Throughout the 2023-24 NBA season, Spencer Davies is going to turn back the clock to milestone moments and important dates in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ past with “This Day In Cavs History.” Whether they’ve been good, bad or sad, these events were significant in the franchise’s 53-year existence.
There is only a select group of individuals recognized by the Cavs in their Wall of Honor at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Famer and Cleveland fan favorite Lenny Wilkens is one of the names in that kind of company.
Following up a terrific playing career by becoming one of the most respected NBA head coaches to grace an NBA sideline, as well as an executive for a short time, Wilkens etched his name as one of the most brilliant minds in the game.
On this day 31 years ago, Wilkens made his 2,500th career NBA appearance in a 95-93 Cleveland loss on the road to the Orlando Magic. At the time, only Don Nelson had hit that amount of games in the history of the league.
In the 1994-95 campaign with the Atlanta Hawks, Wilkens passed Nelson for the most NBA appearances all-time with his 2,737th.
It wasn't just about showing up either. Wilkens has the third-most coaching wins of all time in the league (1,332), trailing Nelson and highly-respected San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who is still active.
Wilkens spearheaded one of the most memorable teams in Cavs history in the late 1980s to mid-1990s. Between bad injury luck and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls standing in the way in the postseason, it just wasn't meant to be for Cleveland.
However, Wilkens' accomplishments with the franchise and his incredible knowledge made him one of the greatest to ever do it. Luckily for the Cavs, he was a part of their history among a handful of others.
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