Basketball Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens Dead at 88

Lenny Wilkens -- a Hall of Fame basketball player and coach -- has died ... the NBA confirmed in a statement Sunday.

Wilkens reportedly passed away while surrounded by loved ones ... though the family has not revealed a cause of death at this time.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Wilkens "one of the game's respected ambassadors" ... adding his on-court contributions were incredible -- yet paled in comparison to his influence on the community of Seattle.

Wilkens began his professional career for the St. Louis Hawks in 1960 ... average 15.5 points per game with the squad over the course of eight seasons.

The Hawks then traded Lenny to the Seattle Supersonics where he had four of the best years of his career ... making three All-Star teams and leading the league in assists during the '69-'70 season while also serving as a playher coach from 1969 to 1972.

After two seasons in Cleveland and one in Portland, Wilkens retired from playing but continued his coaching career ... taking over the Supersonics during the 1977-1978 season.

Wilkens coached Seattle until 1985 ... making two NBA Finals appearances and winning the championship in 1979.

Lenny also coached in Cleveland from 1986 to 1993, Atlanta from 1993 to 2000, Toronto from 2000 to 2003, and helmed the Knicks in the 2004-2005 season. He served as an assistant coach on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team.

Wilkens amassed 1,332 wins as a heach coach over the decades ... the third most behind just Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson.

In 1989, Wilkens went into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player ... and, he was inducted as a coach less than a decade later in 1998.

Lenny was 88 years old.