ron bonham – Syndication Server

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 21

Today’s installment focuses on the nine players who wore No. 21 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, 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. 21 over the years as of August 2023.

“Larry Bird could play in any era and do the same thing he did in our era,” said ‘Nique. https://t.co/O6FNEoZ3oT

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 25, 2023

On this day: Henderson stole the ball; Russell, Bonham, Robinson born

On this day, point guard Gerald Henderson stole the ball to secure a critical Game 2 win vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion Boston point guard Gerald Henderson stole a pass lobbed across the court by forward James Worthy of the Los Angeles Lakers.

With 13 seconds left on the clock in Game 2 of the 1984 NBA Finals and the Celtics down, 113-111, Henderson stole a pass and ended up scoring on a layup. The basket ultimately sent the game into overtime when legendary forward Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled out the game’s final seconds. The historic steal ignited the Celtics’ critical, 124-121, win after they had dropped Game 1 of the series at home.

Forward Larry Bird later said the team might have been swept by Los Angeles if not for the timely steal. While Boston lost Game 3 of the series, it won the series in seven games to secure its 15th banner, then the most in league history.

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.

On this day: Celtics set record for biggest single-season turnaround

On this day, the Boston Celtics set the record for the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the NBA would cancel a game between the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers a day after the Boston Marathon terrorist attacks that occurred in 2013. The move was made out of respect for the victims of the bombing after an initial postponement, and the game was ultimately not rescheduled.

The cancellations did not impact the postseason, as seeds that could have otherwise been impacted were already locked into their position, marking the most recent season the NBA has had an odd number of regular-season games as a result, with 1,229 games played.

An NHL game between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators was also canceled on the day of the Marathon bombings which was also to be held at TD Garden.

On this day: Henderson stole the ball; Russell, Bonham, Robinson born

On this day, point guard Gerald Henderson stole the ball to secure a critical Game 2 win vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion Boston point guard Gerald Henderson stole a pass lobbed across the court by forward James Worthy of the Los Angeles Lakers.

With just 13 seconds left on the clock in Game 2 of the 1984 NBA Finals and the Celtics down, 113-111, Henderson stole a pass and ended up scoring on a layup. The basket ultimately sent the game into overtime when legendary forward Magic Johnson inexplicably dribbled out the game’s final seconds. The historic steal ignited the Celtics’ critical 124-121 win after they had dropped Game 1 of the series at home.

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.

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: Henderson stole the ball; Russell, Bonham, Robinson born

On this day, point guard Gerald Henderson stole the ball to secure a critical Game 2 win vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.

On this day in 1984, Boston Celtics point guard Gerald Henderson stole a pass lobbed across the court by forward James Worthy of the Los Angeles Lakers.

With 13 seconds left on the clock in Game 2 of the 1984 NBA Finals and Boston down 113-111, Henderson would score on a layup to send the game into overtime, forward Magic Johnson dribbling out the game’s final seconds inexplicably.

The historic steal would give the Celtics a critical 124-121 win after dropping Game 1 of the series, and forward Larry Bird would later say the team might have been swept on Los Angeles if not for the timely steal.

While Boston would lose Game 3 of the series, they would eventually win the series in seven games to secure their 15th banner, then the most in league history.

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On this day: Thompson, Counts drafted, Hawks crushed in ’08 1st round

On this day, Celtics champions John Thompson and Ron Bonham were drafted in 1964, and in 2008, Boston crushed the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs.

On this day in 1964, the Boston Celtics selected four players of note in the 1964 NBA Draft, held in New York City.

They did not draft future Celtics champion forward Paul Silas, who was taken out of Creighton by the St. Louis Hawks in the second round of the draft with the 10th overall pick.

Silas would play for the Hawks in St. Louis and Atlanta as well as the Phoenix Suns before being dealt to Boston in the spring of 1972, where he would win two banners, be elected to multiple All-Defensive teams and an All-Star Game among many other honors.

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