Tag: Dave Cowens

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.

The Boston Celtics have retired 24 jersey numbers – these are the players so honored

It’s no coincidence this team has the most retired jersey numbers with 17 banners hanging alongside them as of Oct. 2023.

There are no teams in the history of the NBA to have more titles than the Boston Celtics — at least not yet — so it makes sense there are no other franchises with more retired numbers to honor the players over the decades who earned and hung those banners.

In fact, there are no teams in any sport with more retired jersey numbers at 24 overall, a reflection of the excellence behind the Celtics mystique built by franchise architect Red Auerbach. From his signing with the team as coach and general manager onward, Boston became one of the premier teams of the greatest basketball league on the planet.

But who were the players for which those jerseys were retired? Let’s take a look at them all as of Oct. 2022.

How many Boston Celtics have been named Rookie of the Year – and who were they?

For a team as storied as the Boston Celtics are, there are surprisingly fewer than you might think.

With the Boston Celtics a contending ball club, they do not look to have any realistic candidates in the league’s annual Rookie of the Year award come the end of this season. But, they have had several winners of that honor in the past. Still, for a team that has won 17 titles — as much as any other team in the league’s seven-decade history — you would think they would have had more of them than three over the course of their storied history.

Particularly given much of the rosters that carried the Celtics to unprecedented success in the 1960s were home-grown talent either drafted or traded for in their first season in the league. Can you name the three Rookie of the Year winners Boston has been honored to roster over the years without looking?

Make your guesses, then scroll down to find out — extra Tommy points if you can name the season they won it as well.

Celtics legendary center Dave Cowens’ surprising take on modern big men

Boston Celtics big man luminary shared some surprising opinions about big men in the modern era on a rare and recent podcast appearance.

Boston Celtics big man luminary Dave Cowens made a rare appearance on CLNS Media’s “Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Podcast” in 2020, and shared some observations on the evolution of the big man in the NBA since his era in ways that might surprise modern readers.

The tendency in any sport is to see it as if it was always the way it was when you first encountered it. Basketball (like most sports) has continuously evolved, however, and the role of the big man has evolved with it. The tendency of bigs in the not-too-distant past was to serve as bruising post operators who tended to use sheer size to bully their way to a high-percentage shot.

As analytics pushed the game away from that template and toward dynamic bigs able to use skill and athleticism to overcome size and muscle, the game has shifted, in many ways, back toward the type of basketball that made Cowens — just 6-foot-9 — a lethal center despite his size.

On this day: Ex-Boston big man Dave Cowens traded; center Steve Downing born

On this day, the Boston Celtics traded away Hall of Fame center Dave Cowens, and former Boston big man Steve Downing was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise traded star center Dave Cowens to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Quinn Buckner in 1982. Cowens had retired from the ball club as a player in 1980, citing his declining physical health and a need for new blood in Boston’s frontcourt, but he decided to play once again two seasons later.

The Newport, Kentucky, native, who had been drafted out of Florida State University by the Celtics with the fourth overall pick of the 1970 NBA draft, had only played for the Celtics franchise, which still held his rights.

The former Seminole convinced Boston to deal him to the Bucks — coached by one-time teammate Don Nelson — in exchange for Buckner to satisfy their contractual obligations.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 18

Today’s installment focuses on the seven players who wore No. 18 over the years as of September 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 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 seven players who wore No. 18 over the years as of September 2023.

Eight ACC players selected for Portsmouth Invitational Tournament

Two recent Notre Dame players could have an NBA shot.

There are several avenues for NBA hopefuls to make it to the league. One of the better-known ones is the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, which is open only to recent college seniors. This is the oldest amateur tournament in the country, so it carries some weight.

The tournament doesn’t generate NBA draft picks every year, but Tyrese Martin ended a four-year drought when he became a second-round selection in 2022. [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] was drafted after taking part in the 2015 tournament. Other notable tournament alumni include Jimmy Butler, Tim Hardaway, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, John Stockton, Dave Cowens, Earl Monroe and Rick Barry.

This year, eight recent ACC seniors have the opportunity to compete in the tournament. While there aren’t any guarantees for what happens afterwards, it’s a great way to get noticed by scouts. Here are the players who represented the ACC during the past season and will get a good look by folks who know the professional game well:

On this day: Celtic legend John Havlicek born; coach Dave Cowens axed

On this day, legendary Boston forward John Havlicek was born, and Celtics luminary Dave Cowens was fired as head coach.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Celtics luminary John Havlicek was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio in 1940. The eight-time champion forward played his college ball at Ohio State where he would win an NCAA championship in 1960. He was taken by Boston seventh overall in the 1962 NBA draft, for whom he would play 16 seasons.

Besides the banners, Hondo (as he was called) would be elected Finals MVP in 1974, to 13 All-Star Games, 11 All-NBA teams, eight All-Defensive teams, and several other honors over his career. Among the winningest of all Celtics — and especially so beyond the Bill-Russell-led dynasty of the 1960s — Havlicek elevated the importance of the “sixth man” role to new heights.

He retired in 1978 — upon which his jersey number was immediately retired — and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984.

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Network.

On this day: Cowens drafted; Hollins signed; Hayward, Forte, Judkins born

On this day in Celtics history, Dave Cowens was drafted, Ryan Hollins signed, and Gordon Hayward, Joseph Forte, and Jeff Judkins were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics All-Star forward Gordon Daniel Hayward was born in 1990 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He would play his college basketball for the Butler Bulldogs under his coach for the Celtics — Brad Stevens — and would be drafted ninth overall by the Utah Jazz in 2010.

He would make his first All-Star appearance with that team in 2017 before leaving in free agency to join Boston that same year, where he would average 13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists over three seasons with the team despite a career-changing ankle injury sustained just minutes into his career with the team.

Hayward would leave to join the Charlotte Hornets in free agency in November 2020.

Who are the top 10 Boston Celtics players of all time?

From Ed Macauley and Bill Russell to Dave Cowens, Larry Bird, and Paul Pierce, the list of names to choose from is extensive.

Who are the top 10 Boston Celtics players of all time? Back in the early years, there was Ed Macauley and Bill Sharman, then in the dynasty years a plethora of options ranging from Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Tom Heinsohn, Satch Sanders, KC Jones, and John Havlicek.

Later, you could pick from Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and JoJo White in the 1970s, and Cedric Maxwell, Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale in the 1980s. The 1990s had Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce, the latter of whom stuck around to win a title in the aughts with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Even with all that star power under the history of one franchise, you could still more names the list is so long, making the job done by ESPN’s Andrew Lopez, Tim Bontemps, and Ros Gold-Onwude on a recent episode of the “NBA Crosscourt” show all the more impressive.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what names made their lists — and which ones did not.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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