Paul Silas, 3-time NBA champion, longtime coach, dies
Fred Jeter | 12/15/2022, 6 p.m.
Paul Silas, who went head to head in the paint against the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, has died at age 79.
The burly 6-foot-7 Arkansas native played in the NBA from 1964 to 1980 and served as an NBA coach from 1980 to 2012. He won 387 regular season games as a head coach, plus 13 more wins in playoffs.
Mr. Silas was head coach of Cleveland from 2003 to 2005 when a young LeBron James was breaking in with the Cavaliers.
As a player, Mr. Silas scored more than 10,000 career points, snared more than 10,000 career rebounds and was a two-time All-Star. He averaged nearly a double-double for his career.
Before heading to the NBA, Mr. Silas was an All-American at Creighton University in Omaha, where he led the NCAA in rebounding (21 per game) in 1963.
Mr. Silas’ son, Stephen Silas, is the head coach of the NBA Houston Rockets.
