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SuperSonics champ, NBA coach Paul Silas has died

caption: Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas argues a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Charlotte, N.C., April 18, 2012. Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams, has died, his family announced Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. He was 79.
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Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas argues a call during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Charlotte, N.C., April 18, 2012. Silas, a member of three NBA championship teams, has died, his family announced Sunday, Dec. 11, 2022. He was 79.
AP Photo/Chuck Burton, file

The first man to coach Lebron James professionally, and a member of the 1979 Supersonics championship team, has died.

Paul Silas passed away from cardiac arrest over the weekend. He was 79 years old.

Silas was a three-time NBA champion (two with the Boston Celtics) and spent 16 years playing before he turned to coaching. LeBron James is one such player he coached.

Silas played with the Seattle SuperSonics from 1977–80, going to the NBA championships with the team in 1978 and 1979.

Silas was a three-time All-American basketball player in college, from 1961–64. In 2017, Silas was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.

His son, Stephen Silas, is coach of the Houston Rockets.

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