Lenny Wilkens

Leonard Randolph Wilkens was born on October 28, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York. His father was African-American and his mother was Irish American. Wilkens was raised in the Catholic faith. and played for coach Mickey Fisher. ==College career==

Wilkens was a two-time All-America (1959 and 1960) at Providence College. He led the team to their first NIT appearance in 1959, and to the NIT finals in 1960. When he graduated, Wilkens was, with 1,193 points, the second-ranked scorer in Friar history (he has since dropped to 26th as of 2011). In 1996, Wilkens's No. 14 jersey was retired by the college, the first alumnus to receive such an honor. In honor of his collegiate accomplishments, Wilkens was one of the inaugural inductees into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. ==Professional playing career==

St. Louis Hawks (1960–1968) Wilkens was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960 NBA draft. He began his career with eight seasons with the St. Louis Hawks, who lost the finals to the Boston Celtics in his rookie season. The Hawks made the playoffs consistently with Wilkens but never again reached the finals. Wilkens placed second to Wilt Chamberlain in the 1967–1968 MVP balloting, his last with the Hawks. Seattle SuperSonics (1968–1972) Wilkens was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Walt Hazzard and spent four seasons there. He averaged 22.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game in his first season for the SuperSonics, and was an All-Star in three of his seasons for them. He was named head coach in his second season with the team. Although the SuperSonics did not reach the playoffs while Wilkens simultaneously coached and started at point guard, their record improved each season and they won 47 games during the 1971–72 NBA season. Wilkens was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers before the start of the next season in a highly unpopular trade, and the SuperSonics fell to 26–56 without his leadership on the court. Cleveland Cavaliers (1972–1974) Wilkens played two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1972 to 1974 and was named an All-Star in 1973, the final selection of his playing career. He averaged 20.5 point per game that season, the last of three seasons in which he averaged over 20+ points per game. ==Coaching career==

Seattle SuperSonics (1969–1972) Wilkens became a player-coach in the closing stages of his playing career, The SuperSonics won 11 of their first 12 games under Wilkens. They made the playoffs in back-to-back years, losing in seven games to the Washington Bullets in the 1978 NBA Finals before returning to the 1979 NBA Finals and defeating the Washington Bullets in five games for their only NBA title. He coached in Seattle for eight seasons (1977–1985), winning his (and Seattle's) only NBA championship in 1979. His 316 career wins with the Cavaliers are a franchise record. In Wilkens's first season, the Hawks tied a then-franchise record with 57 wins, earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the Hawks traded their superstar Dominique Wilkins midway through the season for Danny Manning, leading to a second-round defeat to the Indiana Pacers. On January 6, 1995, Wilkens won his 939th career regular season game to surpass Red Auerbach as the all-time winningest coach in NBA history, a record he would hold for nearly 15 seasons. In 1997, his contract was extended to two years and $10.4 million dollars. The Hawks never advanced past the second round during the Wilkens era despite six consecutive playoff berths and three 50-win seasons. On April 24, 2000, he resigned as head coach following a 28–54 record. Toronto Raptors (2000–2003) In June 2000, Wilkens signed a four-year, $20 million dollar contract to become head coach of the Toronto Raptors, replacing Butch Carter. In his first season at the helm, he led the Raptors franchise to their first playoff series win, defeating the New York Knicks in the first round. Wilkens and the team parted ways after a disappointing and injury riddled 2002–03 season where they finished with a 24–58 record. New York Knicks (2004–2005) The Hall of Famer was named head coach of the New York Knicks on January 15, 2004, after the team started 15–24 under Don Chaney. After the Knicks' slow start to the 2004–05 season, Wilkens resigned from the team on January 22, 2005. ==Executive career==

After Seattle finished 31–51 in 1984–85, team owner Barry Ackerley fired Wilkens as coach and moved him to general manager. During his stint as GM, he drafted future All-Star Xavier McDaniel, and hired head coach Bernie Bickerstaff. Wilkens left Seattle in 1986 to become Cleveland's head coach. On November 29, 2006, Wilkens was hired as vice chairman of the SuperSonics' ownership group, and was later named the Sonics' President of Basketball Operations on April 27, 2007. On July 6, 2007, Wilkens resigned from the Sonics organization. "I feel that my position within the organization did not develop the way that I thought it would", he said. ==Broadcasting career==

Wilkens briefly worked at Fox Sports Northwest's studio as a college basketball analyst. ==Personal life and death==

Wilkens was married to Marilyn Reed from 1962 until his death in 2025; they had three children, Leesha, Randy and Jamee. and lived in Medina, Washington. He was a practicing Catholic. Wilkens died at his home on November 9, 2025, at the age of 88. ==Awards and honors==

NBA • 1979 NBA champion (as head coach of Seattle) • 1971 NBA All-Star Game MVP • 2011 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award • Top 10 Coaches in NBA History (NBA 50th Anniversary) • Cleveland Cavaliers Wall of Honor (class of 2022) • U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (class of 2009 – as a member of the "Dream Team") • FIBA Hall of Fame (class of 2017 – as a member of the "Dream Team") • College Basketball Hall of Fame (class of 2006) State/Local • City of Seattle renamed Thomas Street to Lenny Wilkens Way. • A statue outside Climate Pledge Arena was installed on Lenny Wilkens Way in 2025. Organizational • 1999 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement == NBA career statistics ==

Source: Regular season Playoffs ==Head coaching record==