Hall of Famer Westphal battling brain cancer

Please pray for friend, No. 44." Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last September, Westphal was a five-time All-Star who won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 1973-74 and was named the Comeback Player of the Year in 1982-83. Westphal averaged 15.6 points and 4.4 assists in 823 career games with the Celtics (1972-75), Phoenix Suns (1975-80, 1983-84), Seattle Supersonics (1980-81) and New York Knicks (1981-83).

Hall of Fame guard Paul Westphal is battling brain cancer, sports columnist and longtime friend Mike Lupica said Sunday. The 69-year-old Westphal was diagnosed with glioblastoma.

"With his permission I am letting the basketball world know," Lupica posted on Twitter. "... Please pray for friend, No. 44." Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last September, Westphal was a five-time All-Star who won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 1973-74 and was named the Comeback Player of the Year in 1982-83.

Westphal averaged 15.6 points and 4.4 assists in 823 career games with the Celtics (1972-75), Phoenix Suns (1975-80, 1983-84), Seattle Supersonics (1980-81) and New York Knicks (1981-83). He posted a career-high 25.2 points per game in 1977-78. The Suns retired his No. 44. Following his retirement, Westphal compiled a 318-279 record as a head coach for parts of 10 seasons with the Suns (1992-96), Sonics (1999-2000) and Sacramento Kings (2009-12). He led Phoenix to a 62-20 regular-season record and an appearance in the NBA Finals in his first season in 1992-93.

Most recently, he worked as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets from 2014-16. The Mayo Clinic defines glioblastoma as an aggressive cancer that occurs most often in older adults and can be very difficult to treat.

--Field Level Media