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Paul Silas

Not to be confused with Paul Salas.

Paul Theron Silas (July 12, 1943 – December 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned five selections to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including twice on the first team. He won three NBA championships: two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics. Silas is the leader in most rebounds per game with 12.1 in Suns franchise history.

Paul Silas
Silas with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1977
Personal information
Born(1943-07-12)July 12, 1943
Prescott, Arkansas, U.S.
DiedDecember 10, 2022(2022-12-10) (aged 79)
Denver, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High schoolMcClymonds (Oakland, California)
CollegeCreighton (1961–1964)
NBA draft1964: 2nd round, 10th overall pick
Selected by the St. Louis Hawks
Playing career1964–1980
PositionPower forward
Number29, 12, 35, 36
Coaching career1980–2012
Career history
As player:
1964–1969St. Louis / Atlanta Hawks
1969–1972Phoenix Suns
1972–1976Boston Celtics
1976–1977Denver Nuggets
1977–1980Seattle SuperSonics
As coach:
1980–1983San Diego Clippers
1988–1989New Jersey Nets (assistant)
1989–1992New York Knicks (assistant)
1992–1995New Jersey Nets (assistant)
1995–1997Phoenix Suns (assistant)
1997–1999Charlotte Hornets (assistant)
1999–2002Charlotte Hornets
2002–2003New Orleans Hornets
2003–2005Cleveland Cavaliers
2010–2012Charlotte Bobcats
Career highlights and awards
Career playing statistics
Points11,782 (9.4 ppg)
Rebounds12,357 (9.9 rpg)
Assists2,572 (2.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference
Career coaching record
NBA387–488 (.442)
Record at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

In high school, Silas was named a second-team Parade All-American and voted California Mr. Basketball. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays, earning second-team All-American honors as a senior in 1964. He was selected in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft, and played 16 seasons in the league. After his playing career, Silas was a head coach for 12 seasons.

Early life

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Silas was born on July 12, 1943, in Prescott, Arkansas.[1] His family moved to Oakland, California, when he was eight. Initially, they shared a home in Oakland with his cousins, four of whom became members of the rhythm & blues group The Pointer Sisters.[2]

Silas attended McClymonds High School, where he was named California Mr. Basketball and a second-team Parade All-American as a senior.[3][4] He was undefeated with the Warriors, who went 68–0 and were the No. 1 team in California from 1958 to 1960. His teammates included future pro basketball players Jim Hadnot and Joe Ellis, football player Wendell Hayes, and baseball player Aaron Pointer, another cousin of Silas.[3]

College career

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Silas attended Creighton University, where he set an NCAA record for the most rebounds in a three-year career and was the Division I rebounding leader for the 1962–63 season with 20.6 rebounds per game.[5] He was named a second-team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1964.[6] Silas' career scoring average was over 20 points per game.[7] However, his offense dropped after he suffered a torn tendon in his right leg as a junior, after which, he focused on his inside game.[8] He was voted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.[9]

Professional playing career

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Silas was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft with the 12th overall pick.[2] After a relatively slow career start, Silas reached double figures in both rebounds and points per game during the 1967–68 season, in which he averaged 11.7 rebounds per game and 13.4 points per game. His rebounding average was third best on the Hawks that season, behind teammates Zelmo Beaty (11.7 rpg) and Bill Bridges (13.4 rpg). After five seasons with the Hawks, Silas was traded to the Phoenix Suns for Gary Gregor, who had been named to the 1969 NBA All-Rookie Team.[10]

During his three seasons with the Suns, Silas averaged a double-double in rebounds and points each season, was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1971 and 1972, and played in the 1972 NBA All-Star Game. During the 1971–72 season, his third with the Suns, Silas grabbed 955 rebounds in 80 games, and scored what would be a career-high 17.5 points per game.[5] In September 1972, Silas was sent to the Boston Celtics in a deal which allowed the Suns to acquire the rights to Charlie Scott,[5] who had led the American Basketball Association in scoring with 34.6 points per game during its 1971–72 season.[11]

