Popular NBA stats site sneaks in a touching tribute to Tommy Heinsohn

A well-known NBA basketball stats and history site snuck in a touching tribute to recently-passed Celtics legend Tommy Heinsohn.

We might just have some Boston Celtics fans — or at least Tommy Heinsohn fans — among the folks over at Basketball-reference.com.

The Celtic great passed away earlier this month at age 86 after an unparalleled role in each of Boston’s 17 titles and seven decades of existence.

As a player and as a coach, the Holy Cross product had Hall of Fame careers, one of only four people to ever manage such a feat.

And considering his four-decade career as a broadcaster whose (then) unorthodox views on the art helped shape how the game is broadcast today may get him back in the Hall yet again.

He was truly an amazing figure, given all this was done in conjunction with the only team he ever played for — or coached.

To honor Heinsohn, the popular record-keeping site of NBA basketball made some subtle changes to their “Overview” page for the Boston icon — they list him as holding the top spot in league history for Tommy Points Awarded.

It may be symbolic, but the nod is a very real acknowledgement of the long shadow his life cast on ours — and a classy move from our friends at Basketball Reference (dot com).

(h/t Twitter user @ExtendAdamGase for the find.)