Tag: Pete Maravich

How many Boston Celtics are in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame?

No team in NBA history has produced more. How many can you name?

With Boston Celtics Hall of Fame Paul Pierce officially part of the incoming 2021 class and big man Kevin Garnett getting his formal induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in May 2021 — nearly a year after getting the nod due to the pandemic — all three members of the so-called “new Big Three” of KG, Pierce and Ray Allen have been ensconced in what serves as the Valhalla of basketball.

But they are far from the only Celtics so honored. In fact, there is a veritable host of Boston legends populating the Hoop Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, just a short drive away from the NBA’s titletown. The Celtics have more players than any other team in league history.

Let’s take a look at the 40 Celtics who have been honored with a Hall of Fame induction.

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. 44

Today’s installment focuses on the dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 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 dozen players who wore No. 44 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

Boston Celtics HoFer Pete Maravich mint rookie playing card sells for record $500k

Maravich broke a lot of records and did so again earlier this month when one of his trading cards sold for a record fee.

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During his time in the NBA, Boston Celtics Hall of Fame point guard “Pistol” Pete Maravich broke numerous records, and he did so again this month when one of his trading cards sold for a record price. Per Bleacher Report’s Julia Stumbaugh, Pistol Pete’s “tall boy” rookie card was bought at an auction for $552,000.

In mint condition, the card instantly became the most expensive piece of Maravich memorabilia, the fifth-most expensive pre-1980 basketball card of all time, and the costliest 1970 Topps card sold in history.

“The card was part of Topps’ “tall boy” set, a series of vintage basketball cards released in 1969 and 1970 which measured slightly more than an inch taller than standard cards,” writes Stumbaugh.

“These cards are made even more valuable by the fact that they did not fit into the standard-sized protection cases available to collectors in the 1960s, making mint-condition ones like the 1970 Maravich card even rarer.”

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On this day: Reggie Lewis, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, Brad Lohaus drafted

On this day, the Boston Celtics drafted Reggie Lewis, Jayson Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, and Brad Lohaus, and lost Brandon Hunter to the Charlotte Hornets.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team would select four players of note in the 2017 NBA draft, held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. While the Celtics had held the top overall pick in the draft, team president Danny Ainge would use it to trade back for the third overall pick, correctly gambling he could still get his targeted prospect, Jayson Tatum.

Tatum, a 6-foot-8 small forward out of Duke, was drafted third overall after Ainge completed the deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, who used the top overall pick on point guard Markelle Fultz out of Washington, the Los Angeles Lakers using the second overall pick on point guard Lonzo Ball.

Vindicating Ainge, Tatum has gone on to become one of the top ten players in the league, racking up accolades at a historic rate.

On this day: Russell, Jones retire; ’69 banner; 76ers confetti game

On this day, Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired after winning the 1969 NBA championship, and in 2018, Boston beat the 76ers in OT.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, franchise legends Bill Russell and Sam Jones retired as champions, deciding to call it quits after winning the 1969 NBA Championship.

For Russell in particular, it was a sweet ending, defeating longtime rival big man (and good friend) Wilt Chamberlain and his Los Angeles Lakers four games to three in a 108-106 Game 7 triumph that is widely considered one of the biggest upsets in sports history. The Celtics were by then an old team and managed to make the Finals as a four seed, while Los Angeles had Hall-of-Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West in addition to Chamberlain, the latter winning the Finals MVP award in a loss, the only time that has happened in the history of the league.

It was Boston’s 11th championship, and that in a span of just 13 years.

Lolo Jones didn’t agree with Shaq calling Angel Reese the ‘greatest athlete’ to come out of LSU

“I think Shaq, honestly, is high on some pain medicines. The list is so big with LSU.”

[autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] is quickly making a name for herself as one of the all-time greats in the LSU canon after leading the program to its first women’s basketball championship.

Reese’s career isn’t over. After earning All-American honors this season, she’ll be back looking for a repeat (and to become the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft next spring).

Still, former LSU men’s basketball star and NBA Hall of Famer [autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag] raised some eyebrows this week when he called Reese the “greatest athlete to come out of LSU. Male or female.”

She may have a claim when it’s all said and done, but that title is highly contested. One athlete who has a claim to it is former hurdler (and later Olympic bobsledder) [autotag]Lolo Jones[/autotag].

Jones — who won three national titles and earned 11 All-America honors while at LSU — took a shot at Shaq’s characterization, per TMZ, and even implied that pain medication from his recent surgery may have played a roll.

“Shaq knew what he was doing,” Jones said. “Shaq’s just bored. He’s coming off hip surgery. He’s chilling at home. I think Shaq, honestly, is high on some pain medicines. The list is so big with LSU.”

…

“So, for Shaq to have the audacity to say ‘she’s the best ever,'” Jones continued, “I’m like, ‘Bro, chill on the pain meds,’ because that list is arduous. So long.”

Jones certainly has a point. Both she and O’Neal have arguments for making that claim, not to mention other greats like [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag], [autotag]Pete Maravich[/autotag], etc.

She later clarified that her comments were not intended to be a shot at Reese but rather to point out the proud history of the athletics department and her track and field program, specifically.

“We’re not hating on Angel. We love to see it. She’s cooking. Let her keep cooking. But I’m telling you, LSU track and field is the powerhouse for that university.”

The debate regarding LSU’s GOAT will continue, but another special season from Reese could certainly bolster her argument.

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Shaq calls Angel Reese ‘the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU’

“The Big Diesel” went on a podcast and made a claim that Angel Reese is “the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU. Male or Female.”

[autotag]Shaquille O’Neal[/autotag] went on a podcast and made a claim that [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] is ‘the greatest athlete to ever come out of LSU. Male or Female.’

Yes, he included himself. That is quite the statement when you ponder all of the best LSU athletes. We’re talking about Shaq, [autotag]Joe Burrow[/autotag], ‘Pistol’ [autotag]Pete Maravich[/autotag], [autotag]Seimone Augustus[/autotag] and [autotag]Courtney Blades-Rogers[/autotag]. The list goes on and on.

Shaq may be a victim of recency bias due to the Tigers just winning the national championship, but he is all in on Reese being the best athlete ever to step foot on the Bayou.

Reese has a chance to cement her legacy even further as she is not eligible for the WNBA draft until 2024. She helped bring LSU its first women’s hoops National Title as a Sophomore, can she do it again next year? Reese and Caitlin Clark lead that star-studded 2024 draft class.

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Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis says he felt ‘cheated out of something’ after falling short of Pete Maravich’s record

Davis was frustrated that the 14-19 Titans didn’t receive a CBI bid, ending their season.

When the Detroit Mercy Titans didn’t receive a bid for the CBI postseason tournament, ending its campaign, that also meant the end of star Antoine Davis’ hopes of surpassing Pete Maravich’s all-time career scoring record as he came up just four points shy in a Horizon League tournament loss to Youngstown State.

At 14-19, it would have been fairly surprising to see the Titans get a bid, though they themselves were pushing for one. Based on Davis’ comments, he seems to have taken the snub personally.

“I’m upset about it,” Davis said per The Associated Press. “I feel like I got cheated out of something that they can’t ever give back to me. I think it’s selfish — and weird — that people emailed or called the CBI to say we shouldn’t be in the tournament because they didn’t want me to break the record.

“But there’s nothing to hold my head down about. I still feel like I’m the best scorer in my generation, especially finishing No. 2 behind him.”

Rick Giles, the president of the Gazelle Group which runs the CBI, did confirm that they received emails and voicemails asking to exclude UDM to protect Maravich’s record, though he emphasized that played no role in the decision.

The CBI is a pay-to-play tournament, and Maravich’s son Jason told the AP that he thought it would be a “terrible look” to allow Davis to break the record in a lower-tier postseason tournament on a 14-19 team.

Maravich’s all-time record is safe, and given that Davis needed five full seasons granted by COVID-19 eligibility relief to even get close, it probably will be for quite a while.

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Pete Maravich’s all-time Division I scoring record is officially safe as Detroit Mercy was spurned by CBI

Maravich will hold onto his crown despite a close call this season.

Antoine Davis’ hopes of toppling “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record, which has stood for more than 50 years since Maravich left LSU in 1970, have officially ended.

The Detroit Mercy standout finishes his college career just four points shy of surpassing Maravich’s record after the Titans didn’t receive an invite to the CBI, officially ending their season.

Davis entered DMU’s Horizon League quarterfinal matchup against Youngstown State needing 26 points to pass Maravich on the all-time scoring list, and he finished with 22 in a loss for the Titans.

Even if Davis had broken Maravich’s record, it’s hard to draw a one-to-one comparison between the two. Davis played five seasons compared to Maravich’s three (freshmen weren’t permitted to play on the varsity team at the time) and the latter played prior to the advent of the three-point line or shot clock.

No one will ever match Maravich’s career, in which he averaged 44.3 points per game — an unbreakable Division I record — and he’ll also be holding onto his all-time scoring record for the foreseeable future.

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