Paul Silas has died, know his age, wife, cause of death stats and net worth
As a player, he was on three NBA championship teams, and he was LeBron James’s first coach in the league. His family told the press Sunday that he had died. He was 79.
The family told the Houston Rockets, where Silas’s son Stephen is the head coach for the second time in his family’s history, about the death.
Paul Silas Cause Of Death, Age, Family, Wife, Son, NBA Stats, Net Worth
Silas’ death was first reported by the Boston Globe with him passing away due to a cardiac arrest. The Rockets said in a statement that Stephen and his family are in their hearts during this hard time.
The legendary personality of the NBA was married to Carolyn Silas and the married duo has three kids, Donna, Stephen, and Paula Silas. Paul Silas. His net worth stood at $5 million.
Paul Silas was a consummate team player and an integral member of the 1974 and 1976 NBA World Championship teams. Silas was a fierce competitor, with his tenacious rebounding and deft scoring ability around the hoop. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/wL4plzIWOW
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 11, 2022
Head Coach To Head Coach Paul Silas Wore Many Hats For Decades
Paul Silas’s first job as a head coach was from 1980 to 1983, when he was in charge of the then-San Diego Clippers. After working as an assistant coach for more than a decade, he went back to being the head coach for the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Charlotte Bobcats.
Four of those teams made it to the playoffs because of him. He won exactly 400 games, 387 in the regular season and 13 more in the playoffs.
On Sunday night, the Rockets were playing at home against the Bucks. It wasn’t clear right away how long Stephen Silas would be away from the team. While the Silas family is grieving, the Rockets planned to have John Lucas lead the team in the meantime.
How Did Paul Silas’ Son Get Into NBA?
Stephen Silas got into the NBA when his father was coaching in Charlotte. He started as an advance scout and ended up as an assistant on his father’s staff with the Hornets in 2000. Stephen Silas had to wait 20 years to get a chance to be a head coach. In 2020, Houston hired him.
John Lucas on passing of Paul Silas: "All our prayers and thoughts are with coach and his family. Paul Silas did a lot for basketball." pic.twitter.com/XwHSw4NOFu
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) December 11, 2022
Stephen Silas talked about his journey as a coach in a 2021 documentary made by the Rockets. He said that his dad was his first mentor and someone he could lean on and ask questions of.
Getting Fired Until 1999
Paul Silas was fired by the San Diego Clippers in 1983. He didn’t get another chance to be a head coach until 1999, when Dave Cowens, who Paul Silas had worked for as an assistant coach, quit after a 4-11 start to the shortened 1998-99 season in Charlotte.
Paul Silas told the Rotary Club of Charlotte during a speech in 2013 that he wasn’t known for being a hard worker. This hurt him when he was an assistant coach for about 10 years and couldn’t get a job as a head coach.
Silas would take over in Cleveland in the end. He moved there in 2003, the same year that James was chosen by the Cavaliers.
Paul Silas also took a while to get to that level as a player. He was chosen for the All-Defensive team five times and averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 16 seasons with St. Louis, Atlanta, Phoenix, Boston, Denver, and Seattle.
Silas won two championships with the Boston Celtics, the first of which came in his 10th season as a player. He also won a third championship with the Seattle SuperSonics. In the 1976 Finals, when Boston played the Suns, he averaged 12.8 points and 13.8 rebounds.
Paul Silas was a big deal in the world of basketball. Sunday, Rex Chapman, who used to play in the NBA, wrote on Twitter, “A very good man. Was lucky to work with Paul for a few years when he was an assistant coach for the Suns. No one I know has ever said anything bad about him. A sad day.”
Paul Silas played college basketball at Creighton. Over three years, he averaged 20.5 points and 21.6 rebounds. The College Basketball Hall of Fame chose him in 2017.
Few people will be able to match his great career as a player and coach.
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