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Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | (1939-02-21) February 21, 1939 (age 85) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
Career information | |
High school | West Catholic Preparatory (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) |
College | Saint Joseph's (1958β1961) |
NBA draft | 1961: undrafted |
Position | Guard |
Coaching career | 1970β2014 |
Career history | |
As coach: | |
1970β1979 | La Salle (men's) |
1979 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) |
1979β1981 | Los Angeles Lakers |
1982β1983 | Chicago Bulls |
1985β1990 | Loyola Marymount (men's) |
1990β1992 | Denver Nuggets |
1993β1997 | George Mason (men's) |
1997β1999 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
2000β2001 | Los Angeles Stars |
2001β2003 | Panasonic Super Kangaroos |
2003 | Long Beach Jam |
2003β2005 | Orlando Magic (assistant) |
2006β2007 | Phoenix Mercury |
2007β2009 | Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (assistant) |
2009β2014 | Oregon (women's) |
Career highlights and awards | |
As head coach:
| |
Career coaching record | |
NBA | 183β224 (.450) |
WNBA | 41β27 (.603) |
College (men's) | 285β223 (.561) |
College (women's) | 66β92 (.418) |
Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American former basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others. And also coached in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), American Basketball Association (ABA), and Japan Basketball League (JBL). In his first year as an NBA head coach, he led a rookie Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakersββto the 1980 NBA Finals, which they won in six games for the "team's first title in eight years." Westhead won titles in both the NBA and WNBA, and he is also remembered as the coach of the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) men's basketball team. Westhead is known for an unorthodox, run-and-gun style called "The System." He was nicknamed "The Professor" due to his former career as an English teacher prior to coaching and his tendency to quote Shakespeare and other literary sources while coaching. He attended Saint Joseph's University.
1970sβ»
Cheltenham High Schoolβ»
Westhead started his coaching career at Cheltenham High School in suburban Philadelphia; in 1968, "he coached the Panthers to a loss in the Pennsylvania state championship." One of his players at Cheltenham was future University of Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage.
La Salle Universityβ»
Westhead coached the La Salle University men's basketball team starting in 1970 while also teaching as a professor in the English Department. Westhead led the Explorers to one NIT and two NCAA tournament appearances in nine seasons (1970β1979). He finished with a record of 142β105.
1980sβ»
Los Angeles Lakersβ»
Westhead started his NBA head coaching career by succeeding Jack McKinney as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers after serving briefly as his assistant (Westhead initially became interim head coach after McKinney was hospitalized due to a serious bicycle accident). With rookie guard Magic Johnson and longtime star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers won the 1980 NBA Finals in Westhead's first year as coach, defeating Philadelphia in six games for the first title in their Showtime era. However, the team lost in the playoffs the next year to the Moses Malone-led Houston Rockets. Tensions grew between Westhead and Magic Johnson, as Johnson wanted Westhead to implement a fast-break offense involving all five players that better suited his style of play, while Westhead was insistent to continue running an isolation style offense centered on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Westhead was fired early in his third season with the Lakers, and replaced with Pat Riley (whom Westhead had hired as an assistant). It is commonly believed that Magic Johnson orchestrated Westhead's ouster. A 1987 book called Winnin' Times (about the Lakers' franchise history) indicated that Lakers owner Jerry Buss wanted to fire Westhead several days prior to the actual occurrence, "which is not mutually exclusive of the notion that Johnson had orchestrated it." In 1982, Buss said, "The irony, which makes what Magic did unfortunate, is that I had already decided to fire him. But I don't think anyone will ever totally believe that." Westhead finished his Lakers stint with a 111β50 record.
Chicago Bullsβ»
Westhead was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls for the 1982β83 season, but lasted only one season as the Bulls went 28β54. Prior to that season, the Bulls traded all-star center Artis Gilmore to the San Antonio Spurs, and the franchise was still two years away from the debut of Michael Jordan.
Loyola Marymountβ»
Westhead returned to the college ranks, and took over as the head coach of the Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball program. From 1985 to 1990, Westhead oversaw an impressive run in which Loyola Marymount, despite being smaller school and not a traditional NCAA basketball power, became a legitimate contender in NCAA hoops. Westhead lured star players like Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, who both transferred from USC, and Loyola Marymount set several NCAA records with their up-tempo, run-and-gun style.
From 1988 to 1990, Westhead's teams went 27β3, 20β10 and 23β5 respectively, earning NCAA tournament berths each year. Gathers led the NCAA in scoring and rebounding (32.7 ppg, 13.7 rpg) in 1989 and Kimble led the NCAA in scoring in 1990 (35.3 ppg). After the on-court death of Gathers in its conference tournament, LMU went on an inspired run in the NCAA tournament in 1990 that captured the attention of the entire college basketball world for those weeks. The Lions blew out defending champion Michigan in the 2nd round and made it to the Regional Final round before losing to eventual national champion, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, by 30 points.
