Sonics legend Lenny Wilkens dies at 88

Seattle Supersonics legend and NBA Hall-of-Famer Lenny Wilkens died on Sunday at the age of 88.

Wilkens played 15 seasons in the NBA, including four with the Sonics. He was an All-Star in three of those four seasons, while also serving as the Sonics’ head coach.

Wilkens was the second ever Black head coach in NBA history. Bill Russell, a player-coach for the Boston Celtics in the mid-60s, was the first.

After his retirement as a player in 1975, Wilkens returned to coach the Sonics, and led the team to its sole championship in 1979.

Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie, a former player and Seattle native, credited Wilkens with his own career.

“Lenny probably doesn’t even know [but] without him, I’m not here,” Christie said.

Former Sonics star Gary Payton called Wilkens a “true legend of the game” in a social media post Sunday.

Wilkens’ impact on Seattle basketball was memorialized in the summer of 2025 with a bronze statue outside of Climate Pledge Arena.

Wilkens is one of five people to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.