Tag: Dino Radja

On this day: Cs’ 1st home game; Walton born; Radja, Earl, Rivas, Hemric, Loscutoff debut; Englund passes

On this day in Celtics history, the team played their first home game in franchise history.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the newly-formed professional basketball franchise the Boston Celtics played their first home game in 1946 in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) in team history.

The game was an inauspicious loss, 57-55 to the now-defunct Chicago Stags (not to be confused with the later franchise of that city, the Bulls), which saw two of the Celtics break double figures. One of the pair was guard Johnny Simmons, who scored 13 points on 6 field goals and a free throw, though we don’t know how efficiently since that and many aspects of the game were yet to be recorded in those early years of the sport.

Forward Wyndol Gray scored 12 points as well, and future star of television and film Chuck Connors added 8 points in the loss.

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.

Who was the Celtics’ highest-paid player in each of the past 30 seasons?

Celtics Wire compiles the highest salary on Boston’s roster for each season since 1993-94.

The Boston Celtics rank among the most storied professional sports franchises in the world. With 17 NBA championships, the Celtics also have carved out a distinct place in the annals of basketball history.

Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jayson Tatum are some of the franchise’s most notable players in recent decades, and it’s intriguing to look back at the Celtics’ year-by-year salary history to see how those players were valued financially in their prime.

Below, we identify the highest-paid player on the Celtics roster for each season since 1990-91.

Who are the best international players to play for the Boston Celtics?

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdenaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players who were born abroad who have worn the green and white.

The Boston Celtics are a storied franchise for more than just their titles. They have been a trailblazing team in terms of signing and fielding players from all over the world, a philosophy that started in their first season.

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdelnaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players born abroad who have worn the green and white.

But who were the best and who were the worst? What criteria should we use to judge them across eras? In the spirit of the annual arrival of #RankingSeason, the thing to do is try.

And try the hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” did on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear how they assessed the international Celtics of all time.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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12 Boston Celtics included in HoopsHype ‘best player in country history’ list

Let’s take a look at which Boston alumni made the cut — and what countries they hail from.

The Boston Celtics are a founding member and the most storied ball club of the league now known as the NBA, having been among the handful of teams from the era of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) days as the precursor league that would grow into today’s NBA was called.

So it should not surprise that the players who have worn the green and white over the nearly eight decades of existence of the franchise have at times been among the best to play the game anywhere in the world. In fact, there is a notable number of Celtics alumni present in a HoopsHype assessment of the best players to come from specific countries around the globe.

Let’s take a look at which Boston alumni made the cut — and what countries they hail from.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 40

Today’s installment focuses on the 11 players who wore No. 40 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 11 players who wore No. 40 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

On this day: Radja waived; O’Bryant signed; Mihm born

On this day, the Boston Celtics waived Dino Radja, signed Patrick O’Bryant, and former Boston big Chris Mihm was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team waived Croatian big man Dino Radja to make way for new head coach and team president Rick Pitino’s vision for the team in 1997 after Pitino assumed the roles of both team president and head coach.

Radja had been with the Celtics for four seasons after being drafted 40th overall by Boston in the 1989 NBA draft. He did not immediately join the team, however. His Yugoslavian club, Jugoplastika, fought in court to keep his rights to the end of his contract with them, which was followed by a stint with an Italian team.

He finally joined the Celtics in July 1993, but the injuries sustained toward the end of his first deal with Boston and the incoming new regime spelled the end of his time with the team. Over those four seasons with the Celtics, he averaged 16.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

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.

Celtics Hall of Famer Dino Radja praises fellow Balkan big man Nikola Jokic

Radja is out on ranking him in an all-time list, however.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Dino Radja recently discussed why he believes Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is one of the best in the game today in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Eric Jay Santos, But he also explained why all-time greatest player lists are, in his opinion, inherently flawed.

“Nikola (Jokic) is a great player with (a) huge basketball IQ,” related Radja of the newly crowned champion. “(He’s) fun to watch. Any (greatest of all time) list is unfair because you can’t compare different generations and – as the NBA has progressed — (there are) different rules to the game.”

The implication made by the former Boston forward on another Balkan big man is that Jokic’s rightful place among the basketball greats cannot be accurately determined within the context of such lists, and we’re inclined to agree.

While the fixation on ranking players will never go away, the gradual evolution of the game makes such cross-era comps inherently fraught — but few would argue that the Joker is not among the game’s greats of today.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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