Paul Silas Dies at 79; College Basketball Hall of Famer Won 3 NBA Championships

Former NBA star, College Basketball Hall of Famer and longtime NBA coach Paul Silas died on Sunday. He was 79.

A cause of death has not been released publicly at this time.

Tributes poured in from NBA and college basketball Twitter following news of his death:

Silas spent his college career at Creighton (1961-64), averaging 20.5 points per game in his three seasons. He was a second-round pick of the St. Louis Hawks in the 1964 NBA draft.

He spent 16 seasons in the NBA with the Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets and Seattle Supersonics, averaging 9.4 points and 9.9 rebounds for his career. He was a three-time champion, a two-time All-Star and a five-time All-Defensive selection (twice on the first team, three times on the second team).

"He wasn't a great shooter, but he was such a solid player," former Celtics player, head coach and broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn told Grantland in 2014 regarding Silas. "He could pass and rebound and defend. In an up-tempo game, he could score as well as anybody. What he did in his career is really max out what he was."

After his playing career Silas transitioned to coaching, going 387-488 in stints with the San Diego Clippers (1980-81 to 1982-83) and Charlotte Hornets (1998-99 to 2001-02; 2010-11 to 2011-12), New Orleans Hornets (2002-03) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2003-04 to 2004-05), where he coached LeBron James.

"He was a lot better coach than his record, that's for sure," longtime NBA head coach Don Nelson told Grantland of Silas in 2014. "There's only one guy that wins it every year. There's 29 other guys that are going to end up in a lesser position. His teams always played hard and competed. He was tough, but respected."

Coaching runs in the family—his son, Stephen Silas, is the current head coach of the Houston Rockets.