Kings coach Doug Christie was overcome with emotion while discussing the life and death of NBA great Lenny Wilkens before Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Christie, a Seattle native, said as a boy he was inspired by Wilkens, who coached the Seattle SuperSonics to the 1979 NBA championship.
“Just want to send out a lot of love to Lenny Wilkens and his family,” Christie said at the start of his pregame press conference. “Lenny probably doesn’t even know that without him, I’m not here, so a lot of blessings. A lot of blessings.”
Wilkens, a Hall of Fame player and coach, died Sunday at the age of 88.
Christie teared up while answering a question about his memories of Wilkens and the Sonics teams he grew up watching.
“Being from Seattle, the Sonics were everything, and being a kid in the Rainier Valley is pretty tough,” Christie said. “Thinking about one day on the bus, you’re riding down and you look over, and I think it was Franklin High School. I’m sitting on the bus. We’re going downtown. We would always bus ride with these – what did they call those things? – it was like a voucher. It was called a transfer, and if you were slick, which unfortunately I was, you could tweak it and keep going.”
Christie grew more and more emotional as he continued the story, pausing at times to compose himself while fighting back tears.
“I remember that day it was raining like most times, and I look out the window, and I’m like, ‘Damn,’ and here comes a Rolls-Royce, and it was (former Sonics point guard) Gus Williams,” Christie said. “I was like, ’I don’t know what he’s doing, “but I want to do that.’”
Christie starred Rainier Beach High School in Seattle. Wilkens played for the Sonics from 1968-72 and coached them twice, from 1968-72 and again from 1977-85.
Wilkens was a nine-time NBA All-Star. He led the league in assists in 1970 and was named MVP of the All-Star Game in 1971. He was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team in 1996 and the 75th Anniversary Team in 2021.
Wilkens was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame three times: as a player in 1989, as a coach in 1998 and again in 2010 for his work as an assistant coach with the Dream Team, which won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
Wilkens was also inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, the FIBA Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement lauding Wilkens as one of the game’s all-time greats.
“Lenny Wilkens represented the very best of the NBA — as a Hall of Fame player, Hall of Fame coach, and one of the game’s most respect ambassadors,” Silver said. “So much so that, four years ago, Lenny received the unique distinction of being named one of the league’s 75 greatest players and 15 greatest coaches of all time.
“But even more impressive than Lenny’s basketball accomplishments, which included two Olympic gold medals and an NBA championship, was his commitment to service — especially in his beloved community of Seattle where a statue stands in his honor. He influenced the lives of countless young people as well as generations of players and coaches who considered Lenny not only a great teammate or coach but also an extraordinary mentor who led with integrity and true class.”