MADRID, 12 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Former NBA player and coach Paul Silas passed away this Sunday, at the age of 79, a legend in the best league in the world for his three rings and for his years on the bench, being the first coach of the American star LeBron James.
The NBA confirmed and mourned the death of Silas, as well as the Houston Rockets, where his son, Stephen Silas, is the coach. As a player, Paul won the NBA twice with the Boston Celtics (1974 and 1976) and again with the Seattle Supersonics in 1979.
The Arkansas player was chosen twice in the league’s best defensive quintet and was an ‘All Star’ twice. The one-time player for the Hawks, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets retired in 1980 to launch an important coaching career.
Silas led the San Diego Clippers and then spent a decade as an assistant in different teams, to take the reins of the Charlotte Hornets in 2002. In 2003 he came to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he would become a mentor to LeBron James for two years and his last team was Charlotte Bobcats (2010-2012).