Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who coached the most games in NBA history, dies at 88

FILE - Former Seattle SuperSonics coach and athlete Lenny Wilkens acknowledges the crowd during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball encounter between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz Oct in Seattle AP Photo Lindsey Wasson File AP Lindsey Wasson FILE - Former Seattle SuperSonics coach and sportsman Lenny Wilkens acknowledges the crowd during the second half of a preseason NBA basketball challenge between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz Oct in Seattle AP Photo Lindsey Wasson File AP Lindsey Wasson SEATTLE AP Lenny Wilkens a three-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame who was enshrined as both a performer and a coach has died his family declared Sunday He was The family revealed Wilkens was surrounded by loved ones when he died and did not this instant release a cause of death Wilkens was one of the finest point guards of his era who later brought his calm and savvy style to the sideline first as a player-coach and then evolving into one of the battle s great coaches He coached games in the NBA which is still a record He became a Hall of Famer as a member as a coach and again as part of the U S Olympic club on which he was an assistant Wilkens coached the Americans to gold at the Atlanta Games as well in Lenny Wilkens represented the very best of the NBA as a Hall of Fame athlete Hall of Fame coach and one of the contest s most of respected ambassadors NBA Commissioner Adam Silver disclosed Sunday So much so that four years ago Lenny received the unique distinction of being named one of the league s greatest players and greatest coaches of all time Wilkens was a nine-time All-Star as a performer was the first person to reach wins as an NBA coach and was the second person inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a sportsman and coach He coached the Seattle SuperSonics to the NBA title in and remained iconic in that city for the rest of his life often being considered a godfather of sorts for basketball in Seattle which lost the Sonics to Oklahoma City in and has been trying to get a association back since And he did it all with grace something he was proud of Leaders don t yell and scream Wilkens stated Seattle s KOMO News earlier this year Wilkens the NBA coach of the year with Atlanta retired with coaching wins a league record that was later passed by Don Nelson who retired with and then Gregg Popovich who retired with Wilkens played seasons with the St Louis Hawks SuperSonics Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers He was an All-Star five times with St Louis three times in Seattle and once with Cleveland in at age A statue depicting his time with the SuperSonics was installed outside Weather Pledge Arena in June Even more impressive than Lenny s basketball accomplishments which included two Olympic gold medals and an NBA championship was his commitment to arrangement especially in his beloved group of Seattle where a statue stands in his honor Silver revealed 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 Wilkens twice led the league in assists but was also a prominent scorer He averaged in double figures scoring in every season of his career except his final one in - with the Trail Blazers His best season as a scorer came in his first season with the SuperSonics in - when he averaged points assists and rebounds Leonard Wilkens was born Oct in New York His basketball schooling came on Brooklyn s playgrounds and at a city powerhouse then Boys High School where one of his teammates was major league baseball star Tommy Davis He would go on to star at Providence College and was drafted by the Hawks as the sixth overall pick in His resume as a competitor would have been enough to put Wilkens in consideration for the Hall of Fame What he accomplished as a coach both through success and longevity cemented his legacy Countless other honors also came his way including being elected to the FIBA Hall of Fame the U S Olympic Hall of Fame the College Basketball Hall of Fame the Providence Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Cavaliers Wall of Honor His coaching stops included two stints in Seattle totaling seasons two seasons in Portland during one of which he still played and averaged minutes per contest seven seasons in both Cleveland and Atlanta three seasons in Toronto and parts of two years with the Knicks Wilkens also has the majority losses in NBA coaching history with But his successes outweighed the setbacks He guided the SuperSonics to their lone championship with a achievement over the then Washington Bullets a year after losing to them in the Finals Wilkens moved into first place on the wins list on Jan while coaching the Hawks His th preeminence surpassed Red Auerbach s record From there he became the first coach to reach career wins a mark since matched by nine others The possibility of playing and coaching at the same time was raised before the season when Wilkens was at the home of SuperSonics general manager Dick Vertlieb and playing a leisurely tournament of pool I thought he was crazy Wilkens recalled I kept putting him off but he was persistent Eventually we were getting so close to training camp so I mentioned What the heck I ll try it From there he became increasingly enamored with coaching Seattle trailed the Cincinnati Royals by four points with a sparse seconds remaining when Wilkens set up a play that resulted in a dunk Then he ordered his players to press since the Royals were out of timeouts The Sonics stole the inbounds pass scored again to tie the meeting and won in overtime I was like Wow Wilkens disclosed I had just done something as a coach that helped us win not as a competitor After his coaching career ended in Wilkens returned to the Seattle area where he lived every offseason Wilkens ran his foundation for decades with its primary benefactor being the Odessa Brown Children s Clinic in Seattle s Central District He also restored a role with the SuperSonics in as the crew s vice chairman but he left the post a year later after it became clear new owner Clay Bennett yearned to move the club out of Seattle Wilkens is survived by his wife Marilyn their children Leesha Randy and Jamee and seven grandchildren Tim Booth a former Associated Press sports writer was the principal writer of this obituary AP NBA https apnews com hub NBA Source