ESCONDIDO, Calif., July 31 (UPI) -- Phil Smith, a member of the Golden State Warriors' lone NBA championship team in 1975, died Tuesday night after a five-year battle with cancer. He was 50.
Smith was diagnosed in 1998 with multiple myeloma, an aggressive form of bone marrow cancer. He died at the Palomar Medica Center.
Smith spent six seasons with the Warriors. In 1974-75, the 6-4 guard averaged 7.7 points on 48 percent shooting in 74 games. He stepped into the starting lineup in 1975-76 and averaged a career-best 20.0 points while playing all 82 games.
"Phil was a great person and friend and will be sorely missed by all of us who had the pleasure to know him," former Warriors coach Al Attles said in a statement. "It is absolutely heartbreaking to see him leave us at such an early age and after such a difficult battle.
"The fact that he had been sick for a while does not lessen the blow, it just adds to the pain."
Smith's career was cut short by a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered prior to the 1979-80 campaign.
"Had it not been for his Achilles injury, I really believe that he would have been one of the greatest players in the game over time," Attles said. "I've been around a lot of players in my day, but few of them enjoyed all facets of the game as much as Phil Smith. He was a tremendous talent and a real student of the game."
