The continuing tribute to the Atlanta Hawks today features a man who was among the best point guards in the NBA during the 1960s, and a man who became the all-time winningest coach after he retired from the hardwood. He is one of only three people (John Wooden and Bill Sharman are the others) inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and a coach. He is Lenny Wilkens.

Lenny Wilkens was born October 28, 1937 in Brooklyn, New York. After attending Boys High School (where he played on the basketball team with future baseball star Tommy Davis), Wilkens went to the University of Providence, where he was a two-time All-American, and helped the Friars to the NIT tournament in both 1959 and 1960 (the Friars made the title game in 1960). Wilkens graduated as the Friars' second leading scorer (he currently ranks 20th) and he averaged 14.9 PPG and 7.3 RPG (assists weren't kept at the time). The St. Louis Hawks drafted him sixth overall in the 1960 NBA Draft.

As a rookie in 1960-61, Wilkens averaged 11.7 PPG and 4.5 RPG, helping the Hawks reach the NBA Finals for the last time that season, losing to the Boston Celtics. Wilkens' production rose steadily throughout his Hawks tenure; by 1963, he made his first of nine All-Star teams, and by 1967-68, he averaged 20 PPG and 8.3 APG, finishing second to Wilt Chamberlain as league MVP. After that season, Wilkens moved on to the Seattle Supersonics, where he had his best individual stats year in 1968-69 with averages of 22.4 PPG and 8.2 APG. Wilkens led the league in assists in 1969-70 and won All-Star game MVP in 1971 with the Sonics. He would play with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trail Blazers before retiring in 1975.

Prior to his retirement as a player, Wilkens had already begun his second career as a coach. In 1969, he became player/coach of the Supersonics; he was the NBA's second black head coach. Wilkens coached the Sonics for three years (including a 47-35 record in 1971-71) before departing. At Portland, he was player/coach for his final playing season, and lasted one more as just a coach before being replaced by Jack Ramsay. After spending the 1976-77 season off the court, Wilkens made a dramatic return to Seattle. After replacing Bob Hopkins 22 games into the 1977-78 season, Wilkens led the Sonics to a 47-35 final record and the playoffs. There, they rolled into their first NBA Finals, losing to the Washington Bullets in seven games. Wilkens would get his title the following year, as the Sonics beat the Bullets in five games for their only NBA title. Wilkens would have three 50+ win seasons and six playoffs appearances with the Sonics before kicking himself into the front office in 1985. But his coaching career wasn't over yet.

In 1986, Wilkens returned to the sidelines to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team in dire straits at the time. After a rough start, Wilkens led the Cavaliers to the playoffs in his second year, and in 1989, they won 57 games for the NBA's second best record. But the Cavaliers lost in the first round to the Chicago Bulls on a dramatic Michael Jordan jumper, establishing a painful pattern. Wilkens would have three 50+ win seasons in Cleveland, but the Bulls would eliminate them three times from the playoffs. After being swept by the Bulls in 1993, Wilkens resigned as coach and took over as coach of the Atlanta Hawks.

In his first season in Atlanta, Wilkens led the Hawks to their first division title since 1987 with a conference-high 57 wins. In year two, he passed Red Auerbach as the NBA's winningest coach. Wilkens had three 50+ win seasons in Atlanta (an obvious pattern) and made the playoffs six straight years, but the Hawks never got beyond round two, and he left the team after the 1999-2000 season for the Toronto Raptors. In three seasons in Toronto, Wilkens led the franchise to its first two playoffs berths, but after a 24-58 record in 2002-03, Wilkens went into semiretirement, but during the 2003-04 season, he was brought back to coach the New York Knicks. But after a playoff season the first season, Wilkens resigned 39 games into the 2004-05 season, ending his coaching career. When he stopped coaching, he had won 1,332 games and lost 1,155 games (both are NBA records) and had one NBA title and a gold medal coaching the 1996 U.S. Olympic team. He was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history in 1996, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (1989) and a coach (1998); he is one of only three people to accomplish this.

