Tag: james luisi

On this day: Havlicek passes; Cooper, Macauley drafted; ’65 banner won

On this day, Celtics legend John Havlicek died, and Boston legends Chuck Cooper and Ed Macauley were drafted.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics forward John Havlicek died in 2019 after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 74 in Jupiter, Florida. Hondo, as he would often be called, was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, in 1940, and he played his college ball at nearby Ohio State, with which he won the NCAA championship in 1960.

He was drafted seventh overall in the 1962 NBA draft by Boston and played 16 seasons with the Celtics, winning eight NBA championships and being elected to 13 All-Star games, 11 All-NBA teams, and 8 All-Defensive teams among many other honors.

Havlicek’s jersey was retired by Boston immediately after his playing career ended in 1978, and he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.

Ranking every No. 56 pick made in the NBA draft by the Boston Celtics

Our fourth installment of ranking every pick from Nos. 1 to 60, we compare the five picks the Boston Celtics have made 56th overall.

In the fourth edition of our ranking of Boston Celtics draft picks by the number they were drafted in, the Celtics Wire focuses on No. 56, which he team has drafted from five times in its history.

The selections at this number date between 1951 and 2017, and while none of the prospects became a star in the NBA, there are a few familiar faces — and a star of an entirely different sort, oddly enough.

As with each installment of this series, our rubric rates the picks by what they managed to accomplish with the Celtics, and then looks at what they’ve done on other teams (or walks of life) if the race is close.

All that taken into account, just who are the best No. 56 picks in Celtics history?

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