Fierce on the court, mild-mannered off it
Paul Silas, a three-time NBA champion, two-time All-Star and longtime coach who launched his basketball career at Oakland’s McClymonds High School, has died. He was 79.
Silas’ death was confirmed by the Houston Rockets in a tweet Sunday morning. Paul Silas’ son, Stephen, is head coach of the Rockets and a former Golden State Warriors assistant coach.
Paul Silas played 16 seasons in the NBA, with the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics. He was a member of two championship teams in Boston (1974 and ’76) and one with Seattle (1979).
In high school, Silas was among a wave of sports standouts to emerge from McClymonds in West Oakland. Other basketball stars from Mack included Hall of Famer Bill Russell (who died July 31), Joe Ellis and Antonio Davis. Notable baseball alums from McClymonds included Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, Curt Flood and Lee Lacy.
Former McClymonds basketball coach Ben Tapscott occasionally crossed paths with Silas over the years. Tapscott described Silas’ personality as a striking contrast to his fierce demeanor on the court.
“Paul was gentlemanly and mild-mannered,” Tapscott said Sunday. “He always acted like he saw you yesterday. He’d say, ‘How are you doing? How’s my old high school?’ ”
McClymonds football coach Michael Peters, in an interview this past summer, lauded Silas for once making a sizable donation to the school, allowing the football program to buy new uniforms.
“I really appreciate what Paul did,” Peters said. “We don’t praise Paul Silas enough.”
Silas was a central character in McClymonds’ glory years of the late 1950s and early ’60s. Mack won 110 of 111 games during one stretch, won the prestigious Tournament of Champions in six consecutive years (1958-63) and earned the nickname “School of Champions.”
Silas led the Warriors to the titles in 1958, ’59 and ’60. He was named to the All-TOC team in ’59 and ’60 and landed California player of the year honors as a senior in 1960.
Antonio Davis, who played at McClymonds in the 1980s and in the NBA from 1993 through 2006, eventually came to realize the impact his predecessors, including Silas, had in building the school’s winning tradition.
“I really didn’t know the history until I left McClymonds,” Davis said in an August interview. “Then you started to hear people talking about Bill Russell, Paul Silas, you name it. Once I asked questions and did some research, I was like, ‘My goodness, no wonder they call it the School of Champions.’ ”
Silas, a 6-foot-7 power forward known for his rugged style, played in college at Creighton, in Omaha, Neb. He averaged 20.5 points and 21.6 rebounds for his three seasons at Creighton, earned NCAA all-region honors and was chosen in the second round of the 1964 NBA draft (12th overall) by the St. Louis Hawks.
Silas was an All-Star in 1972 and again in ’75. He averaged more than 10 rebounds per game in eight seasons, finishing with a career average of 9.9 along with 9.4 points per game. Silas was a five-time all-defensive team selection.
His best statistical season came with Phoenix in 1971-72, when he averaged 17.5 points, 11.9 rebounds and a career-high 4.3 assists.
“Paul Silas was a consummate team player ... and a fierce competitor, with his tenacious rebounding and deft scoring ability around the hoop,” the Celtics posted on Twitter. “An intense and driven player on the court, the personable and gracious Silas was an ambassador for the sport of basketball and a gentleman off the court.”
After his NBA playing career ended, Silas became head coach of the San Diego Clippers in 1980, at age 37. He later made headcoaching stops in Charlotte, New Orleans, Cleveland and Charlotte again.