The Charlotte Hornets will honor former coach Paul Silas at Wednesday night's home game against the Detroit Pistons. Silas died Saturday night from cardiac arrest, his family announced Sunday.
Current coach Steve Clifford spoke fondly of his Silas after Sunday’s game.
"He, for whatever reason — and I feel blessed that he did this —when I came to Charlotte last time, he went out of his way to, you know, we had a — we knew each other — but he went out of his way to develop a friendship and was very just great in guiding me through being a first-time head coach,” Clifford said. “He used to sit right behind the bench, he and Mrs. Silas. He used to come to practice a lot. He would take me to lunch a lot and give me advice. Direct advice as he used to say, about everything from X's and O's to leadership to sometimes media things. But he was just a very incredibly giving man.”
The Hornets are planning a moment of silence and a video tribute before Wednesday's game, and coaches will wear a black patch honoring Silas on their bench pullovers for the rest of the season. Tip-off at the Spectrum Center is set for 7 p.m.
A team press release says Silas spent eight seasons with the Charlotte Hornets across two different stints with the franchise.
During his first tenure, in which he spent two and a half seasons as an assistant coach before becoming interim head coach to conclude the 1998-99 season. He posted a record of 161-120 (.573).
In each of his three full seasons, the Hornets won at least 44 games and made the playoffs, advancing to the second round in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. He returned to Charlotte to once again become interim head coach during the 2010-11 season and remained the team’s head coach in 2011-12.
Silas ranks third in franchise history in games coached (401), games won (193), winning percentage (.481), and is the all-time leader in each of the three categories for playoff games with an overall record of 11-12 (.478) in 23 games total.
He is the only head coach in franchise history to lead the team to three playoff appearances and two Eastern Conference Semifinals appearances. The team’s three straight playoff berths (2000-02) is the only time in franchise history that the Hornets have gone to the playoffs in three straight seasons.
Following four years at Creighton, in which he became one of only five players in NCAA history to average more than 20 points and 20 rebounds in his college career, Silas played 16 seasons in the NBA. He was a three-time NBA Champion with the Celtics (1974 and 1976) and the '79 SuperSonics. He was a two-time NBA All-Star (1972 and 1975). He retired after the 1979-80 season and immediately became head coach of the San Diego Clippers for three seasons.
In 12 seasons overall as an NBA head coach, Silas had a career record of 387-488 (.442).
