Tag: Mickael Pietrus

Who are the best international players to play for the Boston Celtics?

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdenaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players who were born abroad who have worn the green and white.

The Boston Celtics are a storied franchise for more than just their titles. They have been a trailblazing team in terms of signing and fielding players from all over the world, a philosophy that started in their first season.

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdelnaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players born abroad who have worn the green and white.

But who were the best and who were the worst? What criteria should we use to judge them across eras? In the spirit of the annual arrival of #RankingSeason, the thing to do is try.

And try the hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” did on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear how they assessed the international Celtics of all time.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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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.

Eight Boston Celtics alumni changing places in re-draft of NBA’s 2003 class

Eight Boston alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift in this look back at the 2003 class.

As Hoops Hype’s Frank Urbina and Raul Barrigon 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 duo’s reassessment of the 2003 NBA draft class, a total of eight 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 duo get their flowers, too.

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

Draft Rewind: Warriors select France’s Mickaël Piétrus in 2003 first round

In the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors selected France’s Mickaël Piétrus with the No. 11 overall pick.

While 22 teams prepare for the restart of the NBA season, the Golden State Warriors are one of eight teams on the outside of the Orlando Bubble. With the Warriors season officially over, it’s time to turn the page to draft season in Golden State. Their league-worst 15-50 record has locked the Warriors into a top-five selection in the 2020 Draft.

With months on the calendar until October’s draft day, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s draft history to highlight some of the most memorable selections — trades, surprises, busts, sleepers and everything in between.

In a storied class that has grown into draft day lore, the Golden State Warriors were owners of the No. 11 overall pick.

June 26, 2003

The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the 2003 edition of the NBA Draft, selecting LeBron James out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. Future NBA All-Stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all went off the board in the top five selections.

The Warriors were on the clock outside of the top 10 picks. With the No. 11 overall selection, Golden State general manager Garry St. Jean selected French prospect Mickaël Piétrus.

Before coming to the NBA, Piétrus spent 1999-2003 playing for Élan Béarnais in France’s Pro A league.

In his first season with the Warriors, Piétrus played 53 games, starting in 22 contests. As a rookie, Piétrus averaged 5.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.5 assists per game. Before joining the Orlando Magic in 2009, Piétrus played five seasons in the Bay Area.

Piétrus served a role in Golden State’s prized “We Believe” season in 2006-07. The French forward started in 38 games, averaging 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Piétrus played in all 11 games of Golden State’s playoff run, averaging 19 minutes per contest.

Pietrus capped off his 10-year NBA career in 2013 with the Toronto Raptors.

Outside of James, Bosh and Wade, other notable players from the 2003 draft include Central Michigan’s Chris Kaman, Xavier’s David West, Georgia’s Zaza Pachulia and Creighton’s Kyle Korver.

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The HoopsHype Weekly: Seven proclaimed next Michael Jordan’s who ended up having very different careers

It’s common to try and find the next big thing, especially in the NBA, but these players who were proclaimed the next MJ had unfair expectations.

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NOT QUITE: Since Michael Jordan’s retirement, it has been common for media, fans and players alike to discuss who could be the next MJ – not just in dominance on the court but in play style, cultural impact and global popularity. So far, only LeBron James and Kobe Bryant came close to matching Jordan in those distinctions.

Here are seven other players who were called the next Jordan, but wound up having different careers (to say the least).

Mickael Pietrus: The French swingman became known as Euro Jordan by the time he was 19 and an NBA prospect thanks to sharing the same height as Jordan (6-foot-6) and rocking his sneakers. Pietrus would go on to have a solid NBA career, lasting 10 seasons and bouncing around some pretty good teams as a role player, but he never became more than a complementary piece.

Harold Miner: As a young high school 2-guard in Inglewood, Miner became known as Baby Jordan due to his otherworldly leaping abilities. Despite a stellar college career at USC, Miner would last just four seasons in the NBA, partially due to knee troubles. The one thing he and Jordan did end up having in common is they both won two Dunk Contests so there’s that, at least.

DeShawn Stevenson: A popular draft site famously dubbed Stevenson’s NBA comparison as Michael Jordan, a blunder that still gets brought up to this day. In fairness, Stevenson did have a decent 13-season career as a tough-nosed defender and respectable outside shooter. He even won a title with the Mavs. Plus, scouting players is not easy, so we should all cut them a bit of slack.

Andrew Wiggins: Well-known in the basketball world before even reaching ninth grade thanks to a viral highlight mixtape from back when he was 13 years old, Wiggins earned the moniker Maple Jordan from fans because of his size, explosiveness and Canadian descent. Wiggins’ NBA career to this point has been a bit disappointing, but at least he’s averaging nearly 20 points over 454 career games.

Jerry Stackhouse: Standing 6-foot-6, playing shooting guard and becoming a star at North Carolina naturally led to Stackhouse being compared to Jordan. He never came close to reaching those heights in the NBA, but he did enjoy a long 18-year career in which he earned two All-Star nods and became the only MJ teammate to finish a season with a better scoring average than His Airness.

Vince Carter: Even as a high-school recruit, Carter was dubbed a potential next MJ. His choosing to go to North Carolina only made the talk louder. Vince Carter is currently in the final season of an awesome-but-not-remotely-Jordanesque career, one in which he made eight All-Star rosters and two All-NBA teams (one 2nd Team and one 3rd Team).

Grant Hill: Former St. John’s head coach Lou Carnesecca once compared Hill to Jordan and who knows? Had Hill not suffered from constant injury troubles in the NBA, maybe he could have made a stronger case. Nonetheless, Hill played 18 seasons in the Association, was a five-time All-Star and even reached 1st Team All-NBA status once, and 2nd Team All-NBA four times.

CORONA UPDATE: Teams around the league are slowly but surely opening up their practice facilities to players who want to get shots up. That has led to optimism growing within the NBA that they’ll be able to resume the 2018-19 season at some point. Fingers crossed.

For an in-depth look at how players are managing to stay in shape throughout all this, check out this longform piece we dropped this week.

STILL NO LOVE OUT EAST: China hasn’t forgotten about Daryl Morey’s tweet regarding Hong Kong. As such, they still have no plans to air NBA games if and when the league does pick back up.

CELTICS’ EYEING RIVAL: Boston reportedly has an interest in Christian Wood, an impending free agent for the Pistons who was having a career season before the shutdown.

NOW HEALTHY: Blake Griffin is ready to play basketball again, whenever the league does return to action. Griffin had knee surgery back in January.

SHOW HIM THE MONEY: Hawks big man John Collins believes he’s worth a max deal but understands the NBA is a business, so it’s not a lock he’ll get one.

WHO’S THE GOAT? First, we examined Jordan’s case for the all-important honor. Now, we take a look at LeBron James’ candidacy.

SUPER CLUTCH: Curious about which NBA player has been involved in the most buzzer-beaters ever? Click here to find out.

GAME OF ZONES: Creators of the super-popular Game of Zones, Adam and Craig Malamut, joined our own Alex Kennedy on the podcast this week. Fun stuff discussed in there.

FREE AGENCY WATCH: Free agency is going to be very interesting this summer after the pandemic-related fall in revenue for the league. Here are the five teams with the least flexibility moving forward.

DRAFT PROSPECT TALK: Former Charleston Cougars star and 2020 draft prospect Grant Riller talked to us recently, comparing himself to Fred VanVleet and Lou Williams.