J-Speaks: The Passing Of Another Celtics/Suns Legend

The close of the year 2020 was a rough one for the 17-time NBA champion Boston Celtics who said goodbye to two prominent parts of their history in a legendary player, coach, and broadcaster as well as a championship player and coach. The start of 2021 brought even more sadness to their family as well as to the Phoenix Suns family as they both suddenly said goodbye to one of the most innovative players and coaches in NBA history.

On Saturday, Paul Westphal, who helped the Celtics win the 1974 NBA title in and later coached in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for five different teams as well as at Southwestern Baptist Bible, now Arizona Christian University, Grand Canyon University, and Pepperdine University died after a six-month battle with brain cancer, which was diagnosed in August 2020. He was 70 years old. Westphal is survived by his wife Cindy and their two children Michael and Victoria.

Westphal is the third person from the Celtics family that has died in the span of the past three months. They lost Hall of Famer Tom Heinsohn on Nov. 9, 2020 from kidney failure at the age of 86. On Christmas Day right before their tilt versus the Brooklyn Nets on ABC, the C’s suddenly lost former fellow Hall of Fame player and head coach K.C. Jones from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 88.

Westphal died in Scottdale, AZ, according to a statement from the University of Southern California (USC), where he starred on the collegiate hardwood as a two-time First-Team All-Pac-8 and a two-time NABC All-American selection.

Westphal is also the second biggest named basketball coach to pass on in the last six months. Fellow Hall of Fame head coach of the University of Arizona Wildcats Lute Olson died in late August at age 85.  

The Torrance, CA native, who graduated from Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, CA in 1969 was a five-time All-Star in the NBA playing for 12 seasons (1972-84) with the Celtics, who drafted him No. 10 overall in 1972; the Suns for two stints, where he earned all five of his All-Star selections; the then Seattle Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder); and the New York Knicks. 

Westphal registered a 318-279 (.553 winning percentage) mark as an NBA head coach with the Phoenix Suns (1992-95), Seattle Supersonics (1998-2001), and Sacramento Kings (2009-12), and a 27-22 record in his four playoff appearances. 

Before their contest, a 64-46 win versus the Utah Utes, there was a moment of silence held in honor of Westphal, whose No. 25 jersey hangs in the rafters of Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA, where he led the Trojans to a 24-2 record in 1971.

“Paul Westphal was a Hall of Famer and one of the great all-around players of his era. His toughness, skill and intellect made him a key contributor on the Boston Celtics’ 1974 championship team and a perennial All-Star with the Phoenix Suns,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement on Saturday. 

“Paul also enjoyed a successful coaching career that included leading the Suns to the 1993 NBA Finals. He will be remembered for his generosity, leadership, and love for the game, which defined his many years in the NBA. We extend our deepest condolences to Paul’s wife Cindy, and their family.”

In three seasons with the Celtics, Westphal averaged 7.3 points on 49.3 percent from the field. He was a versatile contributor off the bench for a deep and talented Celtics squad led by Coach Heinsohn and fellow Hall of Famers John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Jo Jo White, Paul Silas, and Don Nelson, winning the championship in 1974.

“He was really a terrific offensive player,” Heinsohn said of Westphal in 2019. “He was a point guard that could score, and he could play defense.”  

Westphal and two Second-Round picks in the summer of 1975 were dealt to the Suns for fellow Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Famer Charlie Scott.

In 1976, Westphal led the Suns to the NBA Finals, playing a major role in one of the greatest games played in NBA history. That was Game 5 of that series that went to triple-overtime with the Celtics winning that 126-128 in what is often called “the greatest game ever played.” The Celtics won that series and the 13^th of their 17 titles in six games.

In that fifth game, Westphal with the Suns trailing 94-91 in the closing seconds of regulation, Westphal stole the ball from White, scored and got fouled. His three-point play tied the game at 94.

In the second overtime with 15 seconds remaining and the Suns down 109-108, Westphal made another key defensive play stealing the ball from Havlicek, who had received the inbounds pass, which led to a sequence where the Suns scored to take a one-point lead 110-109.

