Paul Silas learned to have patience through basketball.
He had to wait ten years as a player before claiming his first title. He waited 15 years as a coach before getting another opportunity to manage a squad. He had to wait 20 years as a father before his son was given the opportunity to run a business.
In 2013, Silas claimed, “I always tried to be positive, and I think it usually worked well.”
His family revealed his passing on Sunday. Silas had a significant impact on the game as a player, coach, and president of the National Basketball Players Association. The Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas’ father, Silas, was 79 years old.
Michael Jordan, the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, said, “He blended the expertise accumulated over 40 years as an NBA player and coach with an inherent sense of how to mix discipline with his never-ending enthusiasm.” “Paul had a story for every situation, whether it be on the court or off. He was energetic and likable both ways. He was among the greatest players in our game ever, and he will be missed.”
The New York Times was informed by Paula Silas-Guy, Silas’ daughter, that her father passed away from a heart arrest on Saturday night. Silas’ passing was initially reported by the Boston Globe.
“We mourn the death of former NBA All-Star and head coach Paul Silas,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “The many players and coaches he inspired, including his son, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, bear witness to Paul’s lasting contributions to the game. We express our heartfelt condolences to Paul’s family.”
Tributes began to pour in quickly. Prior to Sunday’s game against Phoenix, New Orleans held a moment of silence for Silas, and both Suns coach Monty Williams and Charlotte coach Steve Clifford spoke at length about Silas’ impact on their careers.
“He’s a God to my family. He’s much bigger than life “Clifford explained.
Starting in 1980, Silas coached the then-San Diego Clippers for three years to launch his career as a head coach. He returned to head coaching after more than ten years as an assistant, working with the Charlotte Hornets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Charlotte Bobcats.
By winning exactly 400 games—387 during the regular season and 13 more during the postseason—he led four of those clubs to the playoffs.
On Sunday evening, Milwaukee visited the Rockets. The Rockets intended to have John Lucas serve as the team’s interim head coach while the Silas family grieves; however, it was unclear how long Stephen Silas would be gone from the team.
In a statement released by the team, the Cavaliers praised Paul Silas for “inspiring generations of NBA players and coaches with his engaging presence and enormous personality.” “We offer the Silas family and everyone who loved him our sincere condolences. Coach, take a break!”
Beginning as an advance scout and subsequently working as an assistant on his father’s staff with the Hornets in 2000, Stephen Silas entered the NBA during the time that his father was coaching in Charlotte. Stephen Silas had to wait 20 years for the opportunity to become a head coach; Houston gave it to him in 2020.
“Obviously, my father was my No. 1 mentor, someone I could lean on, ask questions, and he asked questions of me,” Stephen Silas said in a 2021 Rockets documentary about his coaching journey. “He really valued my opinion, which was strange to me given my age and lack of experience.”
Stephen Silas had to work hard for a long time before he got his big break. He witnessed his father wait a long time for the job he desired. Paul Silas was fired by the San Diego Clippers in 1983 and would not have another head coaching opportunity until 1999, when Dave Cowens, for whom Paul Silas was an assistant, stepped down in Charlotte after a 4-11 start to the shortened 1998-99 season.
“I maintained my positive attitude. I was upbeat “Paul Silas told the Rotary Club of Charlotte during a speech there in 2013. “Even though I didn’t get the job, I told myself, ‘No, I’m not going to be negative.’ ‘I’m going to be optimistic.'”
Silas would eventually take over in Cleveland. He arrived in 2003, the same year the Cavaliers drafted LeBron James.
“I coached LeBron for his first two years, and he was incredible,” Paul Silas said. “He knew about Bill Russell when he was 18 years old, and he knew about a lot of players who came through that most players his age don’t even know about. And he knew what was going on.”
James would eventually become a champion. It took Paul Silas a few years to reach that level as well.
In 16 seasons with St. Louis and Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix, Boston, Denver, and Seattle, he averaged 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds and was a five-time selection to the All-Defensive team. In his tenth season as a player, Silas won his first of two championships with the Celtics. He later won a third with the SuperSonics. When he retired, he was the oldest player in the NBA at age 36. And Silas presided over a period when rosters expanded, wages increased, and benefits improved in his capacity as union president.
The Suns said in a statement on Sunday that he was respected by everyone who came into contact with him in the NBA and that they were appreciative of his career of service to the sport.
In three seasons of professional basketball at Creighton, Paul Silas averaged 20.5 points and 21.6 rebounds. In 2017, he was elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
His stellar career as a player and coach will be matched by few, according to Bluejays coach Greg McDermott.
