LeBron James honors Lenny Wilkens after Hall of Famer's passing

On Sunday came the sad news that former NBA star and coach Lenny Wilkens had died at the age of 88. He started off his career in 1960 as the No. 6 pick in the draft, and in 15 seasons as an NBA point guard, he averaged 16.5 points and 6.7 assists a game while making the All-Star team nine times and leading the league in assists per game during the 1969-70 campaign.

He was perhaps best known as a longtime head coach. He was at the helm of six different teams, starting when he was the player-coach of the Seattle SuperSonics from 1969 to 1972, and he coached them to their first NBA championship in 1979. He achieved a truly rare feat by being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame three times — once as a player, once as a head coach and a third time as an assistant coach for Team USA's "Dream Team" when it won the Olympic gold medal in 1992.

LeBron James honored Wilkens' memory on X (formerly Twitter) following the announcement of the legend's passing.

RIP LEGEND!!!!! 🕊️🕊️🕊️🤎. You'll be missed! Always was an honor to see you throughout the years https://t.co/Pfb7xTJCHo— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 11, 2025

Wilkens resigned as the head coach of the New York Knicks during the 2004-05 season, and he remains third in career wins among head coaches, behind only Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson. Afterward, he briefly worked in the Sonics' front office, and in between coaching gigs, he had also been their general manager for a brief period during the mid-1980s.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James honors Lenny Wilkens after Hall of Famer's passing