The Hall is calling. After more than 30 years, the wait is finally over for former Sacramento Kings coach Paul Westphal. He will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's 2019 class, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday.
Paul Westphal has been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2019, sources tell ESPN. Westphal was a 5-time All-Star and 4-time All-NBA guard. As a coach, he was 318-279 (.532) with a trip to NBA Finals and two conference semifinals with Suns.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 6, 2019
Drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 10th overall selection in the 1972 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-4 guard played 12 seasons in the NBA. The five-time All-Star averaged 15.6 points and 4.4 assists playing for four different teams.
Westphal won an NBA titel with the 1973-74 Celtics, and he helped lead the Phoenix Suns to a Western Conference title in the 1975-76 season.
The former USC Trojan star posted his best career season with the Suns during the 1977-78 season. Westphal averaged 25.2 points and 5.5 assists, while finishing in sixth place in the MVP balloting.
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Westphal won the NBA's Comeback Player of the Year following the 1982-83 season with the New York Knicks. He retired a year later after returning to the Suns for a second tour of duty.
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Following his playing career, Westphal coached the Suns, Seattle SuperSonics and Kings. He compiled a 318-279 record over parts of 10 seasons, and led the Suns to an NBA Finals appearance against Michael Jordan's Bulls during the 1992-93 season.
In Westphal's two-plus seasons coaching the Kings, he compiled a 51-120 record, but the team ran the lowest payroll in the NBA during that stretch under the Maloof family.
In addition to his NBA accomplishments, Westphal is in the USC Hall of Fame, Pac 12 Hall of Honor and the Phoenix Suns Ring of Honor. He also coached at the collegiate level at Pepperdine, Southern Baptist Bible college and led Grand Canyon University to an NAIA national title in 1988.
