Lenny Wilkens passed away at 88. The former NBA All-Star coached Seattle SuperSonics to their only championship and ranks among top 75 players ever.
Lenny Wilkens, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee as both a player and coach, died Sunday at 88.
Wilkens, who played 15 years in the NBA — including four seasons as a player-coach — was one of just five men to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame in both roles. The others were John Wooden, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell.
« 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 a statement. « 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. »
Wilkens made nine NBA All-Star teams during his playing career and twice led the league in assists. Standing just over six feet tall, he broke into the league after a standout career at Providence College, where he helped lead the Friars to their first NIT appearance in 1959 and an NIT finals berth in 1960.
