On this day, former Boston Celtics big man Jason Collins was born, and Boston had its third lowest-scoring game in franchise history.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Jason Paul Collins was born in Los Angeles, California back in 1978. Collins played collegiately with the Stanford University Cardinal, with whom he earned NABC Third Team All-American and First Team All-PAC 10 honors in 2001.
He was drafted 18th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2001 NBA draft but was immediately traded with Brandon Armstrong and Richard Jefferson to the (then) New Jersey Nets for Eddie Griffin. Collins played stints with that team, the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Atlanta Hawks before he signed with the Celtics as a free agent in 2012.
The Californian played 32 games with Boston before he was dealt to the Washington Wizards with Leandro Barbosa for Jordan Crawford, having averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game with the team.
This is every player in Celtics history who was the only player to wear their jersey number.
The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA does, and given that knowledge, it might surprise you that they have plenty of jerseys only worn by one player in the entire 75-year history of the team.
Of course, a few of them are among those retired jerseys, but quite a few of them are not. As we draw near to the end of the 2023 offseason series of every jersey ever worn by a Boston Celtics player in the regular season, we would of course be remiss if we skipped out on these loners.
Let’s take a look at those most unique of Celtics jerseys throughout the years.
Can you name which 10 Boston Celtics have sunk the most postseason free throws in the history of the franchise? Better yet, can you do it in order? https://t.co/XAgIqaRtk1
On this day in 2007, the Boston Celtics traded Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash, and draft considerations for Kevin Garnett.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise would trade for Minnesota Timberwolves star big man Kevin Garnett ahead of the 2007-08 season that would end in hanging Banner 17. The Big Ticket had initially been reluctant to agree to sign an extension with the Celtics should they deal for him given the dearth of high-level talent on the roster save for forward Paul Pierce.
But, a move that brought sharpshooting UConn product Ray Allen on board earlier that summer was tantalizing enough for Garnett to seal the deal. KG would agree to sign a three-year extension to add to the two remaining seasons on his existing contract.
The history-altering deal was consummated soon after.
Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.
As Hoops Hype’s staff keep themselves busy reassessing the draft orders of the last few decades over the years, there are always a fair number of Boston Celtics alumni making moves in their re-drafts as a result.
In the H/H’s reassessment of the 2001 NBA draft class, a total of six Boston alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift with the benefit of hindsight lifting their fortunes. And while they won’t see any pay raises or anything else of that sort given the fictitious nature of such an exercise, it’s also nice to see this group get their flowers, too.
Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.
On this day in Celtics history, Boston played a game starting at midnight, cut Ruben Wolkowyski, and traded for Jordan Crawford.
On this day in Boston Celtics history in 1952, the Celtics tipped off against the (then) Fort. Wayne (Indiana) Pistons (now, Detroit) at midnight in a contest that had been billed as the “Milkman’s Special” in an attempt to sell the event’s late start time as a plus.
The name “Milkman’s Special”, alluding to the very early (or late, depending on your point of view) hours kept in that now-archaic profession, was a fitting one for a contest that began after a late-night “Ice Follies” skating exhibition held at the old Boston Garden. The Celtics would win the affair 88 – 67 with Boston legend Bob Cousy leading the team with 24 points.
Big man “Easy” Ed MacAuley also added 15 points, “Bones” McKinney a dozen, and Chuck Cooper 10 more.
On this day, former Boston Celtics big man Jason Collins was born, and Boston had its third lowest-scoring game in franchise history.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Jason Paul Collins was born in Los Angeles, California back in 1978. Collins played collegiately with the Stanford University Cardinal, with whom he earned NABC Third Team All-American and First Team All-Pac 10 honors in 2001.
He was drafted 18th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2001 NBA draft but was immediately traded with Brandon Armstrong and Richard Jefferson to the (then) New Jersey Nets for Eddie Griffin. He play stints with that team, the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Atlanta Hawks before he signed with the Celtics as a free agent in 2012.