After Havlicek scored five seconds later to put the Celtics ahead 111-110, the final buzzer sounded and the Celtics raced onto the hardwood of the old Boston Garden believing they had won. But the official ruled that Havlicek scored with two seconds left on the clock. After one second was put back on the clock. Westphal had called a timeout, which the Suns did not have that resulted in a technical foul. The Celtics made the free throw for a 112-110 lead. The Suns then inbounded at midcourt and a field goal Gar Heard went in to tie the game and force a third overtime.

Two quick field goals by Westphal cut the Suns deficit to 128-126. But his near steal attempt at midcourt failed and the Celtics ran out the clock to win Game 5.

“You know, opportunities is what most basketball players need. The offense that Phoenix ran fit him to a tee,” Scott said of Westphal’s exemplary seasons with the Suns.

Fellow Hall of Famer and perennial NBA champion as a player and coach Pat Riley, President of the Miami Heat concurred saying that Westphal from the start fit right in with the Suns and became the team’s “best player.”  

“In that Finals series, he emerged in a big, big way. Establishing himself as one of the best players in basketball,” Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Chairman and former General Manager of the Suns from 1968.

In his six seasons with the Suns, Westphal earned four of his five All-Star selections, and all four of his All-NBA selections thanks to career averages 20.6 points, 5.2 assists, and 1.6 steals on 51.6 percent from the field. His No. 44 jersey hangs in the rafters of Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, AZ.

“Throughout the past 40 years, Westy has remained a great friend of the organization and as a trusted sounding board and confidant for me,” Suns managing partner Robert Sarver said over the weekend. “His number 44 will forever hold its place in our Ring of Honor, enshrined as one of the utmost deserving members.”

After the 1979-80 season, Westphal was dealt to the Supersonics for the late Hall of Famer Dennis Johnson, who helped the Celtics win two more titles in 1984 and 1986. Westphal despite averaging 16.7 points on 44.2 percent from the field in his lone season with the Supersonics. While he battled injuries that only allowed him to play just 36 games, Westphal made earned the last of his five career All-Star selections.  

In the summer of 1981, Westphal signed as a free agent with the Knicks where he averaged 10.3 points and 5.5 assists on 45.5 percent from the floor in 98 games played over two seasons. He would win the league’s then Comeback Player of the Year Award in 1983.

“You have to understand basketball from an IQ perspective to take your game to a different level in a different way. Paul had that capacity,” former Knick great and fellow Hall of Famer Bernard King said.

Westphal would finish his playing career with the Suns in the 1983-84 season, where he averaged seven points on 46 percent from the field.

His coaching career began first at as mentioned earlier Southwestern Baptist Bible College (now Arizona Christian University) in Phoenix Arizona, leading them to a 21-9 mark in his only season at the school. The next year he moved on to Grand Canyon College, which is also in Phoenix, AZ for two seasons, leading them to the National Association Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national title in 1988.

Westphal’s NBA coaching journey began in 1988 as an assistant on the late head coach Lowell Gibbs “Cotton” Fitzsimmons’ staff with the Suns for four seasons (1988-92). In 1992, Westphal succeeded Simmons as the Suns new head coach, and used the same ingenuity that served him so well as a player he helped guide a talented Suns roster led by Hall of Famer, 1993 Kia MVP, and now NBA on TNT/NBATV studio analyst for now 21 seasons in Charles Barkley, three-time All-Star Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, current Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge and rookie Richard Dumas to a franchise record 62 games and reached the 1993 NBA Finals in his first year on the job, losing to the great Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in six games.

“Wherever he went, he was able to make everyone around him better because that mind,” fellow Hall of Famer and two-time NBA champion Bill Walton, a fellow former Celtic said of Westphal.

While the Suns made the playoffs in each of Westphal’s three-plus seasons, they never got back to The Finals and he was fired after a 14-19 mark to start the 1995-96 season and replaced by Fitzsimmons. He compiled a record of 131-88 mark with the Suns. 

