Tag: bill fitch

Can you name all six Hall of Fame coaches of the Boston Celtics?

Better yet, can you do it in order?

The Boston Celtics have plenty of former players in Springfield, Massachusetts Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, and plenty more who may yet one day help people in its ranks. But the storied franchise has had plenty of stellar leadership on the other side of the clipboard as well, with six former coaches having earned immortalization in basketball’s Mount Olympus.

Celtics fans may not be very crazy about at least one of the five among the franchise’s least popular alumni, but he still counts and puts Boston among the league’s most decorated teams when it comes to historically recognized coaches on its payroll.

Let’s take a look at those Hall of Fame Celtics coaches, from the evil emperor himself to the greatest head coach in the history of the NBA.

How many of Boston’s coaches have been named Coach of the Year – and who were they?

Can you name the trio of Celtics coaches who won the award? Even better — can you name the seasons they won it in?

The Boston Celtics have a storied history of NBA championships with plenty of other hardware to go with it, and when it comes to Coach of the Year, their legacy is literally written on the award — more on that shortly.

Over the course of its seven-decade history in the league and its origins in the Basketball Association of America that came before it, the club has garnered three such honors as that annually offered to the best head coach in the NBA as seen such by the media in charge of voting. Most Celtics fans can easily name one of the three, and Boston stalwarts two or even three former Boston coaches so honored.

But can you also name the seasons in which each was so honored? Make your best guess, and then scroll down to see how you did.

On this day: Fitch resigns; Lakers crushed in Game 1 of ’85 NBA Finals

The Boston Celtics saw head coach Bill Fitch resign on this day in 1983. Two years later, they trounced the Lakers in Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics small forward Fred Saunders signed with the team as a free agent in 1976. Saunders played his college ball with the Syracuse Orangemen before being drafted in the second round with the 31st pick in the 1974 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.

Chocolate Thunder — as he was sometimes called — played for the Suns for two full seasons before joining Boston, with which he played just two seasons, averaging a total of 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1 assist over 13.8 minutes per game with the franchise over that stretch.

He was dealt to the New Orleans Jazz for draft assets in 1978. He played 30 games before being waived in his final stop in the NBA.

On this day: Fitch hired; Westphal/Scott trade; ‘Beat L.A.’ chant born

On this day, Boston hired Bill Fitch as their head coach, Westphal was dealt for Scott, and the ‘Beat L.A.’ chants were born in a loss.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics head coach Bill Fitch was hired shortly after his resignation from the same role with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1979.

Fitch, who had coached at a number of collegiate posts before joining the NBA as coach of the Cavs, was a former Marine drill instructor whose rigorous approach to training made him popular with incoming rookie Larry Bird, who credits the Iowan with helping instill his high-energy work ethic. The Davenport native would win an NBA championship with the Celtics at the end of the 1980-81 season and would win his second league Coach of the Year honors for the season prior with the team.

Fitch would resign at the end of the 1982-83 season after being swept in the East Semis by the Milwaukee Bucks in four games after amassing a 242-86 regular-season record and a 26-19 postseason record, good for .738 and .578 winning records, respectively.

On this day: Garnett, Fitch born; Bird triple-doubles vs. Detroit in ’87 ECF

On this day, Celtics luminaries Kevin Garnett and Bill Fitch were born, and Larry Bird logged a triple-double in the ’87 East Finals.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, iconic Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett was born in Greenville, South Carolina. Garnett was one of the most successful players to go directly from high school (and one of the first to do so in decades) to the NBA after spending his high school career at Chicago’s Farragut Career Academy.

He entered the 1995 NBA draft and was selected fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, with whom he found limited success. While he made the playoffs in eight of his 12 seasons with the team, eventually Garnett became frustrated and was dealt to Boston in the summer of 2007.

He won his first championship at the end of his first season with the Celtics, but injuries and bad luck kept KG from having more than one more NBA Finals appearance (2010) with Boston.