Westhead's teams led Division I in scoring in 1988 (110.3 points per game), 1989 (112.5), and 1990 (122.4). LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 remains the NCAA record as of 2023. As of April 2012, Loyola Marymount held the five highest combined score games in Division I history. Four of the five occurred during Westhead's career, including record 331 in the 181β150 win over United States International University on January 31, 1989.
1990sβ»
Denver Nuggetsβ»
After the 1989β1990 season, Westhead left LMU for the NBA's Denver Nuggets, a position he held for two seasons. His tenure in Denver was best known for attempting to incorporate the run-and-gun offense that worked for LMU to the NBA.
However, while the 1990-91 Nuggets averaged a league-best 119.9 points per game in 1990β91, they also surrendered an NBA record 130.8 points per game. Their opponents never scored fewer than 100 points in any game, and only four opponents failed to score at least 110 points. They gave up 107 points in a single half to the Phoenix Suns, which remains an NBA record. Under Westhead, the Nuggets were sometimes called the "Enver Nuggets" (as in no "D,"/no defense). The next year the Nuggets drafted Dikembe Mutombo, who made the All-Star team, and played at a more conservative pace scoring just 2 points per game. However, they only improved to 24 wins, largely because they continued to give up points so quickly that even their prolific offense could not keep up. Westhead was fired after posting a combined two-year record of 44β120.
George Masonβ»
Following his tenure with the Nuggets, Westhead returned to college coaching as the head coach of George Mason University from 1993 to 1997. This time, Westhead's run-and-gun style did not succeed at the college level, ending his tenure at Mason with a 38β70 record. Westhead was succeeded at Mason by Jim Larranaga after the 1996β1997 season.
Golden State Warriorsβ»
From 1997 to 1999, Westhead was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors under head coach P. J. Carlesimo.
2000sβ»
Los Angeles Starsβ»
Westhead was the head coach of the Los Angeles Stars in the inaugural season of the new ABA in 2000β2001.
Panasonic Super Kangaroosβ»
Westhead was the head coach of the Panasonic Super Kangaroos of the Japan Basketball League from 2001 to 2003.
Long Beach Jamβ»
Westhead returned to the ABA as the head coach of Long Beach Jam in 2003. He coached the team for only one game before returning to the NBA.
Orlando Magicβ»
From 2003 to 2005, Westhead was an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic under head coach Johnny Davis.
Phoenix Mercuryβ»
In 2005, Westhead was hired as the head coach of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, a position that he held until the 2007 WNBA season concluded. In 2007, Westhead coached the Mercury to a WNBA championship, making him the only coach to win a championship in the NBA and the WNBA. Led by Diana Taurasi, the Mercury won using Westhead's fast-paced approach.
Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunderβ»
On September 27, 2007, he agreed to a contract with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics to be an assistant coach under longtime friend P. J. Carlesimo. Following the season, the franchise moved to Oklahoma City and was renamed the Thunder. When Carlesimo was relieved of his duties on November 21, 2008, Westhead was also released as an assistant at that time.
2010sβ»
University of Oregon, women's basketballβ»
On March 26, 2009, University of Oregon Athletic Director Pat Kilkenny introduced Paul Westhead as the Ducks' newest head coach. As the sixth head coach in the history of Oregon women's basketball, this was Westhead's first job as head coach of an NCAA women's program (although he had coached women's teams at the professional level before).
On March 4, 2014, the University of Oregon announced that they would not renew Westhead's contract, which expired March 31, 2014. Westhead was 65β90 overall at Oregon and 27β64 in conference play in five seasons. Westhead's Oregon contract was worth more than $3 million for five years, with his final season earning him $675,000.
Head coaching recordβ»
Men's college basketballβ»
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
La Salle Explorers (Middle Atlantic Conferences) (1970β1974) | |||||||||
1970β71 | La Salle | 20β7 | 5β1 | 2nd (East) | NIT first round | ||||
1971β72 | La Salle | 6β19 | 2β4 | Tβ4th (East) | |||||
1972β73 | La Salle | 15β10 | 3β3 | 4th (East) | |||||
1973β74 | La Salle | 18β10 | 5β1 | Tβ1st (East) | |||||
La Salle Explorers (East Coast Conference) (1974β1979) | |||||||||
1974β75 | La Salle | 22β7 | 5β1 | Tβ1st (East) | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
1975β76 | La Salle | 11β15 | 1β4 | Tβ5th (East) | |||||
1976β77 | La Salle | 17β12 | 3β2 | 3rd (East) | |||||
1977β78 | La Salle | 18β12 | 5β0 | 1st (East) | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
1978β79 | La Salle | 15β13 | 10β3 | 3rd (East) | |||||
La Salle: | 142β105 (.575) | ||||||||
Loyola Marymount Lions (West Coast Conference) (1985β1990) | |||||||||
1985β86 | Loyola Marymount | 19β11 | 10β4 | 2nd | NIT second round | ||||
1986β87 | Loyola Marymount | 12β16 | 4β10 | 8th | |||||
1987β88 | Loyola Marymount | 28β4 | 14β0 | 1st | NCAA Division I second round | ||||
1988β89 | Loyola Marymount | 20β11 | 10β4 | Tβ2nd | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
