Paul Westphal

Paul Westphal

Paul Douglas Westphal played in the NBA from 1972 to 1984. He won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1974 NBA Finals. His NBA career also included stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and the New York Knicks. He coached college basketball for Southwestern Baptist Bible College, Grand Canyon University, and Pepperdine University.

About Paul Westphal in brief

Summary Paul WestphalPaul Douglas Westphal played in the NBA from 1972 to 1984. He won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1974 NBA Finals. His NBA career also included stints with the Seattle SuperSonics and the New York Knicks. He coached college basketball for Southwestern Baptist Bible College, Grand Canyon University, and Pepperdine University. Westphal was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on September 6, 2019 as a player and as a coach. He is Phoenix’s fifth all-time leading scorer, averaging 20. 6 points per game. His No. 44 was retired by the Suns, and he is a member of their Ring of Honor. He was a five-time All-Star, a three-time first team selection, and a one-time second team All-NBA selection.

He did not return to the college ranks until April 2001, when he was hired as an assistant coach for a high school team in Arizona. As a coach, he was fired in April 2000 after 15 games into the 2000–01 season. He returned to the ranks in April 2001 as a head coach at Pepperdined University. He has also worked as a commentator for the NBA on TNT and NBA 2K12. He died of a heart attack in 2011, at the age of 69. He had a son, Paul Westphal Jr., who was born in Torrance, California, in 1968. He also has a daughter, Amy Westphal, who was a first-grader at Redondo Beach High School.