The Houston Rockets formally introduced Stephen Silas as their new coach in a press conference on Thursday. New Rockets general manager Rafael Stone heaped praises on Silas, especially his preparedness and professionalism.

Per Ben DuBose of USA Today, Stone shared his impressions of Silas during his application interview and what led the team to eventually hire him.

“Stephen was the most prepared guy that we talked to. That’s not meant to be negative toward anyone else. We talked to some really smart, qualified guys. But Stephen’s level of preparedness, and his ability to have thought through every single thing we threw at him.”

Apart from his diligence, Brown was also in awe of Silas' way of thinking. That also made the 47-year-old the perfect man for the job.

“Then just his unique mind. Some of his answers were really, really interesting. Things that aren’t necessarily intuitive, and made all of us think, ‘Huh. That’s a different way of doing it. Let’s think about it, that could be really interesting. That combination was really, really cool. At the end of the day, he was very clearly the best fit for us. We’re feeling incredibly lucky that we found him.”

Rockets CEO Tad Brown was also deeply impressed with Silas, who is credited for helping in the development of NBA superstars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, and Kemba Walker.

“Stephen Silas, our new head coach, is someone who came in and blew us away in the interview process. He’s one of the true bright young minds in the NBA. He’s going to do great things with us. He’s much older than he looks (laughs).”

It's worth noting that in 2016, Silas made it to the final process of application as Rockets coach. But the team opted to hire Mike D’Antoni instead. Now, four years later, Silas and the Rockets will finally have the chance to work together.