Leonard R. "Lenny" Wilkens

Lenny Wilkens holds the rare distinction of having coached all the teams that he performed with in his 15 seasons as an NBA player – the Seattle Supersonics, Portland Trailblazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Atlanta Hawks. Starting his career as a player-coach, Wilkens utilized his knowledge and experience to methodically establish himself as one of the NBA’s premier coaches. On January 6, 1995, he notched his 989^th win, surpassing Red Auerbach’s NBA all-time record. On March 1, 1996, Wilkens won his 1,000th game, a 74-68 victory over Cleveland. When the NBA celebrated its 50th Anniversary season in 1996-97, Wilkens was the only honoree lauded for both his coaching and playing talents – he was named one of the NBA’s Top Ten Coaches in league history as well as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history. In 1996, after serving as an assistant on the 1992 Dream Team, Wilkens led the United States to Olympic gold.