Former NBA player and head coach Paul Silas passed away at the age of 79 on December 10th, due to cardiac arrest. The Silas family has suffered another loss to close out 2022. Anita Pointer, a founding member of the R&B group, The Pointer Sisters, passed away at the age of 74 on December 31st, following a battle with cancer.
Pointer was a cousin of Silas as her father was his uncle. The three-time NBA champion and the three-time Grammy Award winning sisters actually grew up in a shared household in Oakland, California. While the Pointer’s occupied the upper floor of the shared home, the Silas’ were on the ground level.
Anita Pointer had lost her only child, Jada Rashawn Pointer, to cancer in 2003 at the young age of 37. Her sister, June Pointer, who was the youngest founding member of The Pointer Sisters, also passed away from cancer in 2006 at the age of 52.
Anita was forced to retire from the group in 2015 due to health complications. She was reportedly set to join her only surviving sister, Ruth Pointer, as a contestant on The Masked Singer in 2021. However, an illness prevented her from appearing. It is unclear if it was related to the cancer that ultimately took her life. The Pointer Sisters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.
Looking back at Paul Silas’ career
Paul Silas had a storied NBA career that began with him being selected 12th overall by the then-St. Louis Hawks in the 1964 NBA Draft. Silas played 16 seasons in the NBA, winning three championships. He was also selected to two All-Star Teams and five All-Defensive Teams.
Silas announced his retirement following the 1979-1980 season and was immediately named head coach of the then-San Diego Clippers. Silas did not receive another head coaching opportunity for over 15 years. However, he was an assistant coach for 11 seasons over that span, working for four different franchises.
Silas was named the interim head coach of the Charlotte Hornets midway through the lockout-shortened 1998-1999 NBA season. He spent the next four and a half seasons leading the Hornets before spending the next two seasons leading the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two years of LeBron James’ career.
Silas then took a five-year hiatus from coaching before returning to lead the Charlotte Bobcats for two seasons. Silas finished his NBA coaching career with a record of 387-488, mostly leading rebuilding franchises.
Watch Paul Silas’ highlights below:
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