Lenny Wilkens 1st to have statue outside Climate Pledge Arena - ESPN

SEATTLE — The Seattle basketball community turned out Saturday to honor legendary former Seattle SuperSonics player, coach and executive Lenny Wilkens, who became the first person to have a statue unveiled outside Climate Pledge Arena.

«Reminds me of when I first came out here,» said Wilkens, who was traded to the Sonics in 1968 ahead of their second season as an expansion franchise. «You know, we're a better community when we're supportive of one another, when we help each other, when we take time to recognize one another.»

On Saturday, that meant recognizing Wilkens, who joined John Wooden as the second person selected for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame as both a player (in 1989) and a coach (in 1998) before being honored a third time for his role as an assistant coach with the 1992 USA Olympic «Dream Team.»

Although he played for four teams and coached six, Wilkens, a Brooklyn native, has made his home in Seattle and is most associated with the Sonics. As head coach in 1979, Wilkens led the team to its only championship in Seattle.

Each speaker Saturday highlighted that Wilkens' work off the court in the Seattle community is an equally important part of his legacy. Through his foundation, created in 1971, Wilkens spent decades supporting local causes — most notably the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic, which operates in Seattle's historically Black Central District.

«He has uplifted this community in many ways,» said Washington Governor Bob Ferguson, «from uniting our community when we won that world championship back in the 1970s to all the work he's done quietly, behind the scenes when he's not in front of 14,000 fans and a national TV audience — quietly working to uplift our community and the next generation.