The recent passing of Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens at age 88 has brought into focus the profound, decades-long impact of his career—and the coaching tree he influenced, most notably fellow former Atlanta Hawks figure, Doc Rivers. Their careers are two distinct, yet parallel, eras of NBA coaching greatness, rooted in integrity, success and a willingness to lead.
Lenny Wilkens: A Triple Hall of Famer Defined by Dignity
Lenny Wilkens is one of the most decorated figures in basketball history, holding the rare distinction of being enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame three times: as a player (1989), as a coach (1998), and as an assistant coach of the iconic 1992 U.S. Olympic “Dream Team.”
His coaching career spanned five decades, totaling an NBA record 2,487 regular-season games coached. Wilkens’record includes the 1979 NBA Championship with the Seattle SuperSonics and the 1994 NBA Coach of the Year award during his tenure with the Atlanta Hawks, a period in which he became the first coach to reach 1,000 career wins.
Doc Rivers tells me that there’s a duality of Wilkens’s leadership which includes a blend of fierce competitiveness and quiet humanity. “Just everything,” Rivers told me last night.
“As a player I remember him as a fiery coach. And that’s so funny, [because] he was such a gentle human being. But he had a fire. You don’t win that much being meek. He’s the greatest example, I think I’d ever seen of a guy who could be nice and deadly at the same time and that’s who he was.”
Rivers went on to argue that Wilkens’s unique greatness remains underrated, particularly his success without “super-teams”:
“I said this the other night, he never got his due of how great of a coach that he was. Someone said a stat that I think is true, he never coached a Hall of Famer. Yet he had that record! That’s unbelievable coaching and no one gave him credit for it. It’s just too bad. We talk about it now, we should’ve been talking about it 15 years ago.”
Doc Rivers: Champion & Leader
Rivers, who was a respected point guard for the Hawks from 1983 to 1991, quickly translated his court intelligence into a successful coaching career, earning the 2000 Coach of the Year award in his first season with the Orlando Magic. His leadership qualities were evident even as a player, with former teammate Dominique Wilkins noting that Rivers was “already like a coach” and constantly demanded accountability.
Rivers cemented his status by leading the Boston Celtics to the 2008 NBA Championship and later being named one of the NBA’s 15 Greatest Coaches of All Time. His long-term success is highlighted by his pride in his teams:
Ultimately, both Wilkens and Rivers represent a powerful legacy of leadership: Wilkens, the quiet pioneer who won with dignity and maximized every ounce of talent and Rivers, the charismatic champion who carried that mentor’s tradition forward, leading five franchises with consistent success.