While with the Celtics, Silas was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1973, the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 1975 and 1976, and played in the 1975 NBA All-Star Game.[5][12] Silas was a key contributor to the Celtics' NBA championships in 1974 and 1976.[12] His inside play freed up their undersized center, 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m) Dave Cowens, whose shooting ability from the outside opened up the interior for Silas.[2][13]

Following their title in 1976, Boston general manager Red Auerbach traded Silas to the Denver Nuggets after a salary dispute.[2] After one season (1976–77) with the Nuggets, Silas was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics.[8] He played an important role with Seattle as an enforcer,[14] and the SuperSonics reached the championship series in both 1978 and 1979 with Silas, winning an NBA title in 1979 in five games in a rematch against the Washington Bullets.[15]

During his NBA career, Silas collected more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds over sixteen seasons, played in two NBA All-Star games, and won three championship rings (two with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976, and one with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979). He was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team twice, and to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team three times.[5]

Coaching career

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Immediately upon retirement, Silas started his coaching career with the San Diego Clippers from 1980 to 1983, becoming their head coach, compiling a 78–168 record for a team that struggled with injuries to stars, including Bill Walton.[16] After taking time off, Silas was an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets for one season from 1988 to 1989, and then became an assistant coach with the New York Knicks from 1989 to 1992 as one of the holdovers from the Stu Jackson and John Macleod eras. Silas then went back to work for the Nets as an assistant under Chuck Daly and later Butch Beard from 1992 to 1995, leaving to work with the Suns from 1995 to 1997.[17] At one point, Silas was one of the names considered for the head coaching job of the Boston Celtics in the summer of 1995,[18] before general manager M.L. Carr decided to name himself as coach of the team.

After joining the coaching staff of the Charlotte Hornets in 1997, Silas was finally given another chance as a coach after becoming the interim coach of the Hornets when Dave Cowens was fired after a 4–11 record.[19] Under Silas, the Hornets turned it around and went 22–13 to finish the lockout-shortened season 26–24, missing the playoffs by one game. Silas had the interim tag lifted off of his status and became the full-time head coach of the Hornets from 1999 all the way into their first season where they moved to New Orleans. Coaching the team from 1999 to 2003, Silas had a 208–155 record, taking the team into the playoffs each season he was the head coach after that 1999 season, including two Eastern Conference Semifinals appearances. Silas had a reputation of being a coach who was very honest but fair with his criticism of his players, which they mostly appreciated.[20] Silas was fired as coach on May 4, 2003, in a move that puzzled many Hornets players (including Baron Davis) who enjoyed playing for him.[20]

Silas was head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003 to 2005. Hired to mentor 18-year-old rookie LeBron James as his first head coach as a professional player,[2] Silas' tenure was rife with controversy as he feuded with veteran point guard Eric Snow. The new owner of the team, Dan Gilbert, fired him in the middle of the season, with the Cavaliers at 34–30 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.[21] The Cavs collapsed after Silas' firing, missing the playoffs with a 42–40 record after losing a tiebreaker with the New Jersey Nets.[22]

Silas then worked for ESPN, although in April 2007, he interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the Charlotte Bobcats (later known as the Charlotte Hornets) which was eventually filled by Sam Vincent. Upon the firing of Vincent in April 2008, he stated that coaching the Bobcats would be a "dream job."[23]

On December 22, 2010, Silas was named interim head coach of the Bobcats, replacing the outgoing coach Larry Brown.[24] On February 16, 2011, the Bobcats removed his interim status.[25] In 2011–12, Charlotte had a league-worst 7–59 record, the worst winning percentage in league history (.106).[26] On April 30, 2012, the Bobcats announced that Silas would not return for the 2012–2013 season.[27]

Personal life

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Silas married Carolyn Kemp in 1966. They had two children, Paula and Stephen. Silas had a stepdaughter, Donna, from Carolyn's first marriage. His son, Stephen, was added to his Charlotte coaching staff in 2000.[2]

