Tag: 1994 nba draft

On this day: Johnson born; Montross, Tillis drafted; Pinckney traded

On this day, former Boston Celtics forward Joe Johnson was born, Kevinn Pinkney traded, and Eric Montross and Darren Tillis drafted.

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.

On this day: Pierce, Jefferson, Allen, Bradley drafted; Jones born

On this day, the Boston Celtics drafted Paul Pierce, Al Jefferson, Tony Allen, and Avery Bradley; it is also the birthday of Celtics legend Sam Jones.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the 1998 NBA draft was held in General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and in it, the Celtics took only one player of note. The Celtics selected forward Paul Pierce out of Kansas with the 10th overall pick of the draft, a team the Californian was no fan of as a youth.

Even casual fans know the legacy of “the Truth” — as he was dubbed by future teammate Shaquille O’Neal in 2001 — has had on the franchise. An instrumental part of the 2008 title that brought Boston its league-record 17th championship, the Oakland native racked up a finals MVP for that series as well.

Over the course of his career with the Celtics, Pierce amassed 10 All-Star and four All-NBA elections, All-Rookie First Team, election to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and several other honors