Lenny Wilkens, one of the winningest coaches in NBA history and a two-time Basketball Hall-of-Famer, has died at the age of 88.
Wilkens passed away peacefully at his home in Washington state on Sunday, according to his family.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Wilkens was a star player at Providence College before enjoying a professional playing career with the St. Louis Hawks, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers.
Wilkens would then embark on a coaching career that spanned from 1969-2005 – winning the 1979 NBA title with the Sonics.
He still stands third on the all-time wins list by a coach – behind only Don Nelson and Gregg Popovich.
Wilkens is also the most prolific coach in the history of the NBA, logging 2,487 games on a bench – the most of anyone in the league.
NBA coaching icon Lenny Wilkens has passed away at the age of 88 at his Washington home
Wilkens (second left) was the most prolific coach in NBA history and the 1979 NBA champion
Born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, Wilkens graduated from Boys High School in the same borough.
After a strong playing career for the Providence Friars, he was drafted sixth overall by the Hawks – who played in St. Louis at the time.
Wilkens spent the majority of his playing career in Seattle – being traded for Walt Hazzard before the 1968 season.
After four years with the SuperSonics, he’d play only three more seasons in the NBA – two with the Cavaliers and one with the Trail Blazers.
In his playing career, Wilkens was a nine-time NBA All-Star – winning MVP of the competition in 1971.
He also was the league assist leader in 1970, was named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th anniversary teams, had his No. 19 retired in Seattle, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1989.
During his Seattle tenure, Wilkens served as a player-coach from 1969-1972. He’d repeat that with the Trail Blazers – eventually retiring from playing in 1975. Wilkens would coach one season in Portland before taking a year off.
After the brief hiatus, he returned to Seattle to coach the SuperSonics. In that time, his ties to the community earned him the nickname of ‘The Godfather of Seattle Basketball’.
Wilkens (19) had a Hall-of-Fame playing career – leading the league in assists in 1970
He then transitioned into coaching, starting a career that spanned from 1969 to 2005
Across eight seasons in Seattle, Wilkens would win the Sonics’ only NBA title – defeating the Washington Bullets in five games in 1979.
After the 1984-85 season, Wilkens was moved to the general manager role and hired Bernie Bickerstaff – the father of current Detroit Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff – to replace him.
Wilkens was in that role for just one season, leaving to coach the Cavaliers. He’d have three 50-win seasons in that time and reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992.
That summer, Wilkens served as an assistant coach under Chuck Daly to help lead the ‘Dream Team’ at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
He resigned his position with the Cavaliers after being swept out of the playoffs at the hands of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1993.
Wilkens then took the helm of the Hawks (now in Atlanta) and won a division title in his first season. With Atlanta, Wilkens would make the playoffs in six of seven seasons – failing to go any farther than the conference semifinals. He resigned after missing the playoffs in the 1999-2000 season.
Wilkens coached with Seattle, Cleveland, Atlanta, Toronto and the Knicks before retiring
He was an assistant coach on the 1992 Olympic Team – ‘The Dream Team’ – winning gold
Four years later, in Atlanta, Wilkens would move to head coach and won a second gold medal
Atlanta hosted the Olympic Games in the summer of 1996 and Wilkens was elevated from assistant to head coach. Known as the ‘Dream Team III’, Wilkens won his second Olympic Gold medal – this time, in charge of the squad.
From 2000 to 2005, Wilkens would coach three seasons with the Toronto Raptors – following that up with half-seasons with the New York Knicks after joining mid-way through the 2003-04 campaign and leaving mid-way through the 2004-05 season.
Wilkens would return to the SuperSonics – joining their ownership group in late 2006 and becoming the President of Basketball Operations in April 2007.
He’d resign just months later – ending his lengthy tenure on NBA benches and in league front offices. He amassed 1,332 wins and held the record for most victories for decades until being passed by Nelson and later by Popovich.
In 1998, Wilkens was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame again for his coaching contributions. He is one of only five people who have been inducted twice for their playing and coaching abilities: joining John Wooden, Bill Sharman, Tommy Heinsohn, and Bill Russell.
After coaching, Wilkens transitioned to a media career – commentating on college and professional games.
