updated 7:32 p.m. ET Jan. 16, 2004

Two days after being named the New York Knicks’ 21st head coach, Lenny Wilkens will make his debut at Madison Square Garden in a game against the Seattle SuperSonics.

Wilkens — who has more wins and more losses than any other coach in NBA history — replaces Don Chaney, fired Wednesday a few hours before the Knicks beat the Orlando Magic 120-110 under assistant Herb Williams.

“I grew up in Brooklyn,” Wilkens said at his introductory press conference Thursday. “To have an opportunity to come back and work here is exciting.”

Starting his stint with the Knicks by facing Seattle may have special meaning for Wilkens, who played for and took his first coaching job with the SuperSonics. He won his only championship as a coach in 1979 with Seattle. Wilkens, 66, is the second-oldest NBA coach next to Memphis’ Hubie Brown, who is 70.

Unlike Brown, who took over a young team, Wilkens will be working mostly with veterans, including point guard Stephon Marbury, whom Wilkens called “the leader of this team.”

“I don’t think age has anything to do with your mind,” said Wilkens, now guiding his sixth NBA team. “I think it’s about what you do, not how old you are.”

That sentiment was not felt in Toronto, where Wilkens coached for three seasons before being fired last April. During his tenure, the Raptors went 113-133 while key players missed significant time because of injuries. Wilkens was criticized for being out of touch with his young players.

The hiring of Wilkens culminated a busy few weeks for Knicks president Isiah Thomas, who has revamped his roster and coaching staff since taking over basketball operations for the fired Scott Layden on Dec. 22.

“The opportunity to be associated with Lenny’s aura is a great thing for us as people in the organization, and is a great thing for the team to be around such a great man,” Thomas said.

The team has gone 2-3 since acquiring Marbury, also a Brooklyn native, and Penny Hardaway in an eight-player trade with the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 5. Despite New York being 16-24, the playoffs are still a strong possibility because the team plays in a weak Eastern Conference.

“The first step is to improve our defense,” said Wilkens, who inherits a team allowing 93.7 points per game. “But it’s still early enough and we’ve still got a chance to make the playoffs.”

The Sonics, meanwhile, come off consecutive defeats to teams below .500, including Tuesday’s 104-96 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ray Allen scored 25 points and Vladimir Radmanovic added 21 and 13 rebounds for Seattle, which also visits Washington, Philadelphia and Cleveland on its four-game road trip.

Nate McMillan called his team’s effort “sloppy”, after rookie LeBron James scored 27 points and the Cavs shot 46 percent from the floor. The Sonics relied on their 3-point shooting to remain in the game, hitting 14 of 37 attempts.

“We pushed the ball, jacked up a bunch of 3s and didn’t play defense,” Seattle forward Rashard Lewis said.

Wilkens was wrapping up his introductory news conference Thursday when a grinning Stephon Marbury strode over to the dais.

“Here comes another Brooklyn guy,” the New York Knicks’ new coach said before receiving a big hug from the team’s point guard.

Marbury delivered the warmest embrace to Wilkens as the Knicks welcomed aboard another of the best playmakers ever to come out of New York. First, new team president Isiah Thomas traded for an All-Star (Marbury), then he hired a Hall of Famer (Wilkens).

Wilkens ran a brief practice in the afternoon, preparing the revamped Knicks to play the Seattle SuperSonics on Friday night. He replaces Don Chaney, fired Wednesday.

“The opportunity to come back to New York is just tremendous. It’s not anything that I thought could happen,” said Wilkens, who had been out of work since being fired by the Toronto Raptors at the end of last season.

The Knicks are the sixth team coached by the 66-year-old Wilkens, who has made the playoffs in 19 of his 30 seasons on the bench. His challenge in New York will be to guide the Knicks (16-24) back to the postseason after a two-year absence.

New York is 2½ games behind Philadelphia for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I’m an optimist,” Wilkens said. “It’s still early enough. We can make the playoffs.”

He plans to prod the Knicks to refocus on defense and hopes to tweak their offense — all while growing accustomed to a roster that, until Thursday, he had only seen a handful of times on television.

Wilkens said he welcomes input from Thomas, who drew up a wish list of coaching candidates before settling on the gray-haired gentleman from the Class of ’56 at Boys High School in Brooklyn.

“I feel like it’s my team right now — or I should say Stephon’s team,” Wilkens said.

Wilkens, owner of the most coaching victories and losses in NBA history, will have to make adjustments on the fly. The Knicks enter a stretch of six games in nine days that includes a matinee matchup with the Raptors on Monday.

Several Toronto players criticized Wilkens’ coaching methods after he was fired in April. Vince Carter said Wilkens doesn’t understand today’s game.

Wilkens said he was surprised by Carter’s comments and defended his tenure in Toronto, citing the team’s numerous injuries during his three seasons there.

“I don’t pay it any mind because many players will say things to distract from themselves,” Wilkens said.

After being fired, Wilkens spent time at home in Seattle playing golf and tennis.

“I never gave much thought to whether my coaching days were over or not. When I left I said I still had a lot of coaching left in me,” Wilkens said. “When the season started, I started missing it. And I started to watch a lot of games. And when this opportunity came, I jumped at it.”

Wilkens’ record is 1,292-1,114. His career playoff record as a coach is 80-94, including the 1979 NBA championship with Seattle.

Wilkens and John Wooden are the only players enshrined in the Hall of Fame as both a player and coach.

“I think he’s the perfect person to lead us in this environment of change,” said James Dolan, chairman of Cablevision, the Knicks’ corporate owner.

Thomas, who replaced ousted team president Scott Layden on Dec. 22, has turned over nearly half the roster and a majority of the coaching staff in his short time at the helm.

His firing of Chaney was expected; his choice of Wilkens was not.

Wilkens said the Knicks first contacted him Wednesday, meaning his deal was cut in a matter of hours.

The new coach put the Knicks through a brief workout with no scrimmaging, addressing the players and telling them they will have to earn his respect — and he will have to earn theirs.

“I think he’s going to be a guy who’s pretty similar to Don in personality,” shooting guard Allan Houston said. “He’s going to be demanding, and I think he’s going to allow us to be who we are and get better at that.”

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