Not every 1981 Boston Celtics champion was a fan of Bill Fitch’s coaching style

But in the end, winning was what mattered.

Former Boston Celtics head coach Bill Fitch was held in high regard for what he accomplished on the court with the teams he led. The Celtics were no exception. Boston legend Larry Bird was a fan of Fitch’s coaching style that helped lead to the Celtics’ 14th title in 1981.

But not all of Bird’s teammates were as wild about Fitch’s bedside manner, even if they respected the results. Among such players is Hall of Fame Celtics center Robert Parish, who described how Fitch bothered him with how he treated players on a recent episode of the “Players’ Own Voice” podcast.

“The late, great Bill Fitch — great coach, but he was lacking in the people skills,” said Parish.

Championships: 3 (1981, 1984, 1986). …

Championships: 3 (1981, 1984, 1986). Coaches: Bill Fitch (1981). K.C. Jones (1984, 1986). Bob Ryan: Larry Bird. Remember him? He was great, all right, but he wasn’t enough. He was the 1979-80 Rookie of the Year, but the 76ers had little trouble dispatching the Celtics in five games, largely because the Celtics were too small. But Auerbach rectified that on draft day in 1980 by pulling off an almost shameful heist, swapping his Nos. 1 and 13 draft spots for No. 3 and Robert Parish, a misused 7-foot center out there in the Bay Area. With that third pick, Auerbach took a gangly 6-11 kid from Minnesota named Kevin McHale. The result? Championship No. 14 was produced that very first year. Suddenly, the Celtics had a monstrous frontcourt, and don’t forget Cedric Maxwell, whose 28-point, 15-rebound, 10-for-13 performance in the pivotal Game 5 against Houston nailed down his Finals MVP.

On this day: Fitch resigns; Lakers crushed in Game 1 of ’85 NBA Finals

The Boston Celtics saw head coach Bill Fitch resign on this day in 1983. Two years later, they trounced the Lakers in Game 1 of the 1986 NBA Finals.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics small forward Fred Saunders signed with the team as a free agent in 1976. Saunders played his college ball with the Syracuse Orangemen before being drafted in the second round with the 31st pick in the 1974 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.

Chocolate Thunder — as he was sometimes called — played for the Suns for two full seasons before joining Boston, with which he played just two seasons, averaging a total of 5.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1 assist over 13.8 minutes per game with the franchise over that stretch.

He was dealt to the New Orleans Jazz for draft assets in 1978. He played 30 games before being waived in his final stop in the NBA.

On this day: Garnett, Fitch born; Bird triple-doubles vs. Detroit in ’87 ECF

On this day, Celtics luminaries Kevin Garnett and Bill Fitch were born, and Larry Bird logged a triple-double in the ’87 East Finals.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, iconic Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett was born in Greenville, South Carolina. 

Garnett was one of the most successful players to go directly from high school (and one of the first to do so in decades) to the NBA after spending his high school career at Chicago’s Farragut Career Academy.

He entered the 1995 NBA draft and was selected fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, with whom he found limited success. While he made the playoffs in eight of his 12 seasons with the team, eventually Garnett became frustrated and was dealt to Boston in the summer of 2007.

He won his first championship at the end of his first season with the Celtics, but injuries and bad luck kept KG from having more than one more NBA Finals appearance (2010) with Boston.

NBA releases top 15 head coaches in league history with several Boston Celtics alumni, omissions

These are the Celtics alumni named to the list – along with several noteworthy admissions.

WIth this being the season that the NBA celebrates its 75th anniversary, the league has been putting out a number of commemorative all-time lists from players to coaches, with the latter having been released by the Association this past Tuesday.

The NBA released its list of the 15 greatest head coaches in the league’s three-quarters century mark, and given the integral role and high level of play of the Boston Celtics, there are a number of alumni from the storied franchise’s coaching ranks represented. As with any such list, there are also a few notable omissions worthy of our consideration as well.

Let’s take a look at the former Boston head coaches, players who became head coaches, or player-coaches who made the cut — or didn’t.