Basketball Hall of Fame coach Paul Westphal died Saturday, less than five months after revealing that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, the Phoenix Suns announced. He was 70.
Westphal led the Suns to the NBA Finals as a player and coach and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
“Westy will forever be remembered as a prominent Valley sports legend both on and off the court,” Suns managing partner Robert Sarver said in a statement. “He built an illustrious career as both a player and a coach. His legacy ranks among the most quintessential basketball icons of all time.”
Born Nov. 30, 1950, in Torrance, California, Westphal starred at the University of Southern California and earned second-team All-America honors in 1972, The Arizona Republic reported. He was selected 10th overall in the 1972 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics traded Westphal to the Suns in 1975, and he led Phoenix to the NBA Finals in 1976. In Game 5 of the ’76 Finals, Westphal made several key plays to push the game to triple overtime against the Celtics, ESPN reported.
He was cerebral in his game,” former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said in a statement Saturday. “He was always thinking one step ahead. Even the infamous triple-overtime game in Boston during the Finals series, when he was the one who said ‘Call the timeout’ -- which forced a free throw but gave us the ball at halfcourt and set up the opportunity to tie the game, which we did. That’s thinking right on the spot at the moment.”
Westphal also played one season in Seattle (1980-81) and two seasons with the New York Knicks before returning to Phoenix for his final season (1983-84).
The Suns retired his No. 44 in 1989, KTVK reported.
Westphal coached at the college level at Southwest Baptist Bible College (now Arizona Christian University) and then at Grand Canyon College (now Grand Canyon University), the television station reported. He coached at Pepperdine University from 2001 to 2006.
Westphal returned to the Suns as an assistant coach and became head coach in 1992.
He went 318-279 as a coach and led the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals and two conference semifinals. Westphal also coached the SuperSonics for three seasons and Sacramento Kings for three seasons. He ended his career as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets.
“Off the court, he was a gentleman, a family man, great moral character,” Colangelo said in his statement. “He represented the Suns the way you want every player to represent your franchise.”
Westphal was also inducted into the USC Hall of Fame in 1997, the Republic reported.