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Basketball Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens has died at the age of 88A nine-time NBA All-Star, Wilkens coached the Seattle Supersonics to their only NBA Championship in 1979“Lenny Wilkens represented the very best of the NBA,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said after Wilkens’ death
Lenny Wilkens, one of the NBA’s most thrilling playmakers and most successful coaches of all time, has died at the age of 88.
A nine-time NBA All-Star with the St. Louis Hawks, Seattle Supersonics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trailblazers, Wilkens played 15 seasons in the NBA before retiring and becoming one of the league’s most successful coaches.
The Brooklyn native led the Supersonics to the franchise’s only NBA Championship in 1979 and served as an assistant coach with the U.S. Men’s basketball team at the 1992 Olympics, otherwise known as “The Dream Team.” He retired with 1,332 coaching wins — the most by an NBA coach at the time in 1994.
Wilkens’ family announced the Basketball Hall of Famer’s death on Sunday, Nov. 9, according to ESPN, The Associated Press and the NBA, which later released a statement reflecting on his legacy.
“Lenny Wilkens represented the very best of the NBA – as a Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame coach, and one of the game’s most respected ambassadors,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in the league’s statement, reflecting on Wilkens’ impact on basketball.
Silver added, “So much so that, four years ago, Lenny received the unique distinction of being named one of the league’s 75 greatest players and 15 greatest coaches of all time.”
Silver said that “even more impressive than Lenny’s basketball accomplishments, which included two Olympic gold medals and an NBA championship, was his commitment to service – especially in his beloved community of Seattle where a statue stands in his honor.”
“He influenced the lives of countless young people as well as generations of players and coaches who considered Lenny not only a great teammate or coach but also an extraordinary mentor who led with integrity and true class,” the NBA Commissioner said.
Lenny Wilkens.
Matthew Stockman/Allsport/Getty
This past June, Wilkens was memorialized with a statue outside of Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, where, according to the AP, he is considered the “godfather” of Seattle basketball.
The Atlanta Hawks, for whom Wilkens last coached, said in a statement that the basketball hall of famer “was an innovator, a trailblazer, a winner and a leader not just in Atlanta but every community in which he played and coached.”
“In addition to his numerous achievements, Lenny always carried himself with a calm dignity and undeniable class and grace,” the team said. “He leaves a tremendous legacy throughout the NBA, within our franchise and in our city.”
Lenny Wilkens.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty
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Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who also won NBA Championships as a player and coach after playing for Wilkens from 1989 until 1993, said Sunday that he’ll remember his former coach for his dignity as much as his success.
“He was such a dignified human being and a great leader with this kind of quiet confidence,” Kerr said, according to the AP. “He’d been through quite a bit in his life, in his childhood, just in America and dealing with being a Black man in America. And he shared some of that with us and for him to forge the career that he did in the game and to make the impact that he did on so many people, pretty impressive.”