Paul Silas, who was a player on three NBA championship teams and the league’s first coach of LeBron James, passed away, his family said on Sunday. He was seventy-nine.

Stephen, the son of Silas, is a second-generation head coach for the Houston Rockets, for whom the family made the announcement of his passing. When Silas’s death was first reported by The Boston Globe, no formal cause was given right away.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “We mourn the passing of former NBA All-Star and head coach Paul Silas.” “Many athletes and coaches, including his son, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas, bear witness to Paul’s enduring contributions to the game. We extend our sincere sympathies to Paul’s family.”

Stephen Silas persevered for a long time before getting his big chance. He saw his father wait a long time for the job he wanted as well. Paul Silas was fired by the San Diego Clippers in 1983 and wouldn’t have a head coaching opportunity again until 1999 — coming when Dave Cowens, for whom Paul Silas was an assistant, stepped down in Charlotte after a 4-11 start to the shortened 1998-99 season.

“I was known as not a hard, hard, hard worker, and it really hurt me when I was an assistant coach, for about 10 years, when I couldn’t get a head job,” Paul Silas told the Rotary Club of Charlotte while giving a speech there in 2013. “I really talked to teams about being a head coach, but I didn’t get one. What happened is I stayed positive. I had a positive attitude. Even though I couldn’t get the job, I said, ‘No, I’m not going to be negative. I’m going to be positive.’”

Eventually, Silas would take over in Cleveland. He got there in 2003, the same year the Cavaliers drafted James.