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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Basketball legend Paul Westphal dies at 70
1/2/2021 1:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Phoenix footprint includes coaching Lopes' 1988 national championship
Phoenix sports legend Paul Westphal, who coached a Grand Canyon national championship team and led the Suns to the NBA Finals as a player and coach, passed away Saturday after being diagnosed with brain cancer last summer.
Westphal, 70, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019 for being a five-time NBA All-Star who won a championship with Boston and made the All-NBA first team three times. "Westy" was part of the Phoenix Suns' only two NBA Finals trips, starring on the 1975-76 Sunderella Suns team with ambidextrous talent and coaching the 1992-93 team that captivated the Valley.
"Greater than all the basketball accolades is the man Paul Westphal was – a great father, husband and friend, who was respected by so many," Hall of Fame chairman, GCU advisor and former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. "He was truly honored by his 2019 Basketball Hall of Fame induction and I am honored to have known him for the past 45 years.
Westphal's NBA coaching opportunity was catapulted by the job he did with instituting a fastbreaking, pressing style of play as head coach of Grand Canyon. His Lopes teams went 63-18 over the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons and won the 1988 NAIA national championship by averaging 95.2 points per game.
"A phenomenal time to be a part of," Westphal recalled last summer on the Lopes Insider Podcast, describing the winningest two-year run in GCU basketball history.
After that Grand Canyon season, the Suns hired Westphal as an assistant coach and he became Phoenix's head coach four years later. His .685 winning percentage remains the best in Suns franchise history. Westphal spent nearly as many seasons (10) as a NBA head coach as he did as a NBA player (12). He retired from coaching in 2016 after serving as assistant coach to then-Brooklyn head coach Lionel Hollins, who had been his Suns assistant.
"Without the time at Grand Canyon, it wouldn't have had the timing to be the fit that it was," Westphal told GCULopes.com upon his 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame induction. "I had a lot of great friends and great experiences off the floor and on the floor at Grand Canyon."
In August, Westphal's friends and family shared that he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer form that is often not curable. Since that time, a who's who of basketball (former Suns teammates and former Suns who he coached, including Charles Barkley) and other worlds have visited the Westphals' Valley home to pay tribute to a classy man known for his genuine character and faith as much as his unique basketball skills and acumen.
Shortly after Westphal's 70th birthday on Nov. 30, his wife, Cindy, shared on Westphal's Facebook page that the standard treatment with 15 rounds of radiation was not working and they were pursuing an alternative glioblastoma treatment.
"Either way, the Lord is with me," Cindy wrote that Paul said at the time. "I trust Him."
Westphal stayed connected to GCU by attending Lopes basketball games, even putting on a Havocs section shirt to be part of a Whiteout. Always gracious with his time and sincerity, he also participated in the dedication of the campus' Jerry Colangelo Museum in 2017.
Michael Ledbetter, a GCU fleet manager, played on the Lopes' national championship team for Westphal.
"Nobody has ever spoken a negative word about him," Ledbetter told GCULopes.com in 2018. "It's awesome to be associated with him to the tiniest degree."
Westphal is survived by his wife, Cindy, along with his children, Michael and Victoria, and four grandchildren.
In a Facebook post Saturday, Cindy posted a smiling photo of Paul and wrote, "I love the joy on Paul's face here. I am imagining him like this in the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Pure joy and happiness. Gratefulness. No more pain or any of the world's heartaches."
Westphal, 70, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019 for being a five-time NBA All-Star who won a championship with Boston and made the All-NBA first team three times. "Westy" was part of the Phoenix Suns' only two NBA Finals trips, starring on the 1975-76 Sunderella Suns team with ambidextrous talent and coaching the 1992-93 team that captivated the Valley.
"Greater than all the basketball accolades is the man Paul Westphal was – a great father, husband and friend, who was respected by so many," Hall of Fame chairman, GCU advisor and former Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. "He was truly honored by his 2019 Basketball Hall of Fame induction and I am honored to have known him for the past 45 years.
