Who is Paul Silas, the ex-NBA player and long-time coach who died?
Paul Silas, a three-time NBA champion as a player and the first coach of LeBron James in the league, passed away on Sunday at the age of 79.
Paul Silas, the first coach of LeBron James in the NBA, died this Sunday at the age of 79. He played in the NBA for 16 seasons (1964-80), and won three championship rings (two with the Celtics in 1974 and 1976 and one with the Supersonics in 1979). He was named to the NBA All-Star twice, in 1972 and 1975.
Silas, who closed his NBA playing career in 1980 with more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds to his credit after 16 seasons, was also a long-time NBA coach. He is the father of current Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas.
Silas as a basketball player
Silas trained at Creighton University, where he averaged over 20 points in his college career. In 1964 he was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in the second round and spent five seasons in this franchise until they transferred him to the Suns, where in the three seasons he was there he averaged a double-double in points and rebounds .
In 1972 the Suns sent him to Boston, where he became an important piece in the titles won by the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He also went through Denver (1976-77) and Seattle (1977-80), where he closed his playing career and got his third ring.
Silas’ coaching career
After hanging up his boots, Silas made his debut as an NBA coach in 1980 with the Clippers, a franchise he guided until 1983. After a few sabbatical years, he became an assistant coach for the Nets, Knicks, Suns and Hornets. In 1999, he became the latter’s interim manager after Dave Cowens was sacked. He went through Charlotte’s move to New Orleans with the Hornets, but was fired on May 4, 2003.
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The Cavaliers hired him that summer to mentor LeBron James and he stayed in Cleveland until 2005, when Dan Gilbet decided to fire him midseason (the Cavs were 34-30 and fifth in the East). That season the Ohio franchise did not make the playoffs.
An ESPN analyst for a while, his last team in the NBA was the Charlotte Bobcats, which he joined in 2010. In 2012 the franchise announced the departure of the coach after a season disaster in which the Hornets ended with the worst record in NBA history, with seven wins in 66 games (10.6% wins).