Beloved NBA Player And Coach Paul Silas Dies at 79.

Legendary NBA figure Paul Silas has passed away at the age of 79 after spending almost 50 years involved in the game.

Silas, the father of current Houston Rockets coach Stephen, played in three NBA championships, two with the Boston Celtics in 1974 and 1976 and one with the Seattle Supersonics in 1979.

The 6’7 forward earned All-Star nods in 1972 and 1975 and also enjoying playing stints with the St Louis/Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets.

Other highlights as a player include making the All-Defensive First Team twice (1975, 1976) and All-Defensive Second Team three times (1971-1973)

Silas was LeBron James’ first NBA head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers between 2003 and 2005. He also led the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets and Charlotte Bobcats and San Diego Clippers from the sidelines.

He served as an Assistant Coach with the New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns and Hornets.

Silas was drafted by St Louis with the 10th pick in 1964 out of Creighton and finished his career as the Bobcats coach in 2012.

Michael Jordan, as Charlotte Hornets Chairman, released the statement below earlier today.

“Our Hornets family mourns the passing of Paul Silas. Paul was an incredible leader and motivator who served as our head coach on two occasions. 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. On or off the court, Paul’s enthusiastic and engaging personality was accompanied by an anecdote for every occasion. He was one of the all-time great people in our game, and he will be missed. My thoughts, and the thoughts of our entire organization, are with his wife, Carolyn; his children, Paul and Stephen; and the entire Silas family.”

Blazer’s Edge passes its condolences to the Silas family.