Former Knicks player Paul Westphal dies at 70

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Paul Westphal, a basketball player and College Basketball Hall of Famer, has died at the age of 70.

According to Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, Westphal was diagnosed with brain cancer last year.

A five-time NBA All-Star best known for his time with the Phoenix Suns, and also a champion with the Boston Celtics in 1974, Westphal played two seasons with the Knicks from 1981-83 as a shooting guard, averaging 10 , 3 points, 5.5 assists and 1.4 rebounds.

After a 12-year playing career that ended after the 1983-84 season, he began his coaching career at the college level before moving to pros with the Suns in 1988. Westphal was assistant coach with Brooklyn from 2014-16 under Lionel Hollins.

One of the best colleges in the USC, Westphal number 25 is retired by the Trojans. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The following year.