Three-time NBA champion and former coach Paul Silas dies at 79
Paul Silas, who spent 38 years in the NBA as a player and coach, died this weekend at age 79.
Silas played 16 seasons with various teams, making his first All-Star team with the Phoenix Suns, winning two titles with the Boston Celtics, and a third with the 1979 Seattle Supersonics. He was an exceptional defensive player, making the All-Defensive Team five times, and one of the NBA's best offensive rebounders. He retired as the No. 10 player in defensive rating in NBA history, and No. 8 in playoff defensive rating.
But what set Silas apart, as both a player and a coach, was his tremendous leadership ability and smarts. In David Halberstam's "The Breaks Of The Game," Silas is described as "the best of NBA players, a triumph of intelligence and character over pure athletic s kill."
Silas was LeBron James' first NBA coach in Cleveland, and on Sunday, James called him "probably one of the greatest human beings I've ever been around."
Silas began his career with the St. Louis Hawks after setting rebounding records in college at Creighton. He developed into an All-Star after a trade to the Phoenix Suns, and then an NBA champion in 1974 and 1976 with the Boston Celtics. Red Auerbach traded Silas to the Denver Nuggets after Silas requested a three-year contract and petitioned for free agency, and the Cowens-Havlicek teams quickly collapsed. Silas ended up winning a third ring with Seattle in 1979 as a team leader, rebounder and enforcer off the bench.
He began his head-coaching career with the San Diego Clippers in 1980, but did his most extensive coaching for the Charlotte and then New Orleans Hornets, from 1999-2003, then returned to coach the new Charlotte Bobcats from 2010-12.
Charlotte owner Michael Jordan honored Silas in a statement, calling him "one of the all-time great people in our game."
Outside of basketball, Silas used to sing with his cousins, the Pointer Sisters, when he was younger.
His legacy continues with his son Stephen Silas, who worked with him as an assistant for years before becoming the Houston Rockets' head coach in 2020.
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