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Street to be named after Sonics legend Lenny Wilkens at new Seattle arena

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced "Lenny Wilkens Way" will be coming soon outside the new arena at Seattle Center.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced a street outside the new arena at Seattle Center will be named after basketball legend Lenny Wilkens. 

Wilkens played for the Seattle SuperSonics from 1968 to 1972 and was a 9-time All-Star. He was head coach during the Sonics' 1979 NBA Championship. 

Mayor Durkan tweeted on Saturday, "A much-deserved honor for a Seattle sports legend! As a player, coach, and the founder of @LWFoundation, it’s hard to overstate the impact that Coach Wilkens has had on Seattle."

After his NBA career, Wilkens started a foundation to empower youth, with his main beneficiary being the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic. A new building at the clinic will be named in Wilkens' honor. 

The street announcement was made at the final dinner auction of the Lenny Wilkens Foundation on Saturday night. Wilkens announced his foundation would be closing this year for the 81-year-old to spend more time with extended family in Atlanta. 

"We're going out on a high note,” Wilkens said. “I've done it for 40 years, giving back, and I think that somebody else will pick up the mantle and go with it."

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