Tag: Sam Jones

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason free throws?

Can you name which 10 Boston Celtics have sunk the most postseason free throws in the history of the franchise? Better yet, can you do it in order?

In his historic, 50-point masterpiece against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of the 2021 Eastern Conference first-round series, All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics likely would not have won the game had the budding superstar not gotten to the line 15 times, converting 13.

But the St. Louis native has a long way to go to crack the franchise’s top ten in free throws made in the postseason given the long and storied history of the Celtics in the playoffs; you sink a lot of shots at the charity stripe when you win 17 banners, after all.

Who are the 10 most accomplished sinkers of free throws in the playoffs for Boston, then? Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

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.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in playoff games played?

Can you name the top 10 players in franchise history in terms of games played in the postseason? Better yet, can you name their order?

With 17 titles to their name and over seven decades of history, it is inevitable that the Boston Celtics are among the most heavily represented teams in games played in the history of the NBA playoffs.

But who are the players who have played the most games for this storied franchise? Those 17 titles were won with the blood and sweat of an elite cadre of Celtics who spent more time than any others on the court to make those banners more than just a goal. The answers might surprise you, even if you consider yourself a keen follