Lenny Wilkens

Wilkens, Lenny (Leonard Randolph Wilkens), 1937-, American basketball player and coach, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. After playing at Providence College, he joined the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1960, beginning a 15-year playing career with four teams. In 1969 he became the Seattle SuperSonics' player-coach. Subsequently he coached Seattle (1969-72 and 1977-85), the Portland Trail Blazers (1974-76), the Cleveland Cavaliers (1986-93), the Atlanta Hawks (1993-2000), the Toronto Raptors (2000-2003), and the New York Knicks (2004-5). Wilkens became the winningest coach in NBA history, with 1,332 victories and 1,155 losses. His 1978-79 Supersonics won the NBA championship. He also coached the 1996 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Noted for his calm, understated approach to an often frantic game, Wilkens was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1989 and as a coach in 1998.

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Lenny Wilkens

Leonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens (born October 28, 1937, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.) is an American former National Basketball Association player and coach, as well as the NBA's career leader in coaching win-loss totals. He was inducted twice into the Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as a player and then later as a coach in 1998.

On November 29, 2006 he was hired as vice chairman of the Seattle SuperSonics' ownership group, and was later named the Sonics' President of Basketball Operations on April 27, 2007. On July 6, 2007 Wilkens resigned from the Sonics organization.

Early life

Wilkens grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. His father was African American and his mother was Irish. Wilkens was raised in the Roman Catholic faith.

At Boys High School, Wilkens was a basketball teammate of longtime Major League Baseball star Tommy Davis.

Playing career

Wilkens was a two-time All-American (1959 and 1960) at Providence College. 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 twentieth as of 2005). In 1996, Wilkens' #14 jersey was retired by the college, the first alumnus to receive such an honor.

Wilkens was drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1960 NBA Draft. He played for the Hawks (1960-1968), Seattle SuperSonics (1968-1972), Cleveland Cavaliers (1972-1974) and Portland Trail Blazers (1974-1975).

Wilkens placed second to Wilt Chamberlain in the 1967-1968 MVP balloting. Wilkens was a nine-time NBA All-Star, and was named the 1971 NBA All-Star Game MVP in 1971. He led the league in assists in the 1969-70 season, and at the time of his retirement, Wilkens was the NBA's second all-time leading playmaker, behind only Oscar Robertson.

Coaching career

From 1969–1972 with Seattle, and in his one season as a player with Portland, 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. After a season off, in 1977 he again became coach of the SuperSonics, where he coached for eight seasons (1977-1985), winning his (and Seattle's) only NBA Championship in 1979. He would go on to coach Cleveland (1987–1993), Atlanta (1993–2000), Toronto (2000–2003) and New York (2004–2005).

The Hall of Famer was named head coach of the New York Knicks on January 15, 2004. After the Knicks' slow start to the 2004-2005 season, Wilkens resigned from the team on January 22, 2005.

Accomplishments

He retired with 1,332 wins, the most in NBA history (he passed Red Auerbach on January 6, 1995 with a win against the Washington Bullets), and 1,155 losses, also the most in NBA history (he passed Bill Fitch in 2001). This comes from his 35 years of coaching in the NBA, among the longest tenure in the league.

He coached the Olympic Champion Men's Basketball team in 1996 and was assistant coach's on the 1992 USA Olympic Dream Team.

Wilkens is one of three players to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach (the other two being John Wooden and Bill Sharman), joining the Hall in 1989 as a player and 1998 as a coach. He is also a member of the Providence College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Wilkens is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.

Quotes

"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."
"Show people how to have success and then you can push their expectations up."

Coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season				Post Season
Team	Year	Won	Lost	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
SEA	1969/70	36	46	.439	5^th in Western Division
SEA	1970/71	38	44	.463	4^th in Pacific Division
SEA	1971/72	47	35	.573	3^rd in Pacific Division
POR	1974/75	38	44	.451	3^rd in Pacific Division
POR	1975/76	37	45	.451	5^th in Pacific Division
SEA	1977/78	42	18	.700	3^rd in Pacific Division	13	9	.591	NBA Finals
SEA	1978/79	52	30	.634	1^st in Pacific Division	12	5	.706	NBA Championship
SEA	1979/80	56	26	.683	2^nd in Pacific Division	7	8	.467	Conf. Finals
SEA	1980/81	34	48	.415	6^th in Pacific Division
SEA	1981/82	52	30	.634	2^nd in Pacific Division	3	5	.375	Conf. Semifinals
SEA	1982/83	48	34	.585	3^rd in Pacific Division	0	2	.000	1st Round
SEA	1983/84	42	40	.512	3^rd in Pacific Division	2	3	.400	1st Round
SEA	1984/85	31	51	.378	5^th in Pacific Division
CLE	1986/87	31	51	.378	4^th in Central Division
CLE	1987/88	42	40	.512	4^th in Central Division	2	3	.400	1st Round
CLE	1988/89	57	25	.695	2^nd in Central Division	2	3	.400	1st Round
CLE	1989/90	42	40	.512	4^th in Central Division	2	3	.400	1st Round
CLE	1990/91	33	49	.402	6^th in Central Division
CLE	1991/92	57	25	.695	2^nd in Central Division	9	8	.529	Conf. Finals
CLE	1992/93	54	28	.659	2^nd in Central Division	3	6	.333	Conf. Semifinals
ATL	1993/94	57	25	.695	1^st in Central Division	5	6	.455	Conf. Semifinals
ATL	1994/95	42	40	.512	5^th in Central Division	0	3	.000	1st Round
ATL	1995/96	46	36	.561	4^th in Central Division	4	6	.400	Conf. Semifinals
ATL	1996/97	56	26	.683	2^nd in Central Division	4	6	.400	Conf. Semifinals
ATL	1997/98	50	32	.610	4^th in Central Division	1	3	.250	1st Round
ATL	1998/99	31	19	.620	2^nd in Central Division	3	6	.333	Conf. Semifinals
ATL	1999/00	28	54	.341	7^th in Central Division
TOR	2000/01	47	35	.573	2^nd in Central Division	6	6	.500	Conf. Semifinals
TOR	2001/02	42	40	.512	3^rd in Central Division	2	3	.400	1st Round
TOR	2002/03	24	58	.293	7^th in Central Division
NYK	2003/04	23	19	.548	3^rd in Atlantic Division	0	4	.000	1st Round
NYK	2004/05	17	22	.436	5^th in Atlantic Division
32 seasons		1332	1155	.536	-	80	98	.449	-