NBA legend Lenny Wilkens, rare Hall of Fame inductee as player and coach, dead at 88

Lenny Wilkens, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee arsenic some a subordinate and coach, died Sunday astatine 88.

Wilkens, who played 15 years successful the NBA — including 4 seasons arsenic a player-coach — was 1 of conscionable 5 men to beryllium enshrined successful the Hall of Fame successful some roles. The others were John Wooden, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell.

"Lenny Wilkens represented the precise champion of the NBA — arsenic a Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame manager and 1 of the game’s astir respected ambassadors," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said successful a statement. "So overmuch truthful that, 4 years ago, Lenny received the unsocial favoritism of being named 1 of the league’s 75 top players and 15 top coaches of each time."

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Lenny Wilkens of the Portland Trail Blazers looks connected against the Washington Bullets during an NBA hoops crippled circa 1975 astatine the Capital Centre successful Landover, Maryland. Wilkens played for the Trail Blazers from 1974-75. (Focus connected Sport/Getty Images)

Wilkens made 9 NBA All-Star teams during his playing vocation and doubly led the league successful assists. Standing conscionable implicit six feet tall, helium broke into the league aft a standout vocation astatine Providence College, wherever helium helped pb the Friars to their archetypal NIT quality successful 1959 and an NIT finals berth successful 1960.

A two-time All-American astatine Providence, Wilkens became the archetypal subordinate successful schoolhouse past to person his jersey retired, successful 1996.

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Wilkens was selected by the then–St. Louis Hawks successful the archetypal circular of the 1960 NBA Draft. He played lone 20 games successful his 2nd play aft serving successful the military, but upon returning afloat time, helium became a cornerstone for the Hawks.

St. Louis reached the playoffs six consecutive seasons with Wilkens, a Brooklyn autochthonal who didn’t play hoops successful precocious schoolhouse until his elder year. He made 5 All-Star teams during that span and averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 assists and 4.9 rebounds implicit 555 games successful 8 seasons with the Hawks.

Lenny Wilkens, a the manager of the 1979 Seattle Supersonics hoops team, ackowledges the assemblage earlier a crippled between, astatine T-Mobile Park connected June 1, 2019 successful Seattle, Washington, during ceremonial celebrating the 40th day of the team's championship.  (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

The Hawks traded Wilkens to the enlargement Seattle SuperSonics successful 1968, wherever helium flourished. He averaged 22.4 points, 8.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds successful his archetypal season, past led the league successful assists (9.1) the pursuing year.

Before the 1969-70 season, SuperSonics wide manager Dick Vertlieb named Wilkens player-coach. He helped acceptable the code connected and disconnected the court, guiding Seattle to its archetypal winning play successful his 3rd twelvemonth successful the dual role.

The creaseless left-hander continued to rack up assists successful Seattle, past spent 2 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and finished his vocation with the Portland Trail Blazers successful 1974-75.

Wilkens ranks 17th connected the NBA’s all-time assists database with 7,211 crossed 1,077 games.

NBA fable Lenny Wilkens attends the Rain City Showcase crippled betwixt the Portland Trail Blazers and the LA Clippers astatine Climate Pledge Arena connected Oct. 11, 2024 successful Seattle, Washington. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

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He besides served arsenic a player-coach successful Portland earlier moving afloat clip into coaching. Wilkens aboriginal returned to Seattle for the 1977-78 season, starring the SuperSonics to the NBA Finals, wherever they defeated the Washington Bullets for the franchise’s archetypal and lone championship.

Wilkens went connected to manager the Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks, compiling a 1,332-1,155 grounds (.536) implicit 2,487 regular-season games. His playoff grounds stood astatine 80-98.

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