“He led by example,” former Sun Eddie Johnson, 1989 Kia Sixth Man of the Year and current Suns television color analyst for FOX Sports Arizona said. “He didn’t change of the court. It’s just a positive atmosphere that he exudes when he’s around. He always greets you with a pleasant smile. You always feel like you are a part of his clique. He’s somebody we can put on a pedestal.”

Following two seasons coaching high school basketball in Arizona, Westphal was hired as head coach of the Supersonics in the summer of 1998. He coached them until he was axed 15 games into the 2000-01 NBA campaign. He registered a mark of 76-71 mark with the Supersonics. 

Westphal returned to the collegiate ranks at Pepperdine University where he coached from 2001-06, compiling a 75-71 mark, including a 38-32 mark in conference. His best season was his first in 2001-02  at 21-9 (13-1 in conference). It was the only time they reached the NCAA Tournament, which lost 83-74 to Wake Forest University in the First-Round. Westphal was fired after a 7-20 record in 2005-06 on Mar. 15, 2006.  

He also during this time was a studio analyst for FOX Sports West/Prime Ticket for Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers games. 

On June 28, 2007, Westphal was hired as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks on then head coach Avery Johnson’s staff. When Johnson was replaced by current Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle that next offseason, Westphal went from being an assistant coach to the Mavericks front office as their Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations (under GM and President of Basketball Operations Donnie Nelson).  

On June 10, 2009, the Sacramento Kings hired Westphal as their new head coach. He was fired three months into his third season with the Kings on Jan. 5, 2012, finishing with a 51-120 record. 

Two years later, Westphal joined then head coach Lionel Hollins’ staff as an assistant coach of the Brooklyn Nets. Hollins had worked under Westphal as an assistant with the Suns from 1992-95.

When Hollins was relieved of his head coaching duties with the Nets in January 2016, Westphal left the team.

“I just feel blessed everyday in basketball. It’s really something I don’t take for granted,” Westphal said once about the career he had as a player and coach. “And just being some kid from Redondo Beach who just liked to play is pretty amazing when I look back to see all the experiences that I’ve been able to put together.”

Just six months ago, Paul Westphal was diagnosed with brain cancer. A friend of his told anchor of ESPN’s “Sportscenter” Los Angeles Neil Everett at that time that Westphal was completely healthy and active as he neared his 70^th birthday.

Westphal went to the doctor and his life changed, and five months later it ended.

As we have seen many times, especially with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, big time diseases do not care about who you are or the dreams or hopes you have, or even your career resume.

Paul Westphal like many had a lot of dreams and goals, and he accomplished many of those dreams and then some.

Along the way, he earned the respect of not only the players he played with and against in his high school, college, and professional career as a player and as a coach. It earned him a place in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and a year later a place in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. His college number No. 25 at USC and his No. 44 jersey with the Suns now hang in the rafters of the respective arenas of those teams.

The game of basketball made Paul Westphal one of the most memorable names in the NCAA and the NBA. While he may be gone, his name, what he did, and what he was about will never be forgotten by USC, the Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and the entire National Basketball Association.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 8/28/2020 www.nba.com story, “Lute Olson, Arizona Coaching Legend, Dies at 85,” by John Marshall of The Associated Press; 1/2/2021 www.nba.com story, “Hall of Famer Paul Westphal Dies at 70,” by Beth Harris of The Associated Press; 1/3/2021 1 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime,” presented by Kia with Ro Parrish, Channing Frye, and Grant Hill; 1/3/2021 2 a.m. ESPN’s “Sportscenter” from Los Angeles, CA with Neil Everett, and Stan Verrett; 13/2021 6:30 p.m. “New York Knicks Game Night,” presented by Lexus with Bill Pidto, Alan Hahn, and Wally Szczerbiak; Pages 13, 642, and 644, of Sporting News’ “2006-07 Official NBA Guide: 2005-06 Review and 2006-07 Preview;” https://usctrojans.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2020-21; https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/westppa01.html; https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Heinsohn#Death; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._C._Jones#Death.