Happy 88th Birthday, Lenny Wilkens
- Jake C
- 6 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Cover photo: Lenny Wilkens of the St. Louis Hawks drives to the basket against the Boston Celtics. Photo credit: St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.
An NBA legend celebrates a birthday on October 28 as Hall of Fame point guard Lenny Wilkens turns 88.
Wilkens, from Brooklyn, N.Y., played at Boys High School before three seasons at Providence College. Wilkens averaged 14.2 points per game in his senior season at Providence and was named a 2nd team All-American. He averaged 14.9 points for his college career.
In 1960, Wilkens was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks. Oscar Robertson and Jerry West went first and second in that draft.
In his second NBA season, Wilkens averaged 18.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game. From 1962-63 to 1964-65, he was an All-Star, averaging 11.8 points, 12.0 points, and 16.5 points per game in those three seasons. Wilkens averaged 18.0 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game in 1965-66, and from 1966-67 to 1970-71 was an All-Star for five consecutive seasons.
Lenny Wilkens All-Star Seasons: 1966-1971
1966-67: 17.4 points, 5.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 38.1 minutes, 78 games
1967-68: 20.0 points, 8.3 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 38.6 minutes, 82 games, 2nd in MVP voting
After the 1968 season, Wilkens was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Walt Hazzard.
1968-69: 22.4 points, 8.2 assists, 6.2 rebounds, 42.2 minutes, 82 games
1969-70: 17.8 points, 9.1 assists (1st), 5.0 rebounds, 37.4 minutes, 75 games
1970-71: 19.8 points, 9.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 37.2 minutes, 71 games. Wilkens was the MVP of the 1971 All-Star Game, a game in which he tallied 21 points on 8-of-11 from the field and 5-of-5 from the line in the 108-107 East victory.
Wilkens averaged 18.0 points, 9.6 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game in 1971-72 in 80 games, 37.4 minutes per game. In 1972, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Butch Beard, and made the All-Star team as a Cavalier, in 1972-73, averaging 20.5 points, 8.4 assists, and 4.6 rebounds in 39.6 minutes, 75 games. He played one more season in Cleveland, averaging 16.4 points and 7.1 assists before a final season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
In 15 NBA seasons (1,077 games), Wilkens averaged 16.5 points, 6.7 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 35.3 minutes per game. As a Hawk, he averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.9 rebounds in 555 games (35.2 minutes per game), while as a Sonic, he averaged 19.5 points, 9.0 assists, and 5.0 rebounds in 308 games, 38.6 minutes per game. Wilkens scored 20 or more points in a game eighteen times in his playoff career, including a career playoff-high 31 points (10 rebounds, 6 assists) on 10-of-18 shooting and 11-of-14 from the line in 43 minutes in Game 1 of the 1967 Western Division Finals against the San Francisco Warriors. In Game 3 of the 1967 Western Division Semifinals, he registered 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. He scored 29 with 12 assists and 6 rebounds against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the 1966 Western Division Finals, and followed that game up with his third career playoff triple-double (11 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) in Game 6.
The first 30-point playoff game of Wilkens’ career came on March 30, 1964 in Game 5 of the Western Division Finals against the Lakers, when he put up 30 on 11-of-18 shooting and 8-of-10 from the line. In the final playoff game of his career on April 2, 1968 against the San Francisco Warriors, Wilkens, 31, shot 10-of-22 from the field and 9-for-9 from the free-throw line for 29 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
After his playing career, Wilkens then turned in a Hall of Fame coaching career, winning 1,332 regular season games out of 2,487, for a winning percentage of .536. He led the 1977-78 Sonics (he coached the franchise from 1977-1985) to a 42-18 record and the Western Conference title, and the following year coached the Sonics to a 52-30 mark, a season that culminated in a four games to one NBA Finals’ win over the Washington Bullets.
Nine times in his coaching career, Wilkens coached his teams to 50-win seasons. As head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986-1993, he led his squads to three consecutive 50-win seasons in 1991-92, 1992-93, and 1993-94, winning 57, 54, and 57 games. After coaching the Atlanta Hawks from 1993-2000, Wilkens then became the head coach of the Toronto Raptors, whom he led to the seventh game of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals. From 2000-02, he guided the Raptors to a combined 89-75 record. He is undoubtedly the most accomplished head coach in the history of the Raptors’ organization. From 2003-05, Wilkens coached the New York Knicks to a combined 40-41 mark. In his coaching career, Wilkens was a one-time winner of the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award (1993-94), and four times was head coach of the All-Star Game (1979, 1980, 1989, 1994). His 1,332 coaching victories are the third-most all-time.
In 2006, Wilkens was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and in 1989 (player) and 1998 (coach) was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was also an assistant coach on the 1992 Dream Team.
Wilkens was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1997 and one of its 75 Greatest in 2021. He also was named in 2022 as one of the 15 Greatest Head Coaches in NBA History. He is one the NBA’s greatest point guards, along with being one of the best players to come out of New York City.
Happy 88th Birthday, Lenny Wilkens.
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