Tag: Dave Bing

On this day: Wilt Chamberlain nabs 55 rebounds vs. Boston; Gorman, Hunter, Bing, Randolph born

On this day, legendary big man Wilt Chamberlain grabbed 55 boards vs. Boston, and Mike Gorman, Brandon Hunter, Dave Bing, and Shavlik Randolph were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise reluctantly let Hall of Fame big man Wilt Chamberlain pull down an NBA-record 55 rebounds along with 34 points and 4 assists and still managed to win the game against his (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors when the final buzzer sounded.

The historic rebounding feat, which occurred in a 132-129 win for the Celtics on Philly’s home court, has yet to be bested since with the Big Dipper (Chamberlain hated the nickname ‘Wilt the Stilt’) setting a record for the ages on that night despite not coming away with the win.

“I got 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics in one particular game,” related Chamberlain in a clip posted by Twitter user TodayInSports3.

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.

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.

Complete list of Boston Celtics in the Basketball Hall of Fame

Celtics Wire celebrates the 48 members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with ties to the Boston Celtics franchise.

The Boston Celtics are one of the bedrock franchises in professional sports. Legends such as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett dazzled fans with their athletic exploits and won the NBA championship in Boston.

A couple of hours down the Mass Pike in Springfield, no fewer than four dozen players, coaches, and contributors with ties to the Celtics franchise have been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame over the years, spanning the decades from the first years of the storied ball club’s existence up to the team’s last era of contention.

Below, Celtics Wire celebrates the 49 members of the Hall of Fame with Celtics connections in a photo gallery.

On this day: Grousbeck, Pagliuca buy Celtics; Bing, Milicic signed

On this day, Wyc Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca, and partners bought the Boston Celtics, and the team signed Dave Bing and Darko Milicic.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, an investment group headed by Wycliffe K. Grousbeck, of Highland Capital Partners, and Stephen Pagliuca, managing director of Bain Capital, began the process of buying the Boston Celtics from the Gaston family in 2002.

The sale had been announced by Paul Gaston, whose father Donald purchased the team in 1983 for $18 million. Grousbeck, Pagliuca, and partners purchased the team for $360 million 19 years later. Pagliuca and Grousbeck described themselves as lifelong fans of the franchise, and the latter was extremely excited about the purchase of the team.

So much so that he said he felt “like the tooth fairy” had visited him, at the time according to the New York Times’ Fox Butterfield.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 44

Today’s installment focuses on the dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 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 played in them, 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 dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

On this day: Wiz bested in ’18 East semis; Bing inducted; Nelson, Vaughn born

On this day, the Boston Celtics sent the Washington Wizards fishing in the ’18 East Semis, and guard Dave Bing was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics point guard Dave Bing was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Massachusetts in 1990 along with iconic big man Elvin Hayes, legendary Philadelphia Warriors center Neil Johnston, and famed guard Earl “The Pearl” Monroe.

After spending the bulk of his career with the Detroit Pistons — a city he would one day become the mayor of — the Washington, D.C. native would play two seasons with his hometown Washington Bullets before signing with the Celtics as a free agent in the final season of his storied career.

He joined Boston for its 1977-78 campaign and scored 13.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game before retiring from the NBA at the end of the season.

On this day: Wilt Chamberlain nabs 55 rebounds vs. Boston; Gorman, Hunter, Bing, Randolph born

On this day, legendary big man Wilt Chamberlain grabbed 55 boards vs. Boston, and Mike Gorman, Brandon Hunter, Dave Bing, and Shavlik Randolph were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise reluctantly let Hall of Fame big man Wilt Chamberlain pull down an NBA-record 55 rebounds along with 34 points and 4 assists and still managed to win the game against his (then) Philadelphia (now, Golden State) Warriors when the final buzzer sounded.

The historic rebounding feat, which occurred in a 132-129 win for the Celtics on Philly’s home court, has yet to be bested since with the Big Dipper (Chamberlain hated the nickname ‘Wilt the Stilt’) setting a record for the ages on that night despite not coming away with the win.

“I got 55 rebounds against the Boston Celtics in one particular game,” related Chamberlain in a clip posted by Twitter user TodayInSports3.

HoopsHype updates their top 75 all-time NBA player list for 2022, dropping several Boston Celtics

We might be biased, but we’re not too crazy about the update.

While some NBA media outlets are dialed into the 2022-23 NBA season for their annual exercise to fill the late September content desert that is ranking season, our sister site HoopsHype has its eyes on a bigger prize.

Drawing on the popular all-time NBA list released adjacent to the NBA’s version put together for the league’s 75th anniversary, HoopsHype has gone a step further and updated the list again for 2022. There’s quite a bit of change (including the absence of many Boston Celtics who made the last list), and to be frank, we are not fans of an all-time list that would see so much turnover a mere 365 days later.

Take a look for yourselves at the various Celtics greats who were omitted and where those who remain are ranked now, and let us know why we are wrong if you feel so compelled.

How did Hall of Fame point guard Dave Bing end up retiring a Boston Celtic?

And for the younger fans among us — who WAS Bing?

Who is Dave Bing, how did he end up on the Boston Celtics? A native of Washington, D.C., Bing played his college ball for Syracuse University and was drafted with the second pick of the 1966 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. Bing started his NBA career playing in a city he would one day be elected the mayor of as a candidate of the Democratic Party many years later.

The former Orangeman later played for his hometown Washington (then) Bullets (now, Wizards) for two seasons after his stint with the Pistons. But he finished his career as a Celtic, and in the clip embedded below, he tells the tale of how that came to be.

Take a look at the video for yourself to hear how one of the game’s all-time greats ended up going out while donning the green and white.

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