November 13, 2025
‘Lenny Wilkens represented the very best of the NBA – as a Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame coach, and one of the game’s most respected ambassadors,’ acknowledged NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Legendary former NBA player and coach Lenny Wilkens is dead at the age of 88.
According to NBA.com, the family of Wilkens announced to the world on Nov. 9 that he had died. Wilkens, who spent part of his playing career and the bulk of his coaching career with the Seattle SuperSonics (the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 and is now known as the Thunder), was acknowledged by the NBA in a video posted on social media.
The legend was surrounded by loved ones when he died, and no cause of death has been released. The 88-year-old has the distinction of being enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame three times, as a player, a coach, and as an assistant coach on the 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball squad, better known as “The Dream Team” that featured NBA players for the first time in the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver released a statement:
“Lenny Wilkens represented the very best of the NBA – as a Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame coach, and one of the game’s most respected ambassadors. So much so that, four years ago, Lenny received the unique distinction of being named one of the league’s 75 greatest players and 15 greatest coaches of all time.
“But even more impressive than Lenny’s basketball accomplishments, which included two Olympic gold medals and an NBA championship, was his commitment to service – especially in his beloved community of Seattle, where a statue stands in his honor. He influenced the lives of countless young people as well as generations of players and coaches who considered Lenny not only a great teammate or coach but also an extraordinary mentor who led with integrity and true class.”
No one has coached more NBA games than Wilkens, who has the record of doing it for 2,487 games. After winning the 1994 NBA Coach of the Year Award while guiding the Atlanta Hawks, he retired from coaching with 1,332 wins. That was a league record that was later surpassed by Don Nelson (1,335) and Gregg Popovich (1,390).
He coached the SuperSonics for 11 seasons (two separate stints, winning the championship in 1979), the Portland Trail Blazers for two seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Hawks for seven seasons, the Toronto Raptors for three seasons, before ending his coaching career with the New York Knicks after leading them for parts of two seasons.
As a player, the New York City-born and raised Wilkens played 15 seasons after being drafted by the St. Louis Hawks. He then played for the SuperSonics, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Portland Trail Blazers. The nine-time All-Star became the first person to have won 1,000 games as an NBA coach and was the second person inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and coach.
Wilkens was recently honored with a statue outside Climate Pledge Arena in June.
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; their children, Leesha, Randy, and Jamee; and seven grandchildren.
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