The world of Basketball lost one of its greatest legends when Lenny Wilkens passed away at 88.

Wilkens is one of five men to enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and a coach. 

As a player, Wilkens played at Point Guard and was a nine-time All-Star, who played for St. Louis, Seattle, Cleveland, and Portland.  The leader in Assists per Game in 1969-70 was also the runner-up for the 1967-68 MVP.   Compiling 17,772 Points and 7,211 Assists, Wilkens was later named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

During the late stages of his playing career, Wilkens transitioned into a player-coach, and over his long run as a Head Coach, he coached Seattle to its only Championship in 1979 (when the franchise was in Seattle) and had a record of 1,332-1,155.  He was also the Head Coach in Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, Toronto, and New York.  Wilkens won the Head Coach of the Year award in 1994.

We at Notinhalloffame extend our condolences to the family of Lenny Wilkens.

Already an eight-time All-Star before he was traded from Seattle, Wilkens would be named to his ninth All-Star Game as he would average 20.5 Points per Game, the second-highest of his career.  He was second overall in Assists per Game with an 8.2 Average, and he would also have a career-high of 20.3 in PER.  Age would catch up with Wilkens the following year as he dropped to 16.4 Points and 7.1 Assists per Game and his contract would be sold to Portland for what would be his final season as a player.