Tag: jim barnes

On this day: Vrankovic signed; Boswell born; Barnes traded for

On this day, former Celtic center Stojko Vranković was signed, forward Tom Boswell was born, and big man Jim Barnes traded for.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, power forward Tom Boswell was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1953. An alumnus of both South Carolina State and the University of South Carolina (Boswell would transfer from the former to the latter), Boswell would be selected from the Bulldogs with the 17th overall pick of the 1975 NBA draft.

He would play for the Celtics for a total of three seasons and won a title with the team in a reserve role in his rookie season of 1975-76. The Montgomery native would leave the team for the Denver Nuggets in 1978 as an unrestricted free agent.

Boswell went on to play stints with that club and the Utah Jazz, as well as overseas after leaving Boston. He averaged 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and an assist per game with the Celtics.

On this date: former Celtic Jim Barnes passes; Kenny Rollins born

On this day, former Celtics big man Jim Barnes passed, and ex- Boston point guard Kenny Rollins was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Jim Barnes passed away at age 61 in 2002. Barnes, a native of Tuckerman, Arkansas, played his college basketball at the University of Texas-El Paso and was selected as the top overall pick of the 1964 NBA draft by the New York Knicks.

“Bad News” Barnes (as he was sometimes called) played with that team, the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards), Los Angeles Lakers, and Chicago Bulls before having his rights sold by the Bulls to the Celtics in 1968. Hampered by injury at this point in his career, Hampton still helped the Celtics in the regular season on their way to a title in 1969, backing up Bill Russell in his two seasons with the team.

Barnes averaged 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a Celtic.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 28

Today’s installment focuses on the 14 players who wore No. 28 over the years as of August 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 14 players who wore No. 28 over the years as of August 2023.

On this day: Celtics win first title; Loscutoff drafted; Barnes, O’Connell, Kappen, Barros, Olowokandi born

On this day, Boston won their 1st of a league-best 17 banners in 1957, 2 years to the date they drafted ex-Celtic forward Jim Loscutoff.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the Boston Celtics won the first of their 17 championships in 1957, a 125-123 double-overtime thriller at the Boston Garden against the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks.

The Hawks and Celtics had been tied three games to three heading into the critical Game 7 contest and saw rookie and future legendary big man Bill Russell grab a record 32 rebounds, the most ever for a rookie in any NBA Finals game up to that point. It also saw one-day Hall of Famer Tommy Heinsohn, a 6-foot-7 rookie forward, scored 37 points and 23 rebounds in the win.

The victory sparked a short-lived rivalry between the two clubs that would end in the early 1960s, supplanted by the Los Angeles Lakers.

On this date: former Celtic Jim Barnes passes; Kenny Rollins born

On this day, former Celtics big man Jim Barnes passed, and ex- Boston point guard Kenny Rollins was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Jim Barnes passed away at age 61 in 2002. Barnes, a native of Tuckerman, Arkansas, played his college basketball at the University of Texas-El Paso and was selected with the top overall pick of the 1964 NBA draft by the New York Knicks.

“Bad News” Barnes (as he was sometimes called) played with that team, the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards), Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls before having his rights sold by the Bulls to the Celtics in 1968. Hampered by injury at this point in his career, Hampton still helped the Celtics in the regular season on their way to a title in 1969, backing up Bill Russell in his two seasons with the team.

Barnes averaged 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a Celtic.