Lenny Wilkens has statue unveiled outside Seattle arena where he led SuperSonics to NBA title

SEATTLE (AP) — Lenny Wilkens couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he gazed at a bronze statue of himself at the site of his greatest coaching triumph.

On Saturday, the former Seattle SuperSonics player and coach became the first person to have a statue unveiled outside Climate Pledge Arena.

Wilkens led the Sonics to the 1979 NBA title. But the 6-foot, 700-pound statue, sculpted by Chicago-based Lou Cella, depicts Wilkens as a player. Cella also produced statues of University of Washington football coach Don James and Seattle Mariners greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez.

“I’ve been blessed,” the 87-year-old Wilkens said. “I’ll be the first to tell you.”

A point guard, Wilkens played 15 NBA seasons, including four for Seattle, and was a nine-time All-Star. He averaged 16.7 points and 6.5 assists.

Climate Pledge Arena, home to the WNBA's Seattle Storm and NHL's Seattle Kraken, has never hosted an NBA game in its current incarnation. Known as KeyArena when the Sonics played there, it reopened in 2021 after a $1.15 billion renovation. The Sonics moved to Oklahoma City in 2008 and became the Thunder; that franchise won the NBA title this month.

Wilkens' statue won't stand alone for long. Longtime Storm point guard and four-time WNBA champion Sue Bird will have a statue unveiled outside the arena on Aug. 17.

“Lenny Wilkens’ legacy in this city is undeniable — he helped lay the foundation for Seattle’s deep love of the game. Both Lenny and Sue have brought home championships, inspired generations and helped shape Seattle into the incredible basketball city that it is today,” Storm president and CEO Alisha Valavanis said in a statement. “The Storm are honored to be part of this monumental moment for Lenny, and we can’t wait to celebrate Sue and all that she’s meant to our city when we unveil her statue later this summer.”

Wilkens, a three-time inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, was joined by SuperSonics greats including Spencer Haywood, Jack Sikma, Detlef Schrempf, Nate McMillan and coach George Karl. McMillan said Wilkens’ impact on the Sonics was similar to that of Jerry West on the Los Angeles Lakers and Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls.

Wilkens is third in career wins by an NBA coach at 1,332, trailing only Gregg Popovich and Don Nelson.

“He’s one of the greatest leaders the NBA has ever seen,” McMillan said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Former NBA basketball player and coach Lenny Wilkens poses for a photo with his statue after its unveiling outside of Climate Pledge Arena, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Former NBA basketball player and coach Lenny Wilkens, center, poses for a photo with former NBA players Steve Smith, left, and Spencer Haywood, right, after an unveiling for a statue of Wilkens outside of Climate Pledge Arena, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

People gather around the statue of former NBA basketball player and coach Lenny Wilkens after its unveiling outside of Climate Pledge Arena, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Former NBA basketball player and coach Lenny Wilkens poses for a photo with his statue after its unveiling outside of Climate Pledge Arena, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Former NBA basketball player and coach Lenny Wilkens looks on before his statue unveiling event outside of Climate Pledge Arena, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Former NBA basketball player and coach Lenny Wilkens smiles before his statue unveiling event outside of Climate Pledge Arena, Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

After nearly seven years away from the big screen, a new Star Wars movie drew healthy but not record-breaking crowds to global theaters this weekend. According to studio estimates on Sunday, “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” made $82 million in ticket sales from 4,300 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. By the end of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday, it’s expected to have earned $102 million domestically and $165 million globally.

It exceeded opening weekend expectations for the movie, a continuation of Disney+ spinoff series “The Mandalorian,” but it’s also on the low end of Disney-era Star Wars releases, closer to “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which made $103 million over the four-day Memorial Day frame in 2018. While “Solo” was considered a disaster, the metrics around “The Mandalorian and Grogu” are a little different.

The production budget for “Solo” was in the $300 million range, while “The Mandalorian and Grogu” was made for significantly less — a reported $165 million, not accounting for marketing and promotion costs. It makes the journey to profitability more likely, especially when factoring in positive audience scores. Although critics were mixed to negative on the movie (it currently carries a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes), ticket buyers overall gave it an A- CinemaScore. Boys under the age of 13 are especially high on the movie: They gave it an A CinemaScore and a perfect five on PostTrak. Parents also gave it a five out of five.

The Jon Favreau-directed movie stars Pedro Pascal as the titular bounty hunter and puts him and his tiny green companion on a mission to save Jabba’s son Rotta the Hutt, who is voiced by Jeremy Allen White.

“Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” could also be graded on a bit of a curve because of the streaming component, both that it started as a series, and that it will eventually end up as a value add on Disney+, which was only about a month old when the last Star Wars movie, “The Rise of Skywalker,” debuted in December 2019.

Star Wars as a brand is in a time of transition under its new leadership team of Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan; Earlier this year it was announced that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who produced “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” was stepping down after 13 years. The question for the industry is whether audience interest in Star Wars on the big screen might have cooled slightly, and if next year’s “Star Wars: Starfighter,” starring Ryan Gosling, will provide a definitive answer. Until then, the hope is that strong audience and exit scores will propel word-of-mouth generated enthusiasm in the coming weeks.

Word-of-mouth certainly helped Curry Barker’s relationship horror movie “Obsession” defy the standard box office trajectory and do better business in its second weekend. The Focus Features had an astonishing 30% uptick in ticket sales, earning $22.4 million from 2,655 theaters. The studio, which acquired the microbudget movie for some $15 million, is projecting that it will have made $28.2 million by the end of Monday, bringing its running total to $58.5 million. It snagged the second-place spot, while “Michael” landed in third place with $20 million for the three-day weekend. The Michael Jackson biopic has now earned $782.4 million.

“Obsession” also did better than the new horror movie “Passenger,” a Paramount Pictures release with Melissa Leo, which grossed an estimated $8.7 million from 2,534 locations. It’s expected to earn $10.5 million over its first four days. The movie received poor reviews from both critics (44% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (B- Cinema Score).

The mix of movies this year didn’t hold a candle to last year’s record Memorial Day weekend, which was led by Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.” The overall four-day frame this year will net out around $211 million, down about 36% from last year’s $330 million. It’s also far from the disastrous 2024 Memorial Day weekend box office, a 30-year low, when “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” opened.

Jon Favreau arrives at the premiere of "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

The character Grogu arrives at the premiere of "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)