Tag: Bob Cousy

On this day: Auerbach, Cousy, Cooper, Rondo, Fox, Walker debut with Celtics

On this day, Celtics greats Red Auerbach, Bob Cousy, Chuck Cooper, Rajon Rondo, Rick Fox, and Antoine Walker all debuted for Boston.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame coach and general manager Arnold “Red” Auerbach coached his first regular-season game with the storied franchise. Recently hired by the team’s owner Walter Brown on the advice of local sports journalists after stints coaching with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now, Atlanta Hawks), the defunct Washington Capitols NBA franchise, and — as an assistant coach at the college level — the Duke Blue Devils.

The game was thankfully not auspicious for the Boston icon’s future with the team in the coming years, with Auerbach’s Celtics falling 107-84 to the (then) Fort Wayne (Indiana) Pistons (who are now based in Detroit).

Auerbach was not the only Celtics legend making his debut that day.

On this day: Brown, Poirier, Fall, Vincent debut; Gavitt, Dickey born; Mangurian passes; Cousy, Macauley jerseys retired

On this day, a number of Celtics debuted, former owner Harry Mangurian passed away, and Dave Gavitt was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, All-Star forward Jaylen Brown played his first game for the team in 2016, fittingly a 122-117 win over the Brooklyn Nets, the team who had dealt Boston the draft pick that would be used to select him.

The former Cal-Berkeley standout put up 9 points, 2 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and two blocks, with one turnover and two fouls in 19 minutes and 27 seconds of floor time for his debut performance with the Celtics. He shot 3-of-4 from the free-throw line and hit three of his four field goal attempts as well.

Perhaps surprisingly, Brown did not attempt a 3-point shot in his inaugural game in the association.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason free throws?

Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

In his historic, 50-point masterpiece against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of the 2021 Eastern Conference first-round series, All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics likely would not have won the game had the budding superstar not gotten to the line 15 times, converting 13.

But the St. Louis native had a long way to go to crack the franchise’s top ten in free throws made in the postseason given the long and storied history of the Celtics in the playoffs, making the list in 2023; you sink a lot of shots at the charity stripe when you win 17 banners, after all.

Who are the 10 most accomplished sinkers of free throws in the playoffs for Boston, then? Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

On this day: Gerald Henderson traded; Mel Counts born: Bob Cousy, Ed Macauley jersey ‘retirement’

On this day, Boston traded Gerald Henderson to the Supersonics, Mel Counts was born, and Bob Cousy technically had his jersey retired.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Jerome McKinley “Gerald” Henderson Sr. — better known to Celtics fans as Gerald Henderson — was traded to the Seattle Supersonics for the draft pick that would be used to select forward Len Bias in 1986.

Henderson was an alum of Virginia Commonwealth University who was selected 64th overall in the 1978 NBA draft (there were several more rounds in that era) by the San Antonio Spurs but did not make the team, cut before the start of the season. He would play a stint with the Tucson Gunners of the Western Basketball Association (WBA) before joining the Celtics as a free agent in 1979.

He would play for the team for parts of five seasons.

How many of the NBA’s official 50 greatest in 1996 were Boston Celtics?

In 1996, the NBA released a list of its 50 greatest players up to that year to celebrate as many years of play as a league. Can you guess how many were Celtics? Better yet, who they were?

In 1996, the NBA decided to assemble a panel of 50 players, media members, and team representatives in total to select the 50 greatest players of the league’s first 50 years on the anniversary of the NBA’s first season of 1946-47.

The league again plans to assemble a similar list to honor the 75th anniversary of its foundation in 2021, but before we begin to recount which alumni of the Boston Celtics were added to the list, let’s take a look at the old one. Dominated by names once populating the championship eras of the team from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, a total of 14 of the NBA’s 50 greatest players once donned the green and white.

Let’s review who made the cut, and when they were Celtics.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason points scored?

Can you name Boston’s 10 most prolific postseason scorers? Better yet, can you do it in order?

The Boston Celtics have put a whole lot of points on the board in NBA postseasons while they racked up a league-record 17 titles over the course of their seven decades (and counting) of existence.

Some of the greatest of the great have put the proverbial biscuit in the basket for the Celtics over the years, including several staples on lists of the greatest to play the game. But naming the 10 most prolific postseason scorers for Boston is still no easy task, even for the most ardent Celtics fans. With the golden era of the 1960s, the mid-seventies resurgence, the trio of titles in the eighties, or the most recent banner in 2008, there are a lot of options to choose from.

Make your own guesses about Boston’s playoff scoring leaders, and then scroll down to see how you did.

How many Boston Celtics are in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame?

No team in NBA history has produced more. How many can you name?

With Boston Celtics Hall of Fame Paul Pierce officially part of the incoming 2021 class and big man Kevin Garnett getting his formal induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in May 2021 — nearly a year after getting the nod due to the pandemic — all three members of the so-called “new Big Three” of KG, Pierce and Ray Allen have been ensconced in what serves as the Valhalla of basketball.

But they are far from the only Celtics so honored. In fact, there is a veritable host of Boston legends populating the Hoop Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, just a short drive away from the NBA’s titletown. The Celtics have more players than any other team in league history.

Let’s take a look at the 40 Celtics who have been honored with a Hall of Fame induction.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason free throws?

Can you name which 10 Boston Celtics have sunk the most postseason free throws in the history of the franchise? Better yet, can you do it in order?

In his historic, 50-point masterpiece against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of the 2021 Eastern Conference first-round series, All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics likely would not have won the game had the budding superstar not gotten to the line 15 times, converting 13.

But the St. Louis native has a long way to go to crack the franchise’s top ten in free throws made in the postseason given the long and storied history of the Celtics in the playoffs; you sink a lot of shots at the charity stripe when you win 17 banners, after all.

Who are the 10 most accomplished sinkers of free throws in the playoffs for Boston, then? Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

On this day: Boston icon Bob Cousy selected in Chicago Stags dispersal draft; John Bagley trade; Dermie O’Connell passes

On this day in 1950, future Hall of Fame point guard Bob Cousy was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s Chicago Stags dispersal draft, John Bagley was traded for and Dermie O’Connell passed away.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team selected future Hall of Fame point guard Bob Cousy in 1950. An alum of Holy Cross — where he won an NCAA title in 1947 — Cousy would be passed over by Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach in the 1950 NBA draft, only to end up stuck with the player in the 1950 NBA dispersal draft for the defunct Chicago Stags, with whom Cousy had since signed.

The future Hall of Fame floor general would make his first of 13 All-Star Games in 1951, six NBA titles between 1957 and 1963, a league Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, two All-Star MVPs, a dozen All-NBA nods, and many other honors before his retirement in 1963.

It would turn out to be one of the most fortunate breaks in franchise history.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason assists?

Can you name the best postseason distributors in Boston Celtics history? Better yet, can you do it in order?

Few things separate a contender from a pretender more than their ability to move the ball, with the requisite trust to be selfless with the ball creating opportunities for all to eat on their way to a playoff win.

And that selfless ball movement has been the hallmark of the very best Boston Celtics playoff squads throughout the history of their storied franchise. No team has yet surpassed their 17 total titles and their historic dominance of the NBA postseason is quite literally the stuff of legends. Behind it all has been the humblest of all basketball statistics, the assist.

But who are the Celtics players who have dished out the most in the team’s long history of postseason appearances? Let’s scroll down to find out.