Tag: greg kite

On this day: Celtics McCarty, DeClercq born; Saunders traded; Kite cut

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Walter McCarty and Andrew DeClercq were born, Fred Saunders was traded and Greg Kite was waived.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics forward Walter Lee McCarty was born in Evansville, Indiana back in 1974. McCarty played collegiately for the University of Kentucky under future Celtics coach and President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino before being picked up with the 19th overall selection of the 1996 NBA draft by the New York Knicks.

He played 35 games there before being traded to the Celtics with Scott Brooks, Dontae’ Jones, and John Thomas in October 1997 for Chris Mills and draft assets, where he played for a total of eight seasons before being traded to the Phoenix Suns for a 2007 second-round draft pick.

The Kentucky alum would average 5.7 points and 2.8 boards per game in his time in green and white as a player, and would later return to serve as an assistant coach with Boston from 2013 to 2018.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 50

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 50 jersey for at least one game 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 eight players who wore No. 50 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

On this day: Boston big man Greg Kite born; Cs crush Nets in Orlando bubble

On this day in 1961, Boston Celtics champion reserve center Greg Kite was born in Houston, Texas, and Boston beat the Nets in the Orlando bubble.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion reserve big man Gregory Fuller Kite would be born in Houston, Texas in 1961. Kite began playing the sport at age 10 for a local YWCA team and grew to 6-foot-10 by the age of 15. He would play his collegiate basketball for the Brigham Young University Cougars after being recruited by major programs like Duke, Kentucky, and UCLA, where he played with future Boston teammates Danny Ainge and Fred Roberts.

Kite would have the luck to be drafted by the Celtics with the 21st overall pick of the 1983 NBA draft, where he was reunited with Roberts and Ainge.

“That summer the Celtics traded Rick Robey to the Phoenix Suns for Dennis Johnson and a first-round pick,” explained Kite in an interview with Michael McLellan of Celtics Nation.

On this day: Celtics McCarty, DeClercq born; Saunders traded; Kite cut

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Walter McCarty and Andrew DeClercq were born, Fred Saunders was traded and Greg Kite was waived.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics forward Walter Lee McCarty was born in Evansville, Indiana back in 1974. McCarty played collegiately for the University of Kentucky under future Celtics coach and President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino before being picked up with the 19th overall selection of the 1996 NBA draft by the New York Knicks.

He played 35 games there before being traded to the Celtics with Scott Brooks, Dontae’ Jones, and John Thomas in October of 1997 for Chris Mills and draft assets, where he played for a total of eight seasons before being traded to the Phoenix Suns for a 2007 second-round draft pick.

The Kentucky alum would average 5.7 points and 2.8 boards per game in his time in green and white as a player, and would later return to serve as an assistant coach with Boston from 2013 to 2018.

On this date: Boston Celtics center Greg Kite born

On this day in 1961, Boston Celtics champion reserve center Greg Kite was born in Houston, Texas.

On this day in 1961, former Boston Celtics champion reserve center Greg Kite was born in Houston, Texas.

Kite would play his collegiate basketball for the Brigham Young University Cougars where he played with future Boston teammates Danny Ainge and Fred Roberts, and was drafted by the Celtics with the 21st overall pick of the 1983 NBA Draft.

“That summer the Celtics traded Rick Robey to the Phoenix Suns for Dennis Johnson and a first round pick,” explained Kite in an interview with Michael McLellan of Celtics Nation.

“What that did was open up a spot for a backup center. Red Auerbach really wanted to pick Roy Hinson from Rutgers. Hinson was a heck of a player who ended up having some knee problems later on, and Roy had really long arms like Kevin McHale.

He could reach four or five inches higher than I could, even though he was only 6′-9”. So Red really wanted him and hoped he would last until the Celtics could pick, but Roy was selected by Cleveland.”

“I was the alternative,” he added.

Kite would play five seasons with Boston in a reserve role, with whom he won two championships (1984 and 1986) in that capacity.

He averaged 1.6 points and 2 rebounds per game over that stretch, waived by the team in February, 1988.

Apropos of nothing, check out Kite’s acting in this steakhouse commercial embedded above — he’s the one “eating” the lobster.

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