NBA icon Lenny Wilkens useless at 88

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Lenny Wilkens, a Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee as each a participant and coach, died Sunday at 88.

Wilkens, who performed 15 years within the NBA — together with 4 seasons as a player-coach — was considered one of simply 5 males to be enshrined within the Corridor of Fame in each roles. The others had been John Wood, Invoice Sharman, Tom Heinsohn and Invoice Russell.

"Lenny Wilkens represented the easiest of the NBA — as a Corridor of Fame participant, Corridor of Fame coach and one of many sport’s most revered ambassadors," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated in an announcement. "A lot in order that, 4 years in the past, Lenny obtained the distinctive distinction of being named one of many league’s 75 biggest gamers and 15 biggest coaches of all time."

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Lenny Wilkens of the Portland Path Blazers appears on towards the Washington Bullets throughout an NBA basketball sport circa 1975 on the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. Wilkens performed for the Path Blazers from 1974-75. (Give attention to Sport/Getty Photographs)

Wilkens made 9 NBA All-Star groups throughout his taking part in profession and twice led the league in assists. Standing simply over six ft tall, he broke into the league after a standout profession at Providence College , the place he helped lead the Friars to their first NIT look in 1959 and an NIT finals berth in 1960.

A two-time All-American at Windfall, Wilkens turned the primary participant in class historical past to have his jersey retired, in 1996.

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Wilkens was chosen by the then–St. Louis Hawks within the first spherical of the 1960 NBA Draft. He performed solely 20 video games in his second season after serving within the navy, however upon returning full time, he turned a cornerstone for the Hawks.

St. Louis reached the playoffs six straight seasons with Wilkens, a Brooklyn native who didn’t play basketball in highschool till his senior yr. He made 5 All-Star groups throughout that span and averaged 15.5 factors, 5.5 assists and 4.9 rebounds over 555 video games in eight seasons with the Hawks.

Lenny Wilkens, a the coach of the 1979 Seattle Supersonics basketball group, ackowledges the gang earlier than a sport between, at T-Cellular Park on June 1, 2019 in Seattle, Washington, throughout ceremony celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the group's championship. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Photographs)

The Hawks traded Wilkens to the enlargement Seattle SuperSonics in 1968, the place he flourished. He averaged 22.4 factors, 8.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds in his first season, then led the league in assists (9.1) the next yr.

Earlier than the 1969-70 season, SuperSonics common supervisor Dick Vertlieb named Wilkens player-coach. He helped set the tone on and off the courtroom, guiding Seattle to its first successful season in his third yr within the twin function.

The graceful left-hander continued to rack up assists in Seattle, then spent two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and completed his profession with the Portland Path Blazers in 1974-75.

Wilkens ranks seventeenth on the NBA’s all-time assists checklist with 7,211 throughout 1,077 video games.

NBA legend Lenny Wilkens attends the Rain Metropolis Showcase sport between the Portland Path Blazers and the LA Clippers at Local weather Pledge Enviornment on Oct. 11, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Alika Jenner/Getty Photographs)

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He additionally served as a player-coach in Portland earlier than transferring full time into teaching. Wilkens later returned to Seattle for the 1977-78 season, main the SuperSonics to the NBA Finals, the place they defeated the Washington Bullets for the franchise’s first and solely championship.

Wilkens went on to teach the Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks, compiling a 1,332-1,155 report (.536) over 2,487 regular-season video games. His playoff report stood at 80-98.