Tag: Lester Hudson

On this day: Red passes; KC Jones coach, Hudson, Rozier, Mickey, R. Morgan, Cook player debuts; Nelson signed

On this day, legendary Boston Celtics team president and coach Red Auerbach passed away in 2006.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics team president and coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach passed away at the age of 89 in 2006. Auerbach assembled a career in basketball unparalleled in its time and to this day, winning nine titles with the team as a coach, and seven more as an executive.

He joined the franchise in 1950 after stints coaching the Washington Capitols (now defunct) in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) and at the NCAA level as an assistant coach with the Duke Blue Devils before joining the Celtics.

Red — as he was often called — transformed the game with his emphasis on the fast break and team-focused play reliant on ball movement at all positions.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 26

Today’s installment focuses on the nine players who wore No. 26 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 and decades of competitive basketball played in them, 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 nine players who wore No. 26 over the years as of August 2023.

On this day: Former Boston Celtics guard Lester Hudson born; Tristan Thompson traded

While he did not stick long, today is the birthday of former Celtics guard Lester Hudson; it’s also the date Tristan Thompson was dealt.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point and shooting guard Lester Hudson III was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1984. Hudson would be drafted by the Celtics with the 58th pick of the 2009 NBA draft after playing his collegiate basketball at Southwest Tennessee Community College and at the University of Tennessee Martin. The Memphis native garnered All-American honors with the latter, the very first in UT Martin history to have such a recognition awarded to them.

After being taken by the Celtics in the draft, it was clear his game was not quite up to the level to earn much playing time with a team that was aiming for an NBA title, with the Banner 17 crew back at it trying to earn another title.

To that end, the team developed a plan to make use of the league’s developmental league to help bring Hudson along.

On this day: Rozier, Billups, Mercer, Kreklow, Hunter, Mickey drafted

On this day, the Boston Celtics drafted several players in multiple drafts, including Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, Ron Mercer, and Wayne Kreklow.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise took just one player of note in the 1979 NBA draft, held in New York City at the Plaza Hotel, after having traded away their first-round draft pick. The sole player selected by the Celtics that year was 6-foot-4 shooting guard Wayne Kreklow, taken with the 53rd overall pick in the draft’s third round (drafts went on much longer then than they do today).

A native of Neenah, Wisconsin, Kreklow had been playing college ball at Drake before being drafted by Boston. He did not initially make the team, not unusual for a prospect drafted so late. But, instead of being waived, he would play a season with the Maine Lumberjacks of the Continental Basketball Association (the equivalent of the G League in that era), where he averaged 9.6 points per game.

Kreklow would join the team for the 1980-81 season, helping to win a championship in a reserve role that saw him average 1.2 points over 25 games with the Celtics in his sole season with the franchise.

On this day: Red passes; KC Jones coach, Hudson, Rozier, Mickey, R. Morgan, Cook player debuts; Nelson signed

On this day, legendary Boston Celtics team president and coach Red Auerbach passed away in 2006.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics team president and coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach passed away at the age of 89 in 2006. Auerbach assembled a career in basketball unparalleled in its time and to this day, winning nine titles with the team as a coach, and seven more as an executive.

He joined the franchise in 1950 after stints coaching the Washington Capitols (now defunct) in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) and at the NCAA level as an assistant coach with the Duke Blue Devils before joining the Celtics.

Red — as he was often called — transformed the game with his emphasis on the fast break and team-focused play reliant on ball movement at all positions.

On this day: Red passes; KC Jones coach, Hudson, Rozier, Mickey, R. Morgan, Cook player debuts; Nelson signed

On this day, legendary Boston Celtics team president and coach Red Auerbach passed away in 2006.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary Celtics team president and coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach passed away at the age of 89 in 2006. Auerbach assembled a career in basketball unparalleled in its time and to this day, winning nine titles with the team as a coach, and seven more as an executive.

He joined the franchise in 1950 after stints coaching the Washington Capitols (now defunct) in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) and at the NCAA level as an assistant coach with the Duke Blue Devils before joining the Celtics.

Red — as he was often called — transformed the game with his emphasis on the fast break and team-focused play reliant on ball movement at all positions.

Ranking every No. 58 pick made in the NBA draft by the Boston Celtics

Our third installment of ranking every pick from Nos. 1 to 60, we compare the four picks the Boston Celtics have made 58th overall.

In our third installment ranking Boston Celtics draft pick by the number, the Celtics Wire turns to pick No. 58, at which the franchise has drafted four times in its history.

Half of the selections made this late in the draft by the Celtics were made long before the modern era, with the other two coming more recently.

And while there’s no stars to be found at this late section of the draft, it did produce at least one player who stuck in the league, and maybe two.

As with all the installments of this series, our rubric ranks the picks by what they accomplished with the Celtics, and then considers what they’ve done elsewhere if the contest is close.

So with that said, how do Boston’s No. 58 picks sort out?

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