On this day in Boston Celtics history, Celtics draft pick Joe Johnson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1981. Johnson would play his collegiate basketball at the University of Arkansas, which he would lead to the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament championship in 2000.
The Little Rock native would be drafted by the Celtics in the 2001 NBA Draft with the 10th overall pick of the draft and would play for Boston for 48 games of his rookie season before being traded. The small forward would be dealt with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio, and draft assets to the Phoenix Suns for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers in February of 2002, then rejoin Boston for a single game in 2022.
The former Razorback averaged 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while with Boston.