Lenny Wilkens (1937-2025) was a professional basketball player and coach who played as point guard for the Seattle SuperSonics from 1968-1972, and served as player-coach from 1969-1972. Wilkens returned to coach the Sonics in 1977 and stayed with the team until 1985. His first season back with the Sonics ended in an NBA Finals appearance, and in 1979 Wilkens led the Sonics to their only NBA Championship victory. The Sonics made six playoffs appearances during Wilkens' eight years coaching the team. Beyond basketball Wilkens worked to serve his community, notably through his support for the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic at Seattle Children's.

In this image, Lenny Wilkens (left) jumps to make a basket while Nate Thurmond of the Golden State Warriors tries to defend. The Sonics won this game, 105-94.

Nate Thurmond was an NBA All-Star seven times, was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1985, and is considered among the best basketball players in NBA history.

Caption information source: "NBA and ABA games played on December 10, 1971," Basketball Reference, retrieved from https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/index.cgi?month=12&day=10&year=1971.