Former Atlanta Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens dies at 88

Former NBA basketball player and coach Lenny Wilkens smiles before his statue unveiling event outside Climate Pledge Arena, June 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

SEATTLE (AP) — Lenny Wilkens, a three-time inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame who was enshrined as both a player and a coach, has died, his family said Sunday. He was 88.

The family said Wilkens was surrounded by loved ones when he died and did not immediately 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 game’s great coaches.