Tag: john thompson

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. 5

Today’s installment focuses on the 21 players who wore No. 5 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 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 21 players who wore No. 5 over the years as of September 2023.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 18

Today’s installment focuses on the seven players who wore No. 18 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 seven players who wore No. 18 over the years as of September 2023.

On this day: former Celtics John Thompson, Nate Archibald born; Marquis Daniels signs; Bob Kinney passes

On this day in Celtics history, John Thompson and Tiny Archibald were born, Marquis Daniels signed, and Bob Kinney left us.

On this day in Boston Celtics history in 1941, big man and NCAA coaching legend John Thompson was born in Washington D.C. A former player for the Providence College Friars and a key part of their 1963 NIT Championship squad, Thompson would be later drafted by the Celtics with the 25th overall pick of the 1964 NBA draft.

He would play just two seasons in a reserve role for Boston, nicknamed “the Caddy” for his role backing up star big man Bill Russell, winning a title for his troubles in each of his two seasons with the Celtics before starting the next phase of his career.

Thompson would retire at the end of that stretch to go into coaching, first coaching at the high school level before taking the job at Georgetown University.

On this day: Thompson passes; Russell signs; Tsioropoulos, Gotham born

On this date in Celtics history, John Thompson left us, Bil Russell signed his second contract with the Celtics and Lou Tsioropolous and Rich Gotham were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, small forward Lou Tsioropoulos was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1930. Tsioropoulos played his college basketball with the University of Kentucky. The school became entangled in a point-shaving scandal while Tsioropoulos was playing for the team with future Celtics teammate Frank Ramsey and fellow NBAer Cliff Hagan.

After Tsioropoulos, Ramsey, and Hagan completed their fourth season with Kentucky, they were drafted by Boston (Hagan never played for the Celtics, his rights part of the package dealt for Bill Russell), but returned to play one more season at UK with a season of eligibility created by the penalty of their teammates involved in the point-shaving scandal.

After an Air Force tour, Tsioropoulos joined the Celtics in 1956, playing three seasons for them, winning a championship in two (1957 and 1959). He averaged 5.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in that stretch (Editor’s note — this article has been updated to clarify that Tsioropoulos was not involved in the point-shaving scandal).

On this day: McHale, Embry, Thompson inducted; Brown, Moore drafted

On this day, Kevin McHale, Wayne Embry, and John Thompson were inducted into the Hall of Fame, and Jaylen Brown and E’Twaun Moore were drafted.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, franchise legends Kevin McHale, Wayne Embry, and John Thompson were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. McHale had been drafted by the Celtics out of the University of Minnesota with the third overall pick of the 1980 NBA draft.

That deal for that pick, which Boston had acquired along with big man Robert Parish in exchange for the top overall pick of that draft, was widely considered to be one of the most lopsided deals in league history. McHale would have an immediate impact on the young core being built around forward phenomenon Larry Bird.

Along with Parish, forward Cedric Maxwell, point guard Dennis Johnson and shooting guard Danny Ainge, the Celtics would form a dynasty he would win three championships with in the 1980s.

On this day: Thompson, Counts, Bonham drafted; Garnett cut; Jones signed

On this day, Celtics champions John Thompson and Ron Bonham were drafted in 1964, and several notable roster changes took place.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied Massachusetts franchise would select four players of note in the 1964 NBA draft, held in New York City as it typically was in that era.

They did not however draft future Celtics champion forward Paul Silas, who was instead taken out of Creighton University by the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks in the second round of the draft with the 10th overall pick (there were many more rounds with far fewer teams in that era of the draft). Silas would play for the Hawks in St. Louis and after they moved to Atlanta, Georgia as well as the Phoenix Suns before being dealt to Boston in the spring of 1972.

There, he would win two banners, be elected to multiple All-Defensive teams, and an All-Star Game — among many other honors.

On this day: Jones, Heinsohn draft; Russell swap; Rivers hire; Bass born; Tatum gets 60

On this day, Boston drafted Bill Russell, KC Jones, and Tommy Heinsohn, hired Doc Rivers as coach, and saw Jayson Tatum score 60.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, veteran center Ed Macauley and small forward Cliff Hagan were traded to the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks for the second pick in the 1956 NBA draft, which the Celtics would use to select legendary big man Bill Russell. Boston negotiated from a position of strength; head coach and GM Red Auerbach leveraged his relationship with Hawks owner Ben Kerner — a former employer.

Auerbach convinced Celtics owner Walter Brown to lend the (then) Rochester Royals (now, Sacramento Kings) the Ice Capades for a week. The Ice Capades, also owned by Brown, were one of the most popular attractions filling arenas at that time. Mercifully for Boston, there was no Collective Bargaining Agreement to prevent the Royals, who held the first overall pick, from taking Russell first — the other end of the bargain that got the legendary center to the Celtics.

It was in the same draft that the Celtics also took Dan Swartz, Tommy Heinsohn, and KC Jones.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 5

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 5 jersey for at least one game as of September 2022.

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 21 players who wore No. 5 over the years as of September 2022.

On this day: Thompson passes; Russell signs; Tsioropoulos, Gotham born

On this date in Celtics history, John Thompson left us, Bil Russell signed his second contract with the Celtics and Lou Tsioropolous and Rich Gotham were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, small forward Lou Tsioropoulos was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1930.

Tsioropoulos played his college basketball with the University of Kentucky, where he was involved in a point-shaving scandal with future Celtics teammate Frank Ramsey and Cliff Hagan.

The scandal didn’t deter Boston from drafting not only Tsioropoulos but Ramsey and Hagan as well in the 1953 NBA draft. After the trio completed their final season with Kentucky (they were eligible for the draft because the three had graduated, but they returned to play one more season with UK), Tsioropoulos joined the Air Force and joined the team afterward in 1956.

The Lynn native played three seasons for the Celtics, winning a championship in two of them (1957 and 1959), averaging 5.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in his time with Boston.