The Californian played 32 games with Boston before he was dealt to the Washington Wizards with Leandro Barbosa for Jordan Crawford, having averaged 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds per game with the team.
On this day in 2007, the Boston Celtics traded Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash and draft considerations for Kevin Garnett.
On this day in 2007, the Boston Celtics traded for Minnesota Timberwolves star big man Kevin Garnett.
The Big Ticket had initially been reluctant to agree to sign an extension with the Celtics should they deal for him given the dearth of high-level talent on the roster save for forward Paul Pierce, but a move that brought sharpshooting UConn product Ray Allen on board earlier that summer was tantalizing enough for Garnett to seal the deal.
KG agreed to sign a three-year extension to add to the two remaining seasons on his existing contract, and the deal was consummated soon after.
The South Carolinian was dealt for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash and draft considerations.
Garnett would win a title with the team in 2008, be elected Defensive Player of the Year that season, make five All-Star games, and earn many more such honors during his six seasons with the team.
The Pistons’ nine-point lead through the first three quarters of Game 2 of the 2003 East Finals wasn’t enough to get past the Nets.
With the NBA on hiatus and New York continuing its battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Brooklyn Nets games will not be played for the foreseeable future.
For the Nets, as much as any team, this comes at an odd time — Brooklyn was battling the Orlando Magic for the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings. At the stoppage of play, the Nets had a half-game advantage over the Magic.
Since there aren’t any games, each day Nets Wire will highlight impressive individual performances and major moments throughout Nets history:
The New Jersey Nets only mustered up 58 points through the first three quarters of Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals on May 20. Their opponents, the Detroit Pistons, didn’t shoot the lights out either, but they led by nine points going into the final quarter after losing the first game of the series at home.
Turns out, nine points wasn’t enough, especially with the way Kenyon Martin played in the fourth. The big man scored 16 of his 25 points, nearly outscoring the Pistons on his own in the fourth on the way to an 88-86 Nets win (full box score).
Martin also had nine rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.
“I’ve been watching this kid from Day 1, and I’ve seen him grow unbelievably,” Nets head coach Byron Scott said after the win. “Now he is playing like a superstar. This is the time of the year where you can make a name for yourself, and that’s what he is doing.”
Jason Kidd (20 points) and Jason Collins (11) were the only other Nets to finish in double figures. Collins also grabbed 14 boards.
The Brooklyn Nets have a pair of talented centers in Jarrett Allen and DeAndre Jordan. Does either rank among the franchise’ five best ever?
When the New York Nets joined the NBA after winning the 1976 ABA Finals, centers were anchored to the paint. Now it’s common to see big men pull up from long-range nightly.
Though, that’s not necessarily the case with Brooklyn’s big men. Jarrett Allen can defend centers and power forwards who are able to stretch the floor, but The Fro isn’t pulled from deep — not yet at least. DeAndre Jordan certainly isn’t.
How the two will coexist in Brooklyn is up in the air, given Jordan’s relationship with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and how similar the centers’ games are. But if the Nets go on to win a title with the two superstars in town, one or both centers could earn a spot among the franchise’s best bigs ever.
Having already gone through the Nets’ point guards, shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards, Nets Wire determined who are the best five centers in the franchise’s history through the novel coronavirus-induced NBA hiatus.
5. Jayson Williams
Credit: Getty Images
Nets Stats: 8.3 PPG | 8.9 RPG
Williams had a checkered career, and it took time for him to earn a major role in the Nets lineup.
After averaging 13.1 minutes per game in his 75 appearances for New Jersey throughout 1994-95, Williams saw his role off the bench increase the next season. The same thing happened from 1995-96 to 1996-97, earning a starting spot. However, he only played in 41 games.
The 1997-98 season was Williams’ best, earning his one NBA All-Star nod as he averaged 12.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. The Nets also snapped their three-year playoff drought this season.
