BOSTON — NBA champion and coach Paul Silas has died at 79 years old, the Houston Rockets said on Twitter Sunday. The team, coached by Silas’ son Stephen, did not share a cause of death.
Silas, a three-time NBA champion and two-time All-Star, was key in the Boston Celtics’ NBA championships in 1974 and 1976, adding another championship ring in 1979 with the Seattle SuperSonics.
He was a basketball legend who amassed more than 11,000 career points and 12,000 career rebounds.
“Paul Silas was a three-time NBA champion and a premier rebounder and defender during his 16 seasons before serving as coach for over two decades, including several years with Stephen working alongside him,” the Houston Rockets’ statement said.
He went on to coach for 12 seasons, leading the San Diego Clippers, the Charlotte Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats.
Silas finished his coaching career with a record of 387-488. His most successful season came during the 1999-2000 season where he went 49-33 as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets. They eventually lost in the first round to Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan was the first to report Silas’ death: “To watch him play was a joy. To be his friend was an honor,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Our heartfelt thoughts are with Stephen and his family during this difficult time,” the Houston Rockets wrote.
This is a developing story.