Lenny Wilkens

Lenny Wilkens, the calm floor general who became one of basketball's most respected coaches, died November 9, 2025, at 88.

A nine-time NBA All-Star as a point guard and later a championship-winning coach, Wilkens bridged eras with a quiet authority. He played 15 seasons, chiefly with the St. Louis Hawks and Seattle SuperSonics, before moving full time to the bench. He guided the SuperSonics to the 1979 championship, the franchise's only title.

Leonard Randolph Wilkens was born Oct. 28, 1937, in New York City. He starred at Brooklyn's Boys High School and then at Providence College, where he became a two-time All-American, before the Hawks selected him sixth in the 1960 NBA Draft.

On the court, Wilkens was a creative playmaker with a gift for pace. He averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 assists across 1,077 regular-season games and was named MVP at the 1971 All-Star Game.

He began coaching while still playing in Seattle, then moved behind the clipboard full time after his 1975 retirement from his playing career. Wilkens ultimately coached a record 2,487 regular-season games and retired with 1,332 victories, the most in NBA history at the time. Only Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson have since surpassed him.

His coaching stops included Seattle, Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, Toronto, and New York. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1994 with the Atlanta Hawks. He contributed to two U.S. Olympic gold medals-serving as an assistant in 1992 and head coach in 1996.

Wilkens achieved a rare trifecta at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: inducted as a player (1989), as a coach (1998), and again as part of the 1992 Olympic "Dream Team" (2010). He was named among the NBA's 75 greatest players and, in 2022, one of the league's 15 greatest coaches.

In Seattle, his legacy extends beyond banners and box scores. In June 2025, a statue honoring Wilkens was unveiled outside Climate Pledge Arena, celebrating his enduring bond with the city he helped make a basketball hotbed.

Away from the game, Wilkens championed children's health through the Lenny Wilkens Foundation, a Medina, Washington-based nonprofit that has supported organizations including the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic and Make a Wish.

Survivors include his wife of more than six decades, Marilyn; their children, Leesha, Randy, and Jamee; and seven grandchildren.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver paid tribute to Wilkens, saying, " 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… 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."

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)