Tag: don barksdale

On this day: Kevin Garnett scores 20,000th point; John Havlicek gets 43; Don Barksdale passes

On this day in Boston Celtics history, KG hit an elite scoring plateau, and Don Barksdale left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett scored the 20,001st point of his career in a road game with the Celtics against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In what was then the 13th season of his Hall of Fame NBA career, KG broke the 20,000-point mark with a layup in the first half’s final five minutes of play, giving the Celtics a 45-27 lead in the process. Only Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant were in that elite scoring club with him as active NBA players at the time who had also hit that lofty plateau.

With the feat, The Big Ticket (as Garnett is sometimes called) became the 32nd player in league history to score 20,000 points in their career.

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.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 17

Today’s installment focuses on the 11 players who wore No. 17 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 11 players who wore No. 17 over the years as of September 2023.

On this day: Boston’s first-ever playoff win; Don Barksdale born; 1959 draft

Boston Celtics pioneering forward Don Barksdale was born today in 1923, and 25 years later, the franchise would win its first-ever playoff game.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston Celtic forward Don Barksdale was born in Oakland California in 1923. He would play his college ball at UCLA, becoming the first black All-American in NCAA history. Soon after, he would become the first African-American to win a Gold medal in the 1948 Olympic Games before moving on to the NBA.

After some short stints with local clubs, Barksdale would be signed by the Baltimore Bullets (now defunct, and not connected to the later team of the same name that is now the Washington Wizards) before being traded to the Celtics soon after.

The Oakland product would play two seasons with Boston before ankle injuries ended his playing career and would average 9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists with the team.

On this day: Kevin Garnett scores 20,000th point; John Havlicek gets 43; Don Barksdale passes

On this day in Boston Celtics history, KG hit an elite scoring plateau, and Don Barksdale left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett scored the 20,001st point of his career in a road game with the Celtics against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In what was then the 13th season of his Hall of Fame NBA career, KG broke the 20,000-point mark with a layup in the first half’s final five minutes of play, giving the Celtics a 45-27 lead in the process. Only Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant were in that elite scoring club with him as active NBA players at the time who had also hit that lofty plateau.

With the feat, The Big Ticket (as Garnett is sometimes called) became the 32nd player in league history to score 20,000 points in their career.

These are all the Hall of Famers who also wore Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey ahead of its cross-NBA retirement

We thought it important to remind ourselves of the other Hall of Famers who’ve worn No. 6 over the decades.

The NBA will retire Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell’s No. 6 on all 30 teams to honor the late, great center. However, Russell is not the only Hall of Fame player who wore the number during their historic careers.

The global nature of Russell number retirement is, of course, as much related to him being the ultimate winner on the court with 11 titles, 13 All-Star appearances, five Most Valuable Player awards and more accolades than we can reasonably list here as to his work off the court using his platform to fight for the rights of others at great risk to himself.

And while players currently wearing the No. 6 jersey can do so until they switch to another or retire themselves, we thought it important to remind ourselves of the other Hall of Famers who’ve worn No. 6 over the decades.

Let’s take a look at them all.

On this day: Kevin Garnett scores 20,000th point; Don Barksdale passes

On this day in Boston Celtics history, KG hit an elite scoring plateau, and Don Barksdale left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett scored the 20,001st point of his career in a road game with the Celtics against the Memphis Grizzlies.

In what was then the 13th season of his NBA career, KG broke the 20,000 point mark with a layup in the first half’s final five minutes of play, giving the Celtics a 45 – 27 lead in the process. Only Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant were in that elite scoring club with him as active NBA players at the time who had also hit that lofty plateau.

With the feat, The Big Ticket (as Garnett is sometimes called) became the 32nd player in league history to score 20,000 points in their career.

On this day: Boston’s first-ever playoff win; Don Barksdale born

Boston Celtics pioneering forward Don Barksdale was born today in 1923, and 25 years later, the franchise would win its first-ever playoff game.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston Celtic forward Don Barksdale was born in Oakland California in 1923. He would play his college ball at UCLA, becoming the first black All-American in NCAA history. Soon after, he would become the first African-American to win a Gold medal in the 1948 Olympic Games before moving on to the NBA.

After some short stints with local clubs, Barksdale would be signed by the Baltimore Bullets (now defunct, and not connected to the later team of the same name that is now the Washington Wizards) before being traded to the Celtics soon after.

The Oakland product would play two season with Boston before ankle injuries ended his playing career, and would average 9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists with the team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTj6tXWMKY4