Lenny Wilkens: 1937-2025

Cover photo: Lenny Wilkens of the St. Louis Hawks looks to score between two defenders. Photo credit: NBAE, Getty Images.

Photo: Hall of Fame NBA player and coach Lenny Wilkens in 2021 at a ceremony naming a Seattle street in his honor. Photo credit: Ken Lambert, Seattle Times.

An Atlanta Hawk and Seattle SuperSonic legend has passed away.

Lenny Wilkens, a 9-time All-Star over 15 seasons with the St. Louis Hawks, Seattle SuperSonics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers who went on to lead the SuperSonics to a championship as a head coach as part of a historic 32-year coaching career, died on Sunday. He was 88. In their piece, the Seattle Times called Wilkens the "Godfather of Seattle Basketball." A statue of Wilkens was revealed outside of Climate Pledge Arena this past June.

One of just five people that occupy spaces in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach, Wilkens, from Brooklyn, N.Y., played at Boys High School (Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins is a also a Boys' alum) 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 was the Most Valuable Player of the 1960 NIT, leading his team to a berth in the Final against the University of Utah. Wilkens, who was also named New England Player of the Year in 1960, averaged 14.9 points for his college career. 

Wilkens was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960 NBA Draft, the same draft that saw Oscar Robertson and Jerry West selected first and second overall. 

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. 

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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 guard 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.

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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 guard Butch Beard. Wilkens made the All-Star team as a Cavalier, in 1972-73, when he averaged 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.

In his playoff career, Wilkens scored 20 or more points in a game eighteen times, 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 against the Chicago Bulls, 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 that spanned 32 seasons, 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 was named head coach of the Toronto Raptors, becoming the fourth head coach in franchise history. Wilkens, who coached the team from 2000-03, led his group 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 and coaches, along with being one of the best players to ever come out of New York City. 

RIP, Lenny Wilkens.