During the 1994–95 season, Wilkens set the record for most regular season coaching wins in NBA history, a record he held when he retired with 1,332 victories. As of February2022[update], he is in third place on the list, behind Don Nelson and Gregg Popovich.[4] Wilkens won the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award for the 2010–11 NBA season.[5] Wilkens is also the most prolific coach in NBA history, at 2,487 regular-season games, 89 more games than Nelson, and over 400 more than any other coach, and has more losses than any other coach in NBA history, at 1,155.
Wilkens was a two-time All-America (1959 and 1960) at Providence College.[8] He led the team to their first NIT appearance in 1959, and to the NIT finals in 1960. When he graduated, Wilkens was, with 1,193 points, the second-ranked scorer in Friar history (he has since dropped to 26th as of 2011).[9] In 1996, Wilkens' No.14 jersey was retired by the college, the first alumnus to receive such an honor.[10] In honor of his collegiate accomplishments, Wilkens was one of the inaugural inductees into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Professional playing career
Wilkens with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1968
St. Louis Hawks (1960–1968)
Wilkens was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960 NBA draft. He began his career with eight seasons with the St. Louis Hawks, who lost the finals to the Boston Celtics in his rookie season.[11] The Hawks made the playoffs consistently with Wilkens but never again reached the finals. Wilkens placed second to Wilt Chamberlain in the 1967–1968 MVP balloting, his last with the Hawks.[12]
Seattle SuperSonics (1968–1972)
Wilkens was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Walt Hazzard and spent four seasons there. He averaged 22.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game in his first season for the SuperSonics, and was an All-Star in three of his seasons for them. He was named head coach in his second season with the team. Although the SuperSonics did not reach the playoffs while Wilkens simultaneously coached and started at point guard, their record improved each season and they won 47 games during the 1971–72 NBA season. Wilkens was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers before the start of the next season in a highly unpopular trade, and the SuperSonics fell to 26–56 without his leadership on the court.[13]
Wilkens scored 17,772 points during the regular season, was a nine-time NBA All-Star, and was named the 1971 NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1971. With Seattle, he led the league in assists in the 1969–70 season, and at the time of his retirement was the NBA's second all-time leader in that category, behind only Oscar Robertson. In 2021, to commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary The Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Wilkens as the 75th greatest player in NBA history.[14]
In his one season as a player with the Portland Trail Blazers, he was a player-coach. He retired from playing in 1975 and was the full-time coach of the Trail Blazers for one more season.[11]
Seattle SuperSonics (1977–1985)
After a season off from coaching, he again became coach of the SuperSonics when he replaced Bob Hopkins who was fired 22 games into the 1977–78 season after a dismal 5–17 start.[15] The SuperSonics won 11 of their first 12 games under Wilkens. They made the playoffs in back-to-back years, losing in seven games to the Washington Bullets in the 1978 NBA Finals before returning to the 1979 NBA Finals and defeating the Washington Bullets in five games for their only NBA title.[16]
He coached in Seattle for eight seasons (1977–1985), winning his (and Seattle's) only NBA championship in 1979.
Cleveland Cavaliers (1986–1993)
Wilkens would go on to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1993. His tenure with Cleveland was highlighted by three 50-win seasons, including a then-franchise record 57 victories in both the 1988–89 and 1991–92 seasons. In the second of those seasons, the Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference Finals for only the second time in franchise history. Despite those successes, the Cavaliers failed to make deeper playoff runs under Wilkens, with four of their playoff defeats coming against the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. In 1993, following their defeat to the Bulls in the second round of the playoffs, Wilkens resigned as coach.[17]
Atlanta Hawks (1993–2000)
On June 2, 1993, Wilkens was hired as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks.[18] In Wilkens' first season, the Hawks tied a then-franchise record with 57 wins, earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the Hawks traded their superstar Dominique Wilkins midway through the season for Danny Manning, leading to a second-round defeat to the Indiana Pacers. On January 6, 1995, Wilkens won his 939th career regular season game to surpass Red Auerbach as the all-time winningest coach in NBA history, a record he would hold for nearly 15 seasons.[19] In 1997, his contract was extended to two years and $10.4 million dollars. The Hawks never advanced past the second round during Wilkens' tenure despite six consecutive playoff berths and three 50-win seasons. On 24 April 2000, he resigned as head coach following a 28-54 record.[20]
Toronto Raptors (2000–2003)
In June 2000, Wilkens signed a four-year, $20 million dollar contract to become head coach of the Toronto Raptors, replacing Butch Carter.[21] In his first season at the helm, he led the Raptors franchise to their first playoff series win, defeating the New York Knicks in the first round. Wilkens and the team parted ways after a disappointing and injury riddled 2002-03 season where they finished with a 24-58 record.[22]
New York Knicks (2004–2005)
The Hall of Famer was named head coach of the New York Knicks on January 15, 2004 after the team started 15-24 under Don Chaney.[23] After the Knicks' slow start to the 2004–05 season, Wilkens resigned from the team on January 22, 2005.[24]
On November 29, 2006, Wilkens was hired as vice chairman of the SuperSonics' ownership group,[25] and was later named the Sonics' President of Basketball Operations on April 27, 2007.[26] On July 6, 2007, Wilkens resigned from the Sonics organization.
Broadcasting career
Wilkens briefly worked at Northwest FSN Studio as a college basketball analyst.[27]
Personal life
Since 1962, Wilkens has been married to Marilyn Reed; they have three children, Leesha, Randy and Jamee. The Wilkens have seven grandchildren, six girls and one boy.
Wilkens is the founder of the Lenny Wilkens Foundation for Children[28] and lives in Medina, Washington.[29] He is a practicing Catholic.
"I learned my basketball on the playgrounds of Brooklyn. Today, being a playground player is an insult. It means all you want to do is go one-on-one, it means your fundamentals stink and you don't understand the game. But the playgrounds I knew were tremendous training grounds."[citation needed]
"Show people how to have success and then you can push their expectations up."[33]
↑ Beck, Howard. "PRO BASKETBALL; Wilkens Denies He Was Asked to Go", The New York Times, September 28, 2005. Accessed November 20, 2007. "A native of Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Wilkens had added motivation to succeed in New York, which made leaving so quickly that much tougher."
↑ Gastineau, Mark; Thiel, Art; Rudman, Steve (2009). The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists. United States: Running Press. pp.261–262. ISBN9780762435227.
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