NBA: Lenny Wilkens, US coach at Atlanta 1996, dies at 88

Seattle (Washington, United States), 10 Nov. (LaPresse) – Mourning in the NBA: Lenny Wilkens, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach, has died at the age of 88. In announcing his passing, his family said that Wilkens died surrounded by his loved ones but did not provide details about the cause of death. Remembered as one of the best point guards of his era, Wilkens went on to rack up 2,487 games as an NBA coach, a record that still stands today. He entered the Hall of Fame as a player, coach and member of the US Olympic team at the 1992 Games. After a stint as an assistant coach, he became the national team’s head coach in Atlanta in 1996. ‘Lenny Wilkens represented the best of the NBA: as a Hall of Fame player, as a Hall of Fame coach and as one of the game’s most respected ambassadors,’ said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. ‘So much so that, four years ago, Lenny received the unique honour of being named one of the 75 greatest players and 15 greatest coaches in league history,’ he added. Wilkens was a nine-time All-Star as a player, was the first to reach 1,000 wins as an NBA coach and was the second to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach. He coached the Seattle SuperSonics to the NBA title in 1979 and remained an icon of the city for the rest of his life.