Lenny Wilkens won titles in the NBA and at the Olympics. Now the former world-class player and coach has died at the age of 88.
Basketball legend Lenny Wilkens has died. The former player and coach passed away at the age of 88, according to the AP news agency, citing the American’s family. Wilkens coached 2,487 games in the NBA, making him the record coach in the world’s best basketball league. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player, coach, and member of the 1992 US Olympic team, which he coached as an assistant. “Lenny Wilkens embodied the best of the NBA—as a Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame coach, and one of the sport’s most respected ambassadors,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Wilkens was the first NBA coach to reach the 1,000-win mark. He played between 1960 and 1975 and coached from 1969 to 2005. Wilkens also served as a player-coach at times. He participated in the All-Star Game nine times as a player and four times as a coach.
Two Olympic gold medals
In 1979, Wilkens won the NBA title with the Seattle SuperSonics. At the Olympic Games, he won gold with the famous US Dream Team as an assistant (1992) and as head coach (1996).
“Even more impressive than Lenny’s achievements in basketball, including two Olympic gold medals and an NBA championship, was his commitment to charitable work—especially in his beloved city of Seattle, where a statue was erected in his honor,” Silver said. “He touched the lives of countless young people, as well as entire generations of players and coaches who valued Lenny not only as a great teammate or coach, but also as an exceptional mentor who led with integrity and genuine class.”
