Basketball Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, a trailblazer honored for both his playing and coaching careers, died Sunday at his home. He was 88, according to those close to him who spoke with Tim Booth of The Seattle Times.
Wilkens is one of only five people enshrined in Springfield as both a player and a coach. A 6-foot-1 point guard, he appeared in nine All-Star Games over 15 NBA seasons, posting career averages of 16.5 points, 6.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds across 1,077 contests (35.3 minutes per game). He finished second in Most Valuable Player voting for the 1967-68 season.
His coaching résumé began while he was still on the floor for Seattle, the city he would call home for more than five decades. Wilkens guided the SuperSonics to consecutive NBA Finals in the late 1970s and delivered the franchise’s lone championship in 1979.
During a 2022 ceremony that declared “Lenny Wilkens Day,” the Hall of Famer reflected on his ties to the region. “I’m so happy to be a part of that history,” he said at the time. “This is basketball country. We should have never lost our team and I hope that this helps in some way get another team back.”
Further details about memorial plans have not yet been released.
Source: HoopsRumors
