50 Greatest NBA/ABA Players Not In the Hall Of Fame
By Phil Watson
(Photo by Frank O’Brien/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Long before Paul Silas became the answer to the trivia question, “Who was LeBron James’ first NBA coach?”, he was a rugged rebounder and defender at the power forward slot for three championship teams in the 1970s.
Silas began his career with the old St. Louis Hawks as a second-round pick in 1964 before he was traded to the Phoenix Suns after the Hawks’ first season in Atlanta.
Traded to the Boston Celtics as the player to be named later in the deal that netted Phoenix the rights to ABA star Charlie Scott, Silas thrived in the green-and-white, helping the Celtics to championships in 1974 and 1975, averaging double-doubles in all four seasons he was in Boston.
Late in his career, he was a backup power forward and veteran leader for the Seattle SuperSonics’ title team in 1979 before retiring to coach the San Diego Clippers in 1980.
Silas was named All-Defensive five times in his career and could have conceivably made it at least one more time — the honor wasn’t given out until after the 1968-69 season.
In 16 NBA seasons, Silas averaged 9.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, shooting 43.2 percent overall.
Silas is 21st all-time with 12,357 rebounds and 32nd with 1,254 career games.