For the men's basketball coach and former NBA player, see Paul Westphal.
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Paul Westhead
Personal information
Born
(1939-02-21) February 21, 1939 (age 85) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Career information
High school
West Catholic Preparatory (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
College
Saint Joseph's (1958–1961)
Coaching career
1970–2014
Career history
As coach:
1970–1979
La Salle (men's)
1979
Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
1979–1981
Los Angeles Lakers
1982–1983
Chicago Bulls
1985–1990
Loyola Marymount (men's)
1990–1992
Denver Nuggets
1993–1997
George Mason (men's)
1997–1999
Golden State Warriors (assistant)
2000–2001
Los Angeles Stars
2001–2003
Panasonic Super Kangaroos
2003
Long Beach Jam
2003–2005
Orlando Magic (assistant)
2006–2007
Phoenix Mercury
2007–2009
Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (assistant)
2009–2014
Oregon (women's)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:
NBA champion (1980)
WNBA champion (2007)
MAC regular season champion (1974)
2x ECC regular season champion (1975, 1978)
2x ECC tournament champion (1975, 1978)
2x WCC regular season champion (1988, 1990)
2x WCC tournament champion (1988, 1989)
2× WCC Coach of the Year (1988, 1990)
Career coaching record
NBA
183–224 (.450)
WNBA
41–27 (.603)
College (men's)
285–223 (.561)
College (women's)
66–92 (.418)
Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American retired 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 Lakers to 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.
Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association...
five with Jackson, four with Riley, one with Bill Sharman, one with PaulWesthead, and one with Frank Vogel. With the Lakers, Sharman, Riley, and Del...
Loyola Marymount after his freshman year. Playing under Lions coach PaulWesthead and his fast-paced system, Gathers was a three-time first-team All-WCC...
(2019), and Windfall (2022). From 2022 to 2023, he played the role of PaulWesthead in the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. In 2023...
1–3) Dick Motta Dennis Johnson 1980 Los Angeles Lakers (1) (16, 7–9) PaulWesthead 4–2 Philadelphia 76ers (3) (6, 2–4) Billy Cunningham Magic Johnson 1981...
deciding on November 22 to fire head coach P. J. Carlesimo and assistant PaulWesthead. Assistant coach Scott Brooks then took over on an interim basis. Oklahoma...
on their squad. They also got former NBA Finals winning head coach PaulWesthead during the start of the season, but he managed to procure himself an...
Former NBA coach PaulWesthead became the Mercury's head coach prior to the 2006 season and brought his up-tempo style to Phoenix. Westhead was the first...
having won their only manager titles as player-coach. Riley, Lue and PaulWesthead are the only three coaches who have led teams to titles having only...
Bill Sharman (1971–1976) Jerry West (1976–1979) Jack McKinney (1979) PaulWesthead (1979–1981) Pat Riley (1981–1990) Mike Dunleavy (1990–1992) Randy Pfund...
near fatal head injury after falling while bicycling. Assistant coach PaulWesthead, who also worked under McKinney at St. Joseph's, was named the interim...
(1979) Jerry Sloan (1979–1982) Phil Johnson # (1982) Rod Thorn # (1982) PaulWesthead (1982–1983) Kevin Loughery (1983–1985) Stan Albeck (1985–1986) Doug...
Bill Sharman (1971–1976) Jerry West (1976–1979) Jack McKinney (1979) PaulWesthead (1979–1981) Pat Riley (1981–1990) Mike Dunleavy (1990–1992) Randy Pfund...
COMSAT in 1989. Moe left the team in 1990, and was replaced by PaulWesthead. Westhead also believed in a "run and gun" style of play, and gave the green...
David William Logan Westhead (born 1 June 1963) is an English actor. Westhead was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire. He studied drama at Bristol University...
Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Pau Gasol, and with coaches PaulWesthead, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson. He inspired the Lakers' Showtime era with...
(FMVP) Jack McKinney PaulWesthead 1980–81 NBA Western 3rd Pacific 2nd 54 28 .659 3 Lost First round (Rockets) 2–1 — PaulWesthead 1981–82 NBA Western...
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