Paul Westphal

Paul Douglas Westphal (November 30, 1950 – January 2, 2021) was an American basketball player, head coach, and commentator.

Born in Torrance, California, Westphal went to Aviation High School in Redondo Beach from 1966 to 1969.

He attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and played college basketball for the Trojans at guard.

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.

USC had a .920 record in 1971, setting a Trojans record for winning percentage.

In that era, the Pac-8 Conference sent only one team (champion UCLA) to the 25-team NCAA tournament and none to the 16-team National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Westphal played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1984.

Westphal was an All-American team captain in 1972.

The Boston Celtics selected Westphal tenth overall in the 1972 NBA draft.

Playing the guard position, he won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 1974.

After three seasons in Boston, including a championship in 1974, the Celtics traded Westphal and two second round draft picks to the Phoenix Suns for Charlie Scott.

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, he made several critical plays that pushed the game into triple overtime before Boston prevailed.

Notably, Westphal exploited a loophole within NBA rules that effectively allowed the Suns to cede a point to get the ball at half-court with two seconds remaining at the end of the second overtime; the Suns tied the game thanks to the loophole.

Westphal was sixth in the NBA in scoring average for the season at 25.2 points per game, and was also the first NBA All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E Competition champion.

The following season, he was seventh in scoring average with 24.0 points per game.

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.

Westphal played in the NBA Finals again in 1976 as a member of the Phoenix Suns.

His NBA career also included stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and the New York Knicks.

In addition to being a five-time All-Star selection, Westphal earned three All-NBA First Team selections and one Second Team honor.

After his playing career ended, Westphal coached for Southwestern Baptist Bible College (now Arizona Christian University), Grand Canyon University, and Pepperdine University, and served also as head coach of the Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, and Sacramento Kings in the NBA.

After the 1979–80 season in early June, the Suns traded Westphal to the Seattle SuperSonics for Dennis Johnson, He played 36 games in the 1980–81 season, limited by a stress fracture in his right foot.

He was a free agent after the season, but Seattle held the right of first refusal.

He was unable to come to terms with the Sonics.

After missing most of the 1981–82 season, Westphal signed with the New York Knicks in late February 1982 after Seattle declined to match the offer.

He was named the NBA Comeback Player of the Year in 1982–83, when he averaged 10 points and 5.5 assists and helped the Knicks qualify for the playoffs.

He signed a two-year contract with Phoenix in September 1983, and the Suns waived him in October 1984.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Westphal coached the Suns to the NBA Finals in 1993.

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.

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.

In 2019, Westphal was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Westphal was also inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player on September 6, 2019.