Season-by-Season Statistical Review (player):
1960-61: 75 GP, 11.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 42.5 FG%, 71.3 FT%
1961-62: 20 GP, 18.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 5.8 APG, 38.5 FG%, 76.4 FT%
1962-63: 75 GP, 11.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.1 APG, 39.9 FG%, 69.6 FT%
1963-64: 78 GP, 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.6 APG, 41.3 FG%, 74.0 FT%
1964-65: 78 GP, 16.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.5 APG, 41.4 FG%, 74.6 FT%
1965-66: 69 GP, 18.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.2 APG, 43.1 FG%, 79.3 FT%
1966-67: 78 GP, 17.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.7 APG, 43.2 FG%, 78.7 FT%
1967-68: 82 GP, 20.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 8.3 APG, 43.8 FG%, 76.8 FT%
1968-69: 82 GP, 22.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 8.2 APG, 44.0 FG%, 77.0 FT%
1969-70: 75 GP, 17.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 9.1 APG, 42.0 FG%, 78.8 FT%
1970-71: 71 GP, 19.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 9.2 APG, 41.9 FG%, 80.3 FT%
1971-72: 80 GP, 18.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 9.6 APG, 46.6 FG%, 77.4 FT%
1972-73: 75 GP, 20.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 8.4 APG, 44.9 FG%, 82.8 FT%
1973-74: 74 GP, 16.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 7.1 APG, 46.5 FG%, 80.1 FT%
1974-75: 65 GP, 6.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 3.6 APG, 43.9 FG%, 76.8 FT%

Season-by-Season Statistical Review (coach):
1969-70 Seattle: 36 Wins, 46 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1970-71 Seattle: 38 Wins, 44 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1971-72 Seattle: 47 Wins, 35 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1974-75 Portland: 38 Wins, 44 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1975-76 Portland: 37 Wins, 45 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1977-78 Seattle: 42 Wins, 18 Losses (13-9; lost NBA Finals)
1978-79 Seattle: 52 Wins, 30 Losses (12-5; won NBA title)
1979-80 Seattle: 56 Wins, 26 Losses (7-8; lost conference finals)
1980-81 Seattle: 34 Wins, 48 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1981-82 Seattle: 52 Wins, 30 Losses (3-5; lost conference semifinals)
1982-83 Seattle: 48 Wins, 34 Losses (0-2; lost preliminary round)
1983-84 Seattle: 42 Wins, 40 Losses (2-3; lost conference 1st round)
1984-85 Seattle: 31 Wins, 51 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1986-87 Cleveland: 31 Wins, 51 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1987-88 Cleveland: 42 Wins, 40 Losses (2-3; lost conference 1st round)
1988-89 Cleveland: 57 Wins, 25 Losses (2-3; lost conference 1st round)
1989-90 Cleveland: 42 Wins, 40 Losses (2-3; lost conference 1st round)
1990-91 Cleveland: 33 Wins, 49 Losses (did not make playoffs)
1991-92 Cleveland: 57 Wins, 25 Losses (9-8; lost conference finals)
1992-93 Cleveland: 54 Wins, 28 Losses (3-6; lost conference semifinals)
1993-94 Atlanta: 57 Wins, 25 Losses (5-6; lost conference semifinals)
1994-95 Atlanta: 42 Wins, 40 Losses (0-3; lost conference 1st round)
1995-96 Atlanta: 46 Wins, 36 Losses (4-6; lost conference semifinals)
1996-97 Atlanta: 56 Wins, 26 Losses (4-6; lost conference semifinals)
1997-98 Atlanta: 50 Wins, 32 Losses (1-3; lost conference 1st round)
1998-99 Atlanta: 31 Wins, 19 Losses (3-6; lost conference semifinals)
1999-2000 Atlanta: 28 Wins, 54 Losses (did not make playoffs)
2000-01 Toronto: 47 Wins, 35 Losses (6-6; lost conference semifinals)
2001-02 Toronto: 42 Wins, 40 Losses (2-3; lost conference 1st round)
2002-03 Toronto: 24 Wins, 58 Losses (did not make playoffs)
2003-04 New York: 23 Wins, 19 Losses (0-4; lost conference 1st round)
2004-05 New York: 17 Wins, 22 Losses (resigned after 39 games)