Rumors

Lenny Wilkens couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he gazed at a bronze statue of himself at the site of his greatest coaching triumph. On Saturday, the former Seattle SuperSonics player and coach became the first person to have a statue unveiled outside Climate Pledge Arena. Wilkens led the Sonics to the 1979 NBA title. But the 6-foot, 700-pound statue, sculpted by Chicago-based Lou Cella, depicts Wilkens as a player. Cella also produced statues of University of Washington football coach Don James and Seattle Mariners greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez. “I’ve been blessed,” the 87-year-old Wilkens said. “I’ll be the first to tell you.”

MRT.com

Jorge Sierra: SGA passed all these players in playoff scoring tonight: Hersey Hawkins, Bryon Russell, Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, Rudy Gobert, Lenny Wilkens, James Edwards, Antoine Walker, Dan Issel, Norm Nixon, Robert Reid, Lou Williams, Ron Harper. He's No. 234 all-time now.

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San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, currently taking a leave of absence due to health issues, is the NBA’s all-time leader in coaching wins with 1,419. Former NBA head coach Lenny Wilkens has the most wins by an African American coach with 1,332, third overall in league history. Rivers also appears to have a strong case to make the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach one day as he is the only coach in the top 10 in all-time wins who has not been inducted. When asked about being close to tying Jackson, Rivers said, “I just don’t count them [wins]. If you hadn’t told me, I would not have known. My job is to win. I’ve done that and that’s all I do.”

Andscape

Peter Vecsey: Gus Williams’ death leaves Jack Sikma as lone living starter of Seattle’s two straight Finals forays 1977-79, culminating with a title. Coach Lenny Wilkens and nuclear sub Downtown Freddie Brown also alive, as are Tommy LaGarde, Joey Hassett, Dennis Awtrey and Wally Walker.

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The support was there from a who's who of Seattle hoops legends. From former Sonics players like Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Detlef Schrempf, Rashard Lewis, Fred Brown, Lenny Wilkens, Dale Ellis, Sam Perkins, and George Karl to Seattle-area hoops legends Jamal Crawford, Isaiah Thomas and Brandon Roy. Think about the numbers alone---and the caliber of those players and the message they're sending.

KOMO

ClutchPoints: Joe Mazzulla becomes the seventh African-American head coach to win an NBA championship, joining the likes of: 🏆 Bill Russell (Celtics) 🏆 Doc Rivers (Celtics) 🏆 K.C. Jones (Celtics) 🏆 Tyronn Lue (Cavs) 🏆 Lenny Wilkens (SuperSonics) 🏆 Al Attles (Warriors) pic.twitter.com/fOG4gUn7nV

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Jorge Sierra: Jalen Brunson passed all these players in playoff scoring during the game vs. Indiana: Nick Van Exel, Lenny Wilkens, James Edwards, Antoine Walker, Dan Issel, Norm Nixon, Robert Reid, Lou Williams, Ron Harper, and Dale Ellis.

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NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal is widely recognized for his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he is also a two-time Olympic Gold medalist. O'Neal recounted the time he tossed his Olympic Gold medal out of a car window in frustration because he had played restricted minutes in the game via a recent episode of “The BIG Podcast.” “The Olympic Games ‘96, I played throughout helped them come back, win games. In the gold medal game, Lenny Wilkens says hey this is probably David Robinson's last game so he's going to get more minutes. I say cool, I want to play, but he didn't play me at all until like the last two minutes. So I got put in the last two minutes, I was so pissed off after the ceremony, I drove home in my uniform and I threw the goddamn medal out the window on I-75,” said the Big Diesel.

Clutch Points

Giannis Antetokounmpo moved up from No. 84 to No. 82 in the scoring all-time list after passing Lenny Wilkens, Bailey Howell

HoopsHype

Jorge Sierra: James Harden passed Lenny Wilkens in assists last night. He's now No. 16 all-time. Up next: Maurice Cheeks. Needs 171 more.

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Matt Williams: Gregg Popovich has been a head coach for 27 seasons in the NBA entering 2023-24. Only 2 individuals have been a head coach for 30+ seasons in league history: Lenny Wilkens (32 seasons) Don Nelson (31 seasons)

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Atlanta Hawks PR: Per ESPN Stats & Info, Trae Young and Dejounte Murray are the first pair of Hawks teammates to each have 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the same playoff game since Lenny Wilkens and Bill Bridges in 1966.

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Peter Vecsey: Lenny Wilkens, 85 today. Hall of Fame player and coach. Brooklyn born and bred, Boys High. Yet no mention in NYC Point Gods doc. Same for Bob Cousy. Kenny Smith was featured, tho. Gag me with a chain saw!

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Clutch Points: Seattle SuperSonics legends, Lenny Wilkens and Shawn Kemp are in the house for tonight's preseason game between Maccabi Ra'anana and the Clippers 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ScWsN5t3fQ

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