Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens passes away at 88

Basketball legend Leonard Randolph “Lenny” Wilkens, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer both as a player and a coach, passed away on Sunday, November 9, at the age of 88.

Wilkens was selected sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960 NBA Draft, marking the beginning of a remarkable professional journey that spanned over a decade. The crafty and cerebral guard also suited up for the Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers, leaving a lasting imprint on each franchise.

A nine-time NBA All-Star, Wilkens tallied 17,772 career points and led the league in assists during the 1969–70 season. He earned All-Star Game MVP honors in 1971 and retired ranked second all-time in assists, behind only Oscar Robertson at the time.

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Transitioning seamlessly from the court to the sidelines, Wilkens built one of the most successful coaching résumés in NBA history.

He amassed 1,332 career wins, ranking third all-time, while serving as head coach for the Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and New York Knicks.

RIP LENNY WILKENS

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame THREE TIMES: Player, Coach & 92 Dream Team

pic.twitter.com/742co6Kb9z

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 10, 2025

Wilkens guided the SuperSonics to their first and only NBA championship in 1979 and remains revered in Seattle for that achievement. Over his 32-year coaching career, he appeared in 2,487 games — the most in NBA history.

He is one of only five individuals to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame both as a player and a coach, joining 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. 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,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who played under Wilkens in Cleveland from 1989 to 1992, called him “an incredible man.”

Following his retirement from coaching in 2005, Wilkens remained active in the basketball community. He ran the NBA Coaches Association for 17 years and established the Lenny Wilkens Foundation, which has raised millions of dollars for charitable causes in Seattle — the city where he became an enduring icon.

Wilkens’ influence on the game — as a player, coach, and ambassador — cements his place among the most respected figures in basketball history.

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