Atlanta Coach Chosen To Direct Team Usa In 1996 Olympic Games

Atlanta Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens, the NBA’s winningest coach ever, was selected Monday as coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team - and he won’t even have to leave Atlanta.

“I’ve known Lenny Wilkens and admired him a long time as a player, as a coach and as a person. To say he is qualified to be our Olympic coach would be a tremendous understatement,” president of USA basketball C.M. Newton said.

Wilkens, 57, president of the NBA Coaches Association, was assistant U.S. Olympic coach under Chuck Daly in 1992.

“I do look forward to participating in this huge event,” Wilkens said. “Certainly, being an assistant coach on the 1992 team whetted my appetite to do it. It was a tremendous experience.”