Legendary NBA player and former coach Paul Silas has died at the age of 79, the Houston Rockets confirmed. Silas spent 16 years as an NBA player, winning three championships, two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics. He was a two-time All-Star and a five-time All-Defensive player during his playing career which spanned five teams over nearly two decades.
After retiring in 1980, Silas remained in the NBA world, immediately becoming a head coach for the San Diego Clippers. He then spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Hornets. He went on to become the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets in 1998, where he led the team to four playoff appearances, including two trips to the Eastern Conference finals.
Silas’ next head coaching job would be for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003-2005, where he was the first NBA coach of LeBron James. He then returned for another short stint as the head coach for Charlotte from 2010-2012. Over his 12 years as a head coach in the league, Silas compiled a 387-488 record (.442 winning percentage), and went to the playoffs four times. Silas’ son, Stephen Silas, is currently the head coach of the Houston Rockets. Stephen got his first assistant coaching job under his father from 2000-03 with the Charlotte Hornets and then New Orleans Hornets. He then served as an assistant to his father again from 2010-12 with Charlotte.
After hearing of Silas’ death, Hornets team owner Michael Jordan issued the following statement about his franchise’s former head coach:
“Our Hornets family mourns the passing of Paul Silas. Paul was an incredible leader and motivator who served as our head coach on two occasions. He combined the knowledge developed over nearly 40 years as an NBA player and coach with an innate understanding of how to mix discipline with his never-ending positivity. On or off the court, Paul’s enthusiastic and engaging personality was accompanied by an anecdote for every occasion. He was one of the all-time great people in our game, and he…
..
