RIP Paul Westphal

[Split T]

Was the first suns coach I remember. Heck of a playing career too. I know some of you will remember him better than me, but sad to see him pass.

[Superbone]

Oh, no.

[Superbone]

He was my favorite Suns player growing up as a kid. This is a sad day. RIP.

[ShelC]

Really sad. Also the first Suns coach I remember and always seemed like a class act.

[BKinSJC]

He was the best player on the first Suns team that I really followed, the 75-76 "Sunderella" Suns that went to the finals. I was eleven years old at the time and in a perfect position to become a fan of a team that came out of nowhere to overachieve that much. He was a true superstar scorer, exciting to watch, almost equally adept at shooting with either hand, and seemed like he could create opportunities against anybody. I loved watching him play.

I'm not sure that he was a great coach, but his famous prediction with the Suns down 0-2 to the Lakers in 1993, and then his "Save the City!" against the Bulls that same year, are still memorable moments.

RIP Westy.

[Superbone]

You and I have the same trajectory as a Suns fan, BK. I was 12. Another thing of greatness he did was suggest calling a timeout in the NBA Finals against the Celtics when the Suns were down one with a second left... Ah, heck. I'll let Wikipedia tell it:

With two seconds remaining in double overtime, John Havlicek had given Boston a one-point advantage with a running one-handed shot. The Celtics' timekeeper then ran the clock out instead of stopping it after a made basket, per league rules. The Boston Garden crowd erupted, believing the game was over, and the Celtics themselves actually went back to their locker room. Legend has it that Havlicek had actually taken the tape off his ankles by this stage. But the Suns correctly pointed that there was still time left, though the officials only placed one second back on the clock instead of two. (Celtics fans had stormed the court after the time was erroneously allowed to expire, and one particularly boisterous fan attacked referee Richie Powers after it was announced that the game was not over yet.) Paul Westphal then intentionally took a technical foul by calling a timeout when the Suns had no more timeouts to use. It gave the Celtics a free throw, which Jo Jo White converted to give Boston a two-point edge, but the timeout also allowed Phoenix to inbound from mid-court instead of from under their own basket. When play resumed, Heard caught the inbound pass and fired a very high-arcing turnaround jump shot from at least 20 feet away. It swished through, sending the game into a third overtime. However, Boston eventually won the game and the Finals, four games to two. Heard had scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Game 5.

A revision to Rule 12-A, Section I, in regards to excessive timeouts, resulted in the elimination of the advancement of the ball following an excessive timeout. The rule has since been changed to award the ball to the team shooting the free throw.

[The Bobster]

Westphal was my favorite player as a kid too. Class guy, fine coach.

[Charlie Smithy!]

Damn it, I freaking hate Glioblastoma

[Democritus]

RIP. Sad day for the Suns family.

[In2ition]

RIP Westy

[Wally_West]

[Wally_West]

[Wally_West]

I gotta imagine the Suns have to have a 44 stripe on their jerseys for rest of the season.

[Superbone]

Two perfect videos to post. Thanks, WW.

[Superbone]

I gotta imagine the Suns have to have a 44 stripe on their jerseys for rest of the season.

Good point. It will give some extra meaning to this season.

[BKinSJC]

Some words from Jerry Colangelo, Eddie Johnson and others on Westy. Good stuff.

https://www.nba.com/suns/recognizing-ha ... l-westphal

[JeremyG]

Really sad. Also the first Suns coach I remember and always seemed like a class act.

Ditto. I started following the Suns as a kid in 1994.

I finally met him three years ago this month after the Suns' '90s reunion game. He was so kind and signed an autograph and took a selfie with me.

In many ways, he (along with a few others) represented "Suns basketball" to me, especially from my childhood memories.

This is a sad day.

[Mori Chu]

I was too young to see him as a player, but he was the coach on the Suns of the '90s, the era in which I began watching the team. Seemed like a really nice and friendly guy. And his playing career was really impressive to read about and watch old videos of. I love the Shot Heard Round the World; what a creative trick that was. And I'll never forget his prediction about coming back from down 0-2 to best the Lakers. RIP.

[LazarusLong]

Westphal was a backcourt mate with Dennis "Mo" Layton at USC.
Layton, who was a junior college star on a Phoenix College team that had a shot at the NJCAA championship, played for the Suns for several years.

The USC team was one of top teams in college basketball, but they had the misfortune of being in the same conference with UCLA.
The 1970-71 USC team with Westphal and Layton was 24-2--its only two losses coming to UCLA (led by Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe and Henry Bibby).

Westphal trivia: He was sixth in the NBA in scoring average for the 1977–78 season at 25.2 ppg. Also that season, he became the first NBA All-Star Weekend H-O-R-S-E Competition champion.

[bajanguy008]

yea I was late to the party too as I came along with Barkley n KJ so just observed him as the seemingly cool coach and I was young then too lol.
will have to take some time to peep YouTube