Jamaal “Silk” Wilkes Speaker Biography
Jamaal Wilkes (Silk) is a three-time NBA All-Star Champion for the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, served as “NBA Rookie of the Year” in 1974, Silk’s jersey No. 52 was retired by both the Bruins and the Lakers. Wilke’s time at UCLA brought him a two-time consensus first-team All-American and won two NCAA championships under coach John Wooden. He played for the Golden State, picked by draft and named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1974. Teaming up with Bill Walton, Jamaal brought UCLA 1972 and 1973 NCAA titles. Wilkes was part of the UCLA teams that won a record 88 consecutive games.
Wilkes graduated from UCLA in 1974 with a BA in Economics and continued to obtain his MBA. In 2007, he was inducted into the Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Hall of Honor. In 1982, Wilkes signed a six-year $5.3 million dollar contract with the Lakers. Wilkes retired from basketball in 1985, leaving a strong legacy due to his kindness, character and work ethic. Wilkes registered 14,664 points, 5,117 rebounds in his basketball career. He was named NBA All-Defensive Team twice. The Sporting News named Wilkes NBA All-Pro Second Team three years. Wilkes was hired as Vice President of basketball operations by the Los Angeles Stars in 2000.
Jamaal Wilkes co-authored the book and audio course, Success Under Fire: Lessons for Being Your Best in Crunch Time and became a motivational speaker. He has worked in real estate and financial services for 22 years. He founded Jamaal Wilkes Financial Advisors with business partner, Liza Wayne, a firm specializing in wealth management where he resides in Playa Del Rey where his two sons and daughter live. Wilkes made his feature film debut as Nathaniel “Cornbread” Hamilton in 1975, a basketball drama, Cornbread, Earl and Me. Wilkes has recently written a book, Smooth as Silk.