Westphal's NBA coaching opportunity was catapulted by the job he did with instituting a fastbreaking, pressing style of play as head coach of Grand Canyon. His Lopes teams went 63-18 over the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons and won the 1988 NAIA national championship by averaging 95.2 points per game."A phenomenal time to be a part of," Westphal recalled last summer on the Lopes Insider Podcast, describing the winningest two-year run in GCU basketball history.
After that Grand Canyon season, the Suns hired Westphal as an assistant coach and he became Phoenix's head coach four years later. His .685 winning percentage remains the best in Suns franchise history. Westphal spent nearly as many seasons (10) as a NBA head coach as he did as a NBA player (12). He retired from coaching in 2016 after serving as assistant coach to then-Brooklyn head coach Lionel Hollins, who had been his Suns assistant.
"Without the time at Grand Canyon, it wouldn't have had the timing to be the fit that it was," Westphal told GCULopes.com upon his 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame induction. "I had a lot of great friends and great experiences off the floor and on the floor at Grand Canyon."In August, Westphal's friends and family shared that he had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer form that is often not curable. Since that time, a who's who of basketball (former Suns teammates and former Suns who he coached, including Charles Barkley) and other worlds have visited the Westphals' Valley home to pay tribute to a classy man known for his genuine character and faith as much as his unique basketball skills and acumen.
Shortly after Westphal's 70th birthday on Nov. 30, his wife, Cindy, shared on Westphal's Facebook page that the standard treatment with 15 rounds of radiation was not working and they were pursuing an alternative glioblastoma treatment.
"Either way, the Lord is with me," Cindy wrote that Paul said at the time. "I trust Him."Westphal stayed connected to GCU by attending Lopes basketball games, even putting on a Havocs section shirt to be part of a Whiteout. Always gracious with his time and sincerity, he also participated in the dedication of the campus' Jerry Colangelo Museum in 2017.
Michael Ledbetter, a GCU fleet manager, played on the Lopes' national championship team for Westphal.
"Nobody has ever spoken a negative word about him," Ledbetter told GCULopes.com in 2018. "It's awesome to be associated with him to the tiniest degree."
Westphal is survived by his wife, Cindy, along with his children, Michael and Victoria, and four grandchildren.
In a Facebook post Saturday, Cindy posted a smiling photo of Paul and wrote, "I love the joy on Paul's face here. I am imagining him like this in the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Pure joy and happiness. Gratefulness. No more pain or any of the world's heartaches."
The GCU community is heartbroken to hear of the passing of Paul Westphal. Among his many accomplishments, he is a GCU Athletics Hall of Famer and 1988 NAIA National Champion. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Westphal family. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/XsClp31UnY
— GCU Lopes (@GCU_Lopes) January 2, 2021
Westy will not be immortalized for just playing basketball. He will be remembered for how he lived his life, and how he treated others.
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 2, 2021
Rest In Peace, Westy 🙏
#FightOnForever, Paul Westphal.
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 2, 2021
Hall of Fame player. Hall of Fame person. pic.twitter.com/tktAuOyFvX
You know the old cliche, "He was a better person than he was a player?" That the Gospel truth about Hall of Famer Paul Westphal. He died this morning from the effects of a brain tumor.
— Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) January 2, 2021
I'm so sad to hear that we lost Paul Westphal. I loved watching him play at USC and in Boston and Phoenix! I was blessed to have known him as Coach and as a man of God. He was one of my all time favorite people I've met in this business🙏🏼God bless Cindy and her family❤️#RIP #44
— Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) January 2, 2021
The Hall of Fame celebrates the life and deeply mourns the passing of Paul Westphal, Class of 2019.
— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) January 2, 2021
📰: https://t.co/a6zvqaoxqG
📸: Focus on Sport/Getty Images pic.twitter.com/FPKd7NpJZa
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