Photo: Paul Marotta/Getty
The basketball world is mourning the loss of former NBA coach and champion Paul Silas.
Silas died Saturday night at his home in Denver, North Carolina,his daughter Paula Silas-Guy toldThe New York Times.
Silas-Guy said her father’s cause of death was cardiac arrest. He was 79 years old.
Silas enjoyed a long and successful career in the league, having played 16 seasons before taking on a coaching position.
G Fiume/Getty
Drafted in 1964, Silas was picked 10th overall in the second round. Most notably, Silas won two NBA championships with Boston Celtics, and collected a third on the Seattle SuperSonics.
Silas coached several teams in the NBA after retiring as a player, beginning with the then-San Diego Clippers in 1980.
NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty
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His son, Stephen Silas, is the current head coach of the Houston Rockets. Stephen, 49, was absent from the Rockets' win on Sunday. In his place, John Lucas dedicated the team’s win to the Silas family. “That’s for Coach. That one’s for him.''
According toThe Associated Press,NBA legend Michael Jordan remembered Silas fondly after his passing. Jordan is an owner of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, where Silas served as head coach for a number of seasons.
“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,“Jordan said.
source: people.com