1989β90 | Loyola Marymount | 26β6 | 13β1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
Loyola Marymount: | 105β48 (.686) | 51β19 (.729) | |||||||
George Mason Patriots (Colonial Athletic Association) (1993β1997) | |||||||||
1993β94 | George Mason | 10β17 | 5β9 | Tβ6th | |||||
1994β95 | George Mason | 7β20 | 2β12 | 8th | |||||
1995β96 | George Mason | 11β16 | 6β10 | Tβ6th | |||||
1996β97 | George Mason | 10β17 | 4β12 | 9th | |||||
George Mason: | 38β70 (.352) | 17β44 (.279) | |||||||
Total: | 285β223 (.561) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
NBAβ»
Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | WβL % | Winβloss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PWβL % | Playoff winβloss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | WβL% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PWβL% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles | 1979β80 | 68 | 50 | 18 | .735 | 1st in Pacific | 16 | 12 | 4 | .750 | Won NBA Championship |
Los Angeles | 1980β81 | 82 | 54 | 28 | .659 | 2nd in Pacific | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost in first round |
Los Angeles | 1981β82 | 11 | 7 | 4 | .636 | (fired) | β | β | β | β | β |
Chicago | 1982β83 | 82 | 28 | 54 | .341 | 4th in Central | β | β | β | β | Missed Playoffs |
Denver | 1990β91 | 82 | 20 | 62 | .244 | 7th in Midwest | β | β | β | β | Missed Playoffs |
Denver | 1991β92 | 82 | 24 | 58 | .293 | 4th in Midwest | β | β | β | β | Missed Playoffs |
Career | 407 | 183 | 224 | .450 | 19 | 13 | 6 | .684 |
WNBAβ»
Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | WβL % | Winβloss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PWβL % | Playoff winβloss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | WβL% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PWβL% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PHX | 2006 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 5th in West | β | β | β | β | Missed Playoffs |
PHX | 2007 | 34 | 23 | 11 | .676 | 1st in West | 9 | 7 | 2 | .778 | Won WNBA Finals |
Career | 68 | 41 | 27 | .603 | 9 | 7 | 3 | .778 |
Women's college basketballβ»
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oregon Ducks (Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference) (2009β2014) | |||||||||
2009β10 | Oregon | 18β16 | 7β11 | Tβ6th | WNIT third round | ||||
2010β11 | Oregon | 13β17 | 4β14 | 9th | |||||
2011β12 | Oregon | 15β16 | 7β11 | 9th | |||||
2012β13 | Oregon | 4β27 | 2β16 | 12th | |||||
2013β14 | Oregon | 16β16 | 6β12 | 10th | WNIT second round | ||||
Oregon: | 66β92 (.418) | 26β64 (.289) | |||||||
Total: | 66β92 (.418) |
Notesβ»
- ^ "Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association". www.piaa.org.
- ^ "Hall of Fame Biographies: Craig Littlepage". classcreator.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
- ^ Johnson, Roy S.; Times, Special To the New York (June 3, 1982). "Westhead the Forgotten Man". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
- ^ NCAA 2010, p.39
- ^ NCAA 2010, p.5
- ^ NCAA 2010, pp.28β29
- ^ "Basketbawful".
- ^ "Warriors name Paul Westhead assistant coach". AP NEWS.
- ^ Ford, Bob (February 4, 2001). "Still Crazy After All These Years A New Professional League Has Given Paul Westhead, That Mad Professor Of Up-tempo Basketball, Yet Another Laboratory In Which To Experiment". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ "Westhead hired by JBL team". The Japan Times. August 8, 2001.
- ^ Guardabascio, Mike; Trevino, Chris (September 28, 2015). Basketball in Long Beach. Arcadia. ISBN 9781625854612.
- ^ "Taurasi, Pondexter lead Mercury to second title in three years". www.espn.com. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ^ "NBA-worst Thunder fire Carlesimo after 1-12 start". ESPN.com. November 22, 2008.
- ^ Greif, Andrew (March 4, 2014). "Oregon Ducks will not renew Paul Westhead's contract as women's basketball head coach". oregonlive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
Referencesβ»
- NCAA (February 24, 2016). "2015β16 NCAA Men's Basketball Records - Division I Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 12, 2011.
External linksβ»
- 1939 births
- Living people
- American Basketball Association (2000βpresent) coaches
- American expatriate basketball people in Japan
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- American women's basketball coaches
- Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania
- Basketball players from Philadelphia
- Chicago Bulls head coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Denver Nuggets head coaches
- George Mason Patriots men's basketball coaches
- Golden State Warriors assistant coaches
- High school basketball coaches in the United States
- La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches
- Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches
- Los Angeles Lakers head coaches
- Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball coaches
- NBA championship-winning head coaches
- Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coaches
- Oregon Ducks women's basketball coaches
- Orlando Magic assistant coaches
- People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
- Phoenix Mercury coaches
- Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players
- Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches
- Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
- Women's National Basketball Association championship-winning head coaches