Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – NBA great Lenny Wilkens, a Hall of Famer as both a player and a coach, has died at the age of 88, his family said Sunday. A graceful point guard in his 15-year playing career, Wilkens was a nine-time NBA All-Star and twice led the league in assists. He served as a player-coach for four seasons, three with the Seattle SuperSonics and one with the Portland Trail Blazers, before launching a full-time coaching career that would prove legendary.
“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.”
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But 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.”
Wilkens led the SuperSonics to their only NBA title in 1979 and also coached the Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and New York Knicks in a career on the sideline that spanned 1969-2005. His 2,487 games coached is an NBA record and his 1,332 wins ranks third behind Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson. Wilkens himself had passed Red Auerbach as the NBA’s all-time leader in coaching wins in 1995 but was later passed by Nelson, who has 1,335, with Popovich passing them both with 1,388. Wilkens also won Olympic gold as coach of the 1996 US men’s team.
Wilkens is one of just five men to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and coach, joining John Wooden, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn, and Bill Russell. “He was an unbelievable man. Just an incredible man,” said Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who played more than three seasons for Wilkens in Cleveland at the start of his career. “What I remember most is just the dignity,” Kerr told reporters before his Warriors played the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. “You know, he was just such a dignified human being and great leader through kind of this quiet confidence.”
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