Former USC great Paul Westphal dies at 70
The Hall of Famer and former Aviation High star, who enjoyed a successful career as a college and NBA player and coach, died Saturday due to complications from a brain tumor.
NBA Hall of Famer and Torrance native Paul Westphal died Saturday at the age of 70 due to complications from a brain tumor.
Westphal went to Aviation High in Redondo Beach, earning Mr. Basketball USA honors in 1968 before playing basketball at USC for three seasons from 1969-72.
He was named to the All-Pac-8 first team in 1970 and 1971 and second-team All-Pac-8 in 1972. He also earned second-team All-American honors from the Associated Press in 1971 and the NABC in 1972. His No. 25 was retired by USC in 2007 and he was elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Westphal was selected 10th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1972 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship in Boston in 1974 and a year later was traded to the Suns.
It was in Phoenix where Westphal reached his heights as a player, helping lead the Suns to their first NBA Finals in 1976 against the Celtics. The series is remembered for its dramatic, triple-overtime Game 5 in which Westphal made several clutch plays to prolong the game before Boston won by two on their way to a six-game series victory.
He reached the All-Star Game in five consecutive seasons starting in 1977 and earned All-NBA first-team honors three times with the Suns. He was traded to the SuperSonics following the 1979-80 and earned his final All-Star appearance in his one year in Seattle. He spent two seasons with the New York Knicks before returning to Phoenix for one final season before retirement.
The Suns’ fifth all-time leading scorer, Westphal had his No. 44 retired by Phoenix 1989. He was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2019.
Westphal went on to a coaching career, starting at the college level before returning to the Suns as an assistant coach in 1988. He was named head coach in 1992 led the Suns to the NBA Finals in his first season, losing to the Bulls in six games.
Westphal also spent time as head coach for Seattle (1998-2000), Pepperdine (2001-2006) and the Sacramento Kings (2009-2012).