Tag: Dennis Johnson

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.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 3

Today’s installment focuses on the five players who wore No. 3 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 or 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 five players who wore No. 3 over the years as of September 2023.

On this day: Ex-Celtics Pitino, Johnson, Minor born; Doll passed away

On this day, former Celtics coach and president Rick Pitino was born, as was Dennis Johnson and Greg Minor; ex-Celtic center Bob Doll passed today.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics President of Basketball Operations and head coach Rick Pitino was born in 1952 in New York City, New York. A product of the University of Massachusetts, Pitino went into coaching after his collegiate playing career with the Minutemen ended.

The New Yorker would secure stints at the University of Hawaii and Syracuse University as an assistant coach before landing the head coaching job at Boston University. He would leave that post to become an assistant coach for the New York Knicks, moving on to take over the head spot at Providence College.

Pitino would get his first shot coaching an NBA team with the Knicks in 1987, resigning two seasons later.

On this day: Radja, Johnson, Brown drafted; Dennis Johnson traded for

On this day, the Boston Celtics drafted Dino Radja, Joe Johnson, and Dee Brown; they also traded for Dennis Johnson.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the 2001 NBA draft was held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, and the Celtics took three players of note in the draft.

The first of the three was small forward Joe Johnson, taken with the 10th overall pick out of the University of Arkansas. The Little Rock native only had one incomplete season with the Celtics. He played in 48 total games and recorded an average of 6.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game, shooting 43% overall from the field in that stretch with the team.

In February of his inaugural season in the league, he would be dealt with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio, and draft assets to the Phoenix Suns for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers.

Dennis Johnson’s secret defensive technique revealed by former teammate Dee Brown

Boston alum Dee Brown reveals DJ’s defensive secret — how did he get so many steals late in games?

While he might not have been the most famous member of the Boston Celtics during their era of dominance in the mid-1980s, point guard Dennis Johnson and his defense in particular were a key part of Banners 16 and 17.

In a recent episode from “Showtime with Michael Cooper,” former Boston standout Dee Brown shocks Coop when he reveals DJ’s defensive secret: How did he get so many steals late in games? The 1991 dunk contest winner explains and leaves Cooper completely speechless in the process. Known for his career and understanding of the sport, Brown delves into his journey, unfolding tales from his experiences on and off the court.

Join the hosts on “Showtime with Michael Cooper” as they embark on this journey with Dee Brown.

To hear the story of how Johnson locked up his opponents so consistently on the defensive end of the court, check out the clip embedded above.

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Who has the highest steal average in Boston Celtics playoff history?

Can you guess who that guard might be, as well as the others of the top ten pickpockets in the history of Boston’s playoff action?

When talking about nabbing steals in the NBA Playoffs, fans of the Boston Celtics might be surprised to learn that despite his fame as one of the ball clubs’ greatest defenders and most dangerous covers for opposing teams, the man we have all come to love and trust, veteran Celtics floor general Marcus Smart, does not hold the record for the most playoff assists per game for the storied ball club.

In fact, that record belongs to another Boston point guard. Can you guess who that guard might be, as well as the others of the top ten pickpockets in the history of Boston’s playoff action?

Let’s take a look at the record books to find out.

Which Boston Celtics have the highest postseason winning percentages?

The Boston Celtics have won an NBA-record 17 titles in the nearly eight-decade history of the storied ball club, putting their players in a great position in terms of the percentage of games they have won in the postseason.

The Boston Celtics have won an NBA-record 17 titles in the nearly eight-decade history of the storied ball club, putting their players in a great position in terms of the percentage of games they have won in the postseason.

And while the bulk of those titles came to Boston in the epic run of the Celtics as the dynasty of NBA dynasties in the late 1950s and early 1960s under the tenure of Hall of Fame Celtics Bill Russell and Sam Jones, a fair amount of playoff series were won in the Boston resurgence of the 1980s during the “Original Big Three” era of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, John Havlicek nearly bridging the gap between the two reigns.

Let’s dive into which Boston alumni had the best winning percentages in the playoffs (h/t Hoops Hype for the data).

On this day: Pitino hired; DJ retired; 1965 NBA draft; 1968 expansion draft

On this day, Rick Pitino was hired as head coach and team president of the Boston Celtics, Dennis Johnson retired, and 3 Cs were taken in the ’68 expansion draft.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former head coach and team president Rick Pitino was hired as head coach and general manager of the team in 1997. He had previously coached at the NBA level as a moderately successful head coach of the New York Knicks between 1987 and 1989, and most recently at Kentucky in the NCAA ranks.

His tenure with the Celtics went considerably worse, with the pressure to return to greatness after the longest losing streak in team history undoubtedly a factor in the several questionable ‘win-now’ decisions made by Pitino. The New Yorker would throw in the towel after four seasons with the franchise, amassing a 102-146 record in the regular season, good for a .411 winning percentage.

He never made the postseason in his role as team president and head coach.

Which Boston Celtics alumni won the most playoff series?

The Boston Celtics have won more titles than any other organization based in the same city in which the franchise was started, but who won the most series?

The Boston Celtics have won more titles than any other organization based in the same city in which the franchise was started, and are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA championships in league history with 17 apiece. But the Celtics also won them more as a team effort and with more of their titles coming in the years when the playoffs had fewer rounds as well.

Thus, the list of total postseason series won by individual players in the history of the league put together by the staff of our sister site Hoops Hype has fewer Boston alumni on it despite the Celtics’ dominance of the sport for much of the history of the NBA.

But that list has more than a few Celtics alumni on it — let’s take a look at who won how many series among former Boston players.