nbahardcore posted an autograph in the autograph guide
10/20/2011
Sent this card addressed to the Sacramento Kings team address
Profile of Paul Westphal
He was the 10th overall pick in the 1972 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. After three seasons in Boston, including a championship ring in 1974, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. In 1976, Westphal helped the Suns reach their first-ever Finals appearance. In Game 5 of that series, called by many the greatest game ever played in basketball.
After the 1979–80 season, he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics for Dennis Johnson where he played one season before heading to the New York Knicks. In 1983 he returned to Phoenix for a last hurrah. He had been injured and only played in 59 of the 82 games of his final season.
In his career Westphal scored a total of 12,809 NBA points for an average of 15.1 points per game, with 3,591 assists for an average of 4.4 assists per game. He also had 1,580 rebounds, for an average of 1.9 per game. He was a 5-time All-Star and 3 times an All-NBA selection and one time a second team All-NBA selection. He is Phoenix's fifth all-time leading scorer (9,564), averaging 20.6 points (1975–80, 1983–84) and a member of the Sun's Ring of Honor.
In 1992 he became the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. For several years prior, he was an assistant coach with the Suns under head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. With players such as Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Richard Dumas, and the newly-acquired Charles Barkley and Danny Ainge, the Suns made it to the Finals in Westphal's first season as a coach, but eventually lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. Incidentally, Game 3 between the two teams went to triple overtime (the Suns won the game) and is considered one of the greatest games ever played.