Silas died of cardiac arrest on December 10, 2022, at home in Denver, North Carolina.[2] He was 79.[9][28][29]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

NBA playing statistics

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Source[30]

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1964–65 St. Louis 79 15.7 .373 .506 7.3 .6 4.6
1965–66 St. Louis 46 12.7 .405 .574 5.1 .5 3.8
1966–67 St. Louis 77 20.4 .429 .531 8.7 1.0 6.8
1967–68 St. Louis 82 32.3 .458 .705 11.7 2.0 13.4
1968–69 Atlanta 79 23.5 .419 .613 9.4 1.8 8.7
1969–70 Phoenix 78 36.4 .464 .607 11.7 2.7 12.8
1970–71 Phoenix 81 36.3 .428 .685 12.5 3.0 11.9
1971–72 Phoenix 80 38.5 .470 .773 11.9 4.3 17.5
1972–73 Boston 80 32.7 .470 .700 13.0 3.1 13.3
1973–74† Boston 82* 31.7 .440 .783 11.2 2.3 .8 .2 11.5
1974–75 Boston 82 32.5 .417 .709 12.5 2.7 .7 .3 10.6
1975–76† Boston 81 32.9 .426 .709 12.7 2.5 .7 .4 10.7
1976–77 Denver 81 24.2 .360 .667 7.5 1.6 .7 .3 7.2
1977–78 Seattle 82 26.5 .397 .586 8.2 1.8 .8 .2 5.8
1978–79† Seattle 82* 23.9 .423 .598 7.0 1.4 .4 .2 5.6
1979–80 Seattle 82 19.5 .378 – .654 5.3 .8 .3 .1 3.8
Career 1,254 27.9 .432 – .673 9.9 2.1 .6 .2 9.4
All-Star 2 0 15.0 .200 .800 5.5 1.5 4.0 .0 4.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1965 St. Louis 4 10.5 .400 .750 4.5 .3 2.8
1966 St. Louis 7 11.4 .278 .727 4.9 .3 2.6
1967 St. Louis 8 15.3 .250 .611 6.5 .8 3.6
1968 St. Louis 6 29.7 .431 .711 9.5 3.5 11.8
1969 Atlanta 11 23.5 .362 .514 8.4 1.9 5.5
1970 Phoenix 7 40.9 .422 .656 15.9 4.3 16.1
1973 Boston 13 39.4 .392 .620 15.1 3.0 9.6
1974† Boston 18 31.9 .397 .830 10.6 2.6 .7 .5 8.0
1975 Boston 11 36.8 .457 .640 11.8 3.6 1.1 .2 9.1
1976† Boston 18 41.2 .448 .812 13.7 2.3 1.3 .3 10.8
1977 Denver 6 23.5 .424 .542 6.7 2.7 .3 .7 6.8
1978 Seattle 22 27.5 .351 .683 8.5 1.6 .5 .3 4.9
1979† Seattle 17 24.6 .389 .674 5.8 1.1 .5 .3 4.3
1980 Seattle 15 17.1 .302 – .846 5.0 1.0 .6 .1 2.5
Career 163 28.7 .397 – .692 9.4 2.1 .8 .3 6.9

Head coaching record

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %

Source:[31]

Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
San Diego 1980–81 82 36 46 .439 5th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
San Diego 1981–82 82 17 65 .207 6th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
San Diego 1982–83 82 25 57 .305 6th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
Charlotte 1998–99 35 22 13 .629 5th in Central — — — — Missed Playoffs
Charlotte 1999–2000 82 49 33 .598 2nd in Central 4 1 3 .250 Lost in First Round
Charlotte 2000–01 82 46 36 .561 3rd in Central 10 6 4 .600 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Charlotte 2001–02 82 44 38 .537 2nd in Central 9 4 5 .444 Lost in Conf. Semifinals
New Orleans 2002–03 82 47 35 .573 3rd in Central 6 2 4 .333 Lost in First Round
Cleveland 2003–04 82 35 47 .427 5th in Central — — — — Missed Playoffs
Cleveland 2004–05 64 34 30 .531 (fired) — — — — —
Charlotte 2010–11 54 25 29 .463 4th in Southeast — — — — Missed Playoffs
Charlotte 2011–12 66 7 59 .106 5th in Southeast — — — — Missed Playoffs
Career 875 387 488 .442 29 13 16 .448

