Tag: al lucas

On this day: Tommy Heinsohn, Ed Macauley, Marvin Kratter pass; Pruitt, Lucas debut

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Celtics player and coach Tommy Heinsohn passed away.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Celtics player and coach Tommy Heinsohn passed away after a long illness. Heinsohn, who was part of every one of Boston’s NBA-record 17 titles in one form or another, had been broadcasting for much of the time after leaving the team as a coach in the late 1970s and had been calling games with partner Mike Gorman right up until a few months before his passing.

As a player, Heinsohn won 8 banners with the team in his career stretching from 1956 to 1965, 6 All-Star bids, and 4 All-NBA team honors among many others. As a coach, the Holy Cross product would win two more titles in 1974 and 1976, and take home Coach of the Year honors in 1973.

One of only five people ever inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach, Tommy may yet make it in as a broadcaster as well, a feat yet unmatched in league history. Rest in Peace, Tommy — you are missed.

(AP Photo/J. Walter Green)

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 20

Today’s installment focuses on the 31 players who wore No. 20 over the years as of August 2023.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 31 players who wore No. 20 over the years as of August 2023.

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born; Gene Conley passes

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports by ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the former Butler player opted for a largely ill-fated reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, who had left the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role in 2013.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the (Red) Sox to the (New England) Pats to the (Boston) Bruins.

On this day: Sharman trade; Conley draft; Wagner, Morrison born; ’64 title won

On this day, the Celtics traded for Bill Sharman, drafted Gene Conley and won their seventh title in 1964.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, shooting guard Bill Sharman was dealt to the Celtics in 1951 from the (then) Fort Wayne (now, Detroit) Pistons, who in turn had picked up Sharman early in the year in a dispersal draft from the now-defunct Washington Capitals.

Sharman, a native of Abilene, Texas, had played his college ball with the University of Southern California before being drafted by the Capitals in 1950 with the 17th overall pick of that year’s draft. Sharman would go on to play ten seasons for Boston, winning four championships and being elected to eight All-Star games (winning All-Star MVP in 1955) and seven All-NBA teams over that stretch.

He would retire as a player in 1961 to go into coaching and would become the first person in North American sports history to win titles as a player, coach, and executive.

On this day: Tommy Heinsohn, Ed Macauley, Marvin Kratter pass; Pruitt, Lucas debut

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Celtics player and coach Tommy Heinsohn passed away.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Celtics player and coach Tommy Heinsohn passed away after a long illness. Heinsohn, who was part of every one of Boston’s NBA-record 17 titles in one form or another, had been broadcasting for much of the time after leaving the team as a coach in the late 1970s and had been calling games with partner Mike Gorman right up until a few months before his passing.

As a player, Heinsohn won 8 banners with the team in his career stretching from 1956 to 1965, 6 All-Star bids, and 4 All-NBA team honors among many others. As a coach, the Holy Cross product would win two more titles in 1974 and 1976, and take home Coach of the Year honors in 1973.

One of only five people ever inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach, Tommy may yet make it in as a broadcaster as well, a feat yet unmatched in league history. Rest in Peace, Tommy — you are missed.

(AP Photo/J. Walter Green)

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born; Gene Conley passes

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports by ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the former Butler player opted for a largely ill-fated reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, who had left the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role in 2013.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the (Red) Sox to the (New England) Pats to the (Boston) Bruins.

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team would land All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports by ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the Butler product would end up deciding on a largely ill-fated reunion with his college coach Brad Stevens, who had left the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role back in 2013.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the [Red] Sox, to the [New England] Pats, to the [Boston] Bruins.

On this day: Gordon Hayward agrees to sign; Griffin, Lucas born

On this day, Boston Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Hayward agreed to sign with the team after his agent initially denied he planned to do so.

On this day in 2017, the Boston Celtics landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to sign with the Celtics.

Earlier in the day, his agent had denied Hayward would sign with Boston by ESPN’s Chris Haynes, but the Butler product decided on a reunion with his college coach Brad Stevens, who had since joined the Celtics in the same role.

“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the Sox, to the Pats, to the Bruins.

“There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise — from Russell, to Bird, to Pierce, and it goes on,” he added.

“And of course, there was Coach Stevens: Not just for the relationship that we’ve built off the court — but also for the one that we started building on the court, all of those years ago, in Indiana.”

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