Stephen Silas didn’t expect to land his new position as head coach of the Houston Rockets, according to his father, Paul Silas.
In an interview with Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen, the elder Silas — who is one of the 50 winningest coaches in NBA history —shared more of his perspective regarding his son’s big moment.
Per Feigen, here’s what Paul Silas said:
He said he wasn’t going to get this job. I told him it was going to happen. I knew it was going to happen for him. They wanted to get him. He said, ‘I don’t think it’s going to happen, Dad.’ I said, ‘It is.’ And it did. I’m just happy as heck.
I thought it would happen because I had him as [an assistant] coach and he was doing a great job. I just knew it was going to happen. He did a great job, I tell you. He really did. And he’ll do a great job now.
His skepticism was understandable, since Silas nearly landed the Houston job in 2016 before losing out to Mike D’Antoni late in the process.
Silas landed his first NBA job in 1999 as a Charlotte scout, when his father was the head coach. He then joined Paul’s staff at age 27, becoming the NBA’s youngest assistant, and he has since worked in the NBA for the past 20 years. Now 47 years old, this is his first job as a head coach.
The Rockets made Silas’ hire official on Friday. A press conference is expected to follow at some point this week.
New #Rockets at #TXSN – Paul Silas says his son, Stephen, always focused on coaching https://t.co/VsuHtbUllE
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 31, 2020