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "On this day: Garnett, Pierce, Terry traded; Silas, Riebe, Wallace born; Butler passes". Celtics Wire, USA Today. July 12, 2022. Retrieved December 13, 2022. It is also the birthday of former Boston big man Paul Silas, who was born in 1943 in Prescott, Arkansas.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Araton, Harvey (December 11, 2022). "Paul Silas, N.B.A. Defensive Star and Head Coach, Dies at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Becker, Jon (December 12, 2022). "Paul Silas, ex-NBA All-Star, head coach from Oakland, dies at 79". East Bay Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  4. ^ Cohen, Haskell (March 27, 1960). "Parade's Fourth Annual Basketball Poll". Parade. p. 28. Retrieved July 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon 
  5. ^ a b c d e NBA Register: 1986–87 Edition. The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1986. pp. 352–353. ISBN 9780892042272.
  6. ^ "All-America – Division I (1960's)". National Association of Basketball Coaches. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008.
  7. ^ "Silas College Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Goldaper, Sam (May 22, 1978). "Paul Silas: Spirit Of the Sonics". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Silas, 3-time NBA champ and coach, dies at 79". ESPN.com. December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "Hawks, Suns Make Trades". The Evening Standard. AP. May 10, 1969. p. 9. Retrieved December 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Belock, Joe (April 1, 2018). "Charlie Scott, Harlem native and Rucker Park legend, inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame". New York Daily News. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Reardon, Logan (December 11, 2022). "Report: Former Celtics great Paul Silas dies at age 79". NBC Sports. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Bayne, Bijan C. (December 12, 2022). "NBA great Paul Silas was forged in Oakland, California, a product and part of its legendary Black history". Andscape. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  14. ^ "The Seattle SuperSonics, one day after dealing forwards Tim..." UPI. September 30, 1986. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  15. ^ "Season Review: 1978–79". NBA.com. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  16. ^ "Silas Loses Job". The New York Times. April 21, 1983. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  17. ^ "2011–12 Bobcats Coaching Staff". NBA.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  18. ^ "Ford Reaches Point of No Return with Celtics".
  19. ^ Broussard, Chris (April 23, 1999). "Silas Turns Disarray Into Hornets' Delight". The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  20. ^ a b "ESPN.com: NBA – Ousted then ousted: Hornets fire Silas and staff". A.espncdn.com. May 20, 2003. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  21. ^ "Time for a change: Free-falling Cavs fire Silas". ESPN. Associated Press. March 21, 2005. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  22. ^ "Cavaliers Decide to Fire GM Paxson". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 22, 2005. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  23. ^ Bonnell, Rick (April 28, 2008). "Silas: Bobcats' helm would be 'dream job'". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original (web.archive.org) on June 1, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  24. ^ "Charlotte Bobcats name Paul Silas interim head coach". sportspagemagazine.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  25. ^ "Bobcats elevate Paul Silas to coach". ESPN.com. February 16, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
  26. ^ Golliver, Ben (April 30, 2012). "Charlotte Bobcats part ways with head coach Paul Silas". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  27. ^ "Paul Silas will not return as Bobcats head coach". CharlotteBobcats.com. NBA.com. April 30, 2012. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  28. ^ Reynolds, Tim (December 11, 2022). "NBA champion and longtime coach Paul Silas dies at 79". Associated Press. Retrieved December 11, 2022 – via NBA.com.
  29. ^ Holleran, Andrew (December 11, 2022). "Breaking: Legendary NBA Star Died Sunday Morning". thespun.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  30. ^ "Paul Silas Career Statistics". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  31. ^ "Paul Silas: Coaching Record, Awards". Basketball Reference. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
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