambassadors,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “So much so that four years ago Lenny received a unique honor: he was named one of the league's 75 greatest players and 15 greatest coaches of all time.”
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Lenny Wilkens of the Portland Trail Blazers watches the Washington Bullets during an NBA basketball game circa 1975 at the Capital Center in Landover, Maryland. Wilkens played for the Trail Blazers from 1974 to 1975. (Spotlight Sports/Getty Images)
During his playing career, Wilkens was named to nine NBA All-Star teams and led the league in assists twice. Standing just over six feet tall, he burst into the league after a distinguished career in Providence Collegewhere he helped the Friars to their first NIT appearance in 1959 and to the NIT finals in 1960.
A two-time All-American at Providence, Wilkens became the first player in school history to have his jersey retired in 1996.
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Wilkens was drafted by then-St. Louis Hawks in the first round of the 1960 NBA draft. He played just 20 games in his second season after serving in the military, but when he returned to full time he became a cornerstone for the Hawks.
St. Louis made the playoffs six straight seasons with Wilkens, a Brooklyn native who didn't play high school basketball until his senior year. During that time, he made five All-Star teams and averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 assists and 4.9 rebounds in 555 games over eight seasons with the Hawks.
Lenny Wilkens, coach of the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics basketball team, greets the crowd before the game at T-Mobile Park on June 1, 2019 in Seattle, Washington, during a ceremony celebrating the team's 40th championship anniversary. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
In 1968, the Hawks traded Wilkens to the expansion team Seattle SuperSonics, where he flourished. In his first season, he averaged 22.4 points, 8.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds, and the following year he led the league in assists (9.1).
Before the 1969–70 season, SuperSonics general manager Dick Wertlieb named Wilkens player-coach. He helped set the tone on and off the court, leading Seattle to its first winning season in his third year in a dual role.
The skilled left-hander continued to rack up assists in Seattle, then spent two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and finished his career with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1974-75.
Wilkens ranks 17th on the NBA's all-time assists list with 7,211 assists in 1,077 games.
NBA legend Lenny Wilkens attends the Rain City exhibition game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers at Climate Pledge Arena on October 11, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
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He also worked as a player-coach in Portland before turning to coaching full time. Wilkens later returned to Seattle for the 1977–78 season, leading the SuperSonics to the NBA Finals, where they defeated the Washington Bullets for the franchise's first and only championship.
Wilkens coached the Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks to a 1,332–1,155 (.536) record in 2,487 regular season games. His playoff record was 80–98.
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