Basketball legend Lenny Wilkens has died at the age of 88.
Wilkens died at his home on Sunday, according to Tim Booth of the Seattle Times. No cause of death was given.
Wilkens is a three-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and is one of just five people to have been inducted as both a player and a coach. As a point guard, he was a nine-time All-Star and was selected to the league’s 75th anniversary team. At the time of his retirement in 1975, he had the second-most assists in NBA history.
After his playing career ended, Wilkens went into coaching, and he put together another Hall of Fame resume. He retired with 1,332 victories as a coach, trailing only Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson for the most in NBA history. He held the distinction at the time of his retirement.
Wilkens is best remembered for his time coaching the Seattle SuperSonics from 1977 to 1985. He guided the Sonics to their first and only NBA championship in 1979, and he became an icon and ambassador for basketball in the city of Seattle. He last coached in 2005 with the New York Knicks, and also coached Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Toronto during his illustrious career.
Wilkens was also an assistant coach for the United States’ Olympic Dream Team in 1992, for which he received a third induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head coach of the 1996 team, which also won a gold medal.
