Legends of the Game: John Wooden

The beginning: Fittingly, Wooden got his start in the hoops-centric state of Indiana. Before coaching, he was an elite athlete at Purdue University, becoming the first player to be selected as a three-time consensus All-American while also winning college basketball’s player of the year as a senior.

During a pro stint in the National Basketball League, a precursor to the NBA, he turned his attention towards coaching and teaching.

Early coaching days: Wooden’s first collegiate coaching job was at what would become Indiana State University. A man of many talents, he also coached baseball and served as the school’s athletic director while teaching English and completing a master’s degree in education.

Wooden always saw the bigger picture. After a successful 1947 season, Indiana State received an invitation to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament, but Wooden opted not to take his team, citing the NAIB’s policy banning Black players. Notably, the NAIB changed the policy the following year.

At the helm: After a snowstorm ensured he didn’t receive a call with a coaching offer from the University of Minnesota, Wooden accepted a position at UCLA in 1948. From there, it was an instant resurgence for the Bruins, with Wooden leading the previously floundering squad to a 22-7 record in his first season. And so the Wizard of Westwood was born.

Fast forward to the 1960s, the blue and gold went on an unparalleled run of dominance that cemented Wooden’s legacy. Beginning in 1964, UCLA won an unprecedented 10 national championships over 12 years.Wooden inherited a struggling program that barely had a gym to play in and transformed it into a perennial powerhouse. Most impressive though was his ability to lead: He challenged his players to focus on success in basketball and in life, ensuring his student-athletes developed as players but more importantly as people.

The legacy: Wooden is perhaps best-known for his Pyramid of Success, a framework with 15 successful behaviors that continues to inspire everyone from hoopers to CEOs to this day. On the hardwood, Wooden became the first person to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach in 1960 and 1973, respectively.

Wooden passed away in 2010 at the age of 99, but his name endures in collegiate sports. The John R. Wooden Award, college hoops’ equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, is given annually to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college hoopers.

10: The number of NCAA national championships UCLA won under Wooden over a 12-year period, including an NCAA record seven straight. Dancing all the way into the record books.

88: The consecutive games the Bruins won during that dominant stretch, a(nother) NCAA record. UCLA also won 38 straight games in the NCAA tournament and amassed 98 straight home wins at Pauley Pavilion during their dynasty era.

Four: The number of perfect seasons Wooden led the Bruins to. Take that, Hannah.

0.804: Wooden’s winning percentage at the end of his 29-year collegiate head coaching career — he finished with an astonishing 664 wins and just 162 losses.

46: The number of consecutive weeks the blue and gold owned the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll. The Bruins were ranked in the Top 25 for 221 straight weeks, a streak that encompassed the entire 1970s. As groovy as it gets.

18 million: The number of limited-edition commemorative stamps that will be printed this year to honor the legendary bench boss.

“Coach Wooden considered himself first and foremost a teacher… He taught us to care more about doing the right thing than about our own success. He taught us it was more important to be compassionate than competitive.”

— Six-time NBA MVP and champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on how Wooden used basketball as a tool to develop his players as people, not just athletes. Abdul-Jabbar played for Wooden in the late 60s, winning the first three of UCLA’s seven straight titles and developing a lifelong friendship with his mentor.

“He taught us how to focus on one primary objective. Be the best in whatever endeavor you undertake. Don’t worry about the score. Don’t worry about image. Don’t worry about the opponent. It sounds easy, but it’s actually very difficult. Coach Wooden showed us how to accomplish it.”

— NBA MVP and two-time champion Bill Walton, sharing more Wooden-isms that go beyond sport. Much like Abdul-Jabbar, Walton describes Wooden as his greatest mentor.

“Sometimes you have an experience and you just want to keep it to yourself, because then you can say you’re the only one who experienced it. But you could never do that with Coach Wooden, because that would be so contradictory to what he believed. You felt this responsibility to share it.”

— UCLA women’s basketball head coach Cori Close, on her first meeting with Wooden. Affectionately called Coach’s coaches, Wooden met with all of UCLA’s bench bosses, regardless of sport, to pass on his wisdom. Sharing is caring.

Wooden is undoubtedly one of the greatest coaches of all time, but his influence was and continues to be bigger than basketball, as demonstrated by a handful of his many memorable quotes.

He cared deeply about the details (“little things make big things happen”), he prioritized hard work (“if you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”), and he always kept the bigger picture top of mind (“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”) Mic drop.