Tag: 1959 nba draft

On this day: Boston’s first-ever playoff win; Don Barksdale born; 1959 draft

Boston Celtics pioneering forward Don Barksdale was born today in 1923, and 25 years later, the franchise would win its first-ever playoff game.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston Celtic forward Don Barksdale was born in Oakland California in 1923. He would play his college ball at UCLA, becoming the first black All-American in NCAA history. Soon after, he would become the first African-American to win a Gold medal in the 1948 Olympic Games before moving on to the NBA.

After some short stints with local clubs, Barksdale would be signed by the Baltimore Bullets (now defunct, and not connected to the later team of the same name that is now the Washington Wizards) before being traded to the Celtics soon after.

The Oakland product would play two seasons with Boston before ankle injuries ended his playing career and would average 9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists with the team.

Ranking every No. 46 pick made in the NBA draft by the Boston Celtics

Our 11th installment of ranking every pick from Nos. 1 to 60, we compare the five picks the Boston Celtics have made 46th overall.

We have arrived at the 11th edition of this series ranking the picks made by the Boston Celtics Nos. 1 through 60 by the number they were drafted at, landing at pick No. 46, which the team has drafted at five times in their seventy-year history the Celtics have been a franchise.

The selections  made here began in 1918 and continued to the 1982 NBA draft, the most recent draft Boston selected 47th overall.

There were no stars in this group, though there was a role-playing champ among the five prospects taken at this late point in the draft.

There are no familiar faces to be found among the players we’re considering here save for the biggest Celtics history buffs.

As with earlier iterations of this series, we employ a rubric that focuses on what players have done while a Celtics above all else, with achievements coming before or afterward an extra way to rank prospects when the difference is slight.

With that said, who are the greatest Celtics drafted 47th overall?

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6