Paul Westphal

Westphal with USC

Born in Torrance, California,[1] He went to Aviation High School in Redondo Beach, California, from 1966 to 1969.[2] Westphal attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he played college basketball for the USC Trojans as a guard. The Trojans had a 24–2 (.923) win-loss record in 1971, setting a Trojans record for winning percentage. He was an All-American and team captain in 1972. Playing for USC from 1970 to 1972, he averaged 16.9 points per game and led the Trojans with 20.3 points per game in 1972.[3]

The Boston Celtics selected Westphal with the tenth overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft.[3] After three seasons in Boston, including a championship in 1974,[4] the Celtics traded Westphal and two second round draft picks to the Phoenix Suns for Charlie Scott.[5][6] In his first season with in Phoenix, Westphal helped the Suns reach their first NBA Finals, against the Celtics. In Game 5 of that series, often called "the greatest game ever played" in NBA history,[7][8][9] he made several critical plays that pushed the game into triple overtime before Boston prevailed.[10][11][12][13]

Westphal in the mid-1970s

Westphal was sixth in the NBA in scoring average for the 1977–78 season at 25.2 points per game,[14] and was also the first NBA All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E Competition champion.[15] The following season, he was seventh in scoring average with 24.0 points per game.[16]

After the 1979–80 season in early June, the Suns traded Westphal to the Seattle SuperSonics for Dennis Johnson,[17][18][19][20] where he played one season, then signed with the New York Knicks as a free agent in late February 1982.[21][22][23] He signed a two-year contract with Phoenix in September 1983,[24][25] and the Suns waived him in October 1984.[26]

In his NBA career, Westphal scored a total of 12,809 points for an average of 15.6 points per game, with 3,591 assists for an average of 4.4 assists per game. He also had 1,580 rebounds, for an average of 1.9 per game. Westphal was a five-time All-Star, a three-time All-NBA first team selection, and a one-time second team All-NBA selection. He is Phoenix's fifth all-time leading scorer (9,564), averaging 20.6 points in six seasons (1975–80, 1983–84). His No. 44 was retired by the Suns, and he is a member of their Ring of Honor.[27] Westphal was also inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player on September 6, 2019.[28]

Westphal's coaching career started in 1985 at Southwestern Baptist Bible College (now Arizona Christian University), located in Phoenix. After compiling a 21–9 record in his lone season there, he moved on to Grand Canyon College, also in Phoenix, and after two seasons led them to the NAIA national title in 1988.[29][30]

In 1988, after three years in the college ranks, Westphal became an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns under head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, and in 1992, he succeeded Fitzsimmons as head coach of the Suns.[29][31] With players such as Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, rookie Richard Dumas, Charles Barkley, and Danny Ainge, the Suns made it to the NBA Finals in Westphal's first season as a coach, but lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.[32] While the Suns made the playoffs during each of Westphal's seasons as coach, they did not return to the Finals, and Westphal was let go during the 1995–96 season.[33] He served as an assistant coach for a high school team in Arizona for two years before he returned to the NBA as a coach with the SuperSonics for the 1998–99 season.[2] He coached in Seattle until he was fired 15 games into the 2000–01 season.[34]

Westphal returned to the college ranks in April 2001 at Pepperdine University. In his first season, Westphal led the Waves to a 22–9 record and tied the nationally ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs for the WCC title. The team received an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, but lost 83–74 to Wake Forest in the first round, played at ARCO Arena in Sacramento. This was the only postseason berth during the rest of Westphal's five-year tenure and he finished with an overall record of 74–72. After a 7–20 season in 2005–06, Westphal was fired on March 15, 2006.[35] Westphal has also worked as a studio analyst for Fox Sports Net West/Prime Ticket for Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers games, first joining them during the Clippers' run in the 2006 NBA Playoffs.[36]

On June 28, 2007, the Dallas Mavericks announced they had hired Westphal as an assistant coach under head coach Avery Johnson.[37] When Johnson was replaced by Rick Carlisle, Westphal left coaching to become executive vice-president of basketball operations (under Donnie Nelson) for the Mavericks in October 2008.[38] On June 10, 2009, Westphal was named head coach of the Sacramento Kings.[39] Westphal was fired from the Kings on January 5, 2012.[31][40]

For the 2014–15 season, Westphal was hired by the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant to new head coach Lionel Hollins.[41] Hollins had previously served as Westphal's assistant coach in Phoenix. When the Nets fired Hollins in January 2016, Westphal left the team.[42]

Westphal was married to Cindy Westphal, and they had two children together.[43] He was a Christian.[44][45] In August 2020, ESPN reported that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer.[46]

Paul Westphal died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 2, 2021, after a bout with brain cancer at age 70.[11]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paul Westphal.

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com or Basketball-Reference.com
• Paul Westphal's bio on Phoenix Suns' website
• Paul Westphal's official bio on NBA.com