Lenny Wilkens Biography

Fast Facts

• After turning to coaching, he led his teams to more wins than any other coach in the history of the NBA, officially breaking the previous record on January 6, 1995
• Had the sixth longest tenure as a head coach in a major professional sports league at the time of his retirement
• Was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989
• Providence College offered him a scholarship to play basketball after a coach at the Catholic Youth Organization league he played for vouched for him
• Was teammates with future MLB player Tommy Davis while attending Boys High School in Brooklyn, New York
• Quote: "I've always believed you need balance․ It's not that I don't want a star - I'll always take a star - but even if you have a star, it's important to surround him with the right kind of complementary players․"
• Quote: "The satisfaction is that only one person can be No․ 1 at the time․ Only one guy can be at the top․ It's nice to be there, for however long․ I got there, and no one can take that from me․"
• During his career as a player in the NBA, he played for the Saint Louis Hawks, the Seattle SuperSonics, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers
• Was an assistant to Chuck Daly with the original Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
• The Seattle SuperSonics won their first and only NBA Championship under his coaching in 1979