Tag: RJ Hunter

On this day: Boston sees the Grateful Dead in concert; Shaw, Hunter debut

On this day, several Boston Celtics accompanied resident Deadhead and Celtics center Bill Walton to see the Grateful Dead in concert in 1985.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, several members of the storied franchise went to see the Grateful Dead in concert in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1985. Not all of the Celtics went, but after recent arrival Bill Walton had managed to pique the interest of a few of his teammates, a significant portion of the team decided to attend the concert.

A few days ahead of the planned concert, Hall of Fame teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale had noticed some hippie-ish looking people wearing funky clothes arriving in town and made the connection it must have something to do with their hippie-ish teammate.

Walton had himself previously met the band after sticking out like a sore thumb as a 7-footer at one of their concerts, catching the eye of drummer Mickey Hart, who called him on stage after learning who he was.

On this day: Jaylen Brown, R.J. Hunter born; Tom Boswell debuts

On this day in Boston Celtics history, wings Jaylen Brown and R.J. Hunter were born, and forward Tom Boswell made his debut for the team.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, forward Jaylen Brown was born in Marietta, Georgia in 1996. Brown would play collegiately at the University of California-Berkeley for the Golden Bears, where he won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors in 2016.

He would be taken by the Celtics with the third overall pick in that year’s NBA draft, making his NBA debut for the team on October 26th, scoring nine points and blocking two shots. The Georgia native would make the All-Rookie Second Team at the end of his inaugural season. The Georgia native did not hire an agent initially upon joining the NBA.

Brown instead relied on his personal network for counsel until it was time to negotiate a rookie extension.

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.

Report: Former Celtics draft pick RJ Hunter signs with Charlotte Hornets

According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, R.J. Hunter will be joining the Charlotte Hornets for the upcoming season.

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According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, former Boston Celtics first-round draft pick R.J. Hunter is joining the Charlotte Hornets for the upcoming season.

Hunter came into the league as the 28th pick in the 2015 NBA draft and had a reputation as a high-level perimeter scorer who could shoot off the catch and the dribble. At the time, the rebuilding Celtics needed additional 3-point shooting, leading to high expectations for the former Georgia State player.

Unfortunately, Hunter’s game never fit with the Celtics system, and the floor spacing guard found himself joining the Chicago Bulls the following season. Hunter bounced around the NBA for two more seasons, including spells with the Houston Rockets and a one-game return with the Celtics.

Since then, Hunter has been plying his trade in the G League and overseas, with spells in Turkey and Australia. In his most recent stop, Hunter’s season was cut short due to a season-ending injury, forcing the Syndey Kings to replace him on their roster.

Now, Hunter will have another chance at cracking an NBA rotation. He joins a Hornets team that finished bottom of the NBA’s offensive rating charts. However, it’s unlikely Hunter gets any legitimate minutes this season unless Charlotte decides to tank or suffers an injury crisis similar to last season.

Hunter came out of Georgia State with averages of 18.4 points, 2.4 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game, shooting 42.3% from 3-point range, and now the former first-round pick will be hoping to display that level of shot-making for his new team, in a bid to stick on an NBA roster.

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On this day: Reggie Lewis dies; Brown, Rozier, Green, Crowder signed

On this day, former Celtics forward Reggie Lewis died unexpectedly while working out due to a heart arrhythmia.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, rising franchise star Reggie Lewis would die unexpectedly after collapsing on a basketball court at Brandeis University while working out in the offseason in 1993.

Lewis, who had previously been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat after another on-court collapse during the prior season, passed away after attempts by local police to resuscitate the Northeastern product were not successful. The 22nd overall pick of the 1987 NBA draft for the Celtics, Lewis was widely seen as a critical part of Boston’s future, and the bridge to a successful future after the Larry Bird – Kevin McHale – Robert Parish era.

Along with the loss of forward Len Bias in 1986, this was a major contributing cause to the team’s ‘wilderness era’ of mediocrity that would last more than a decade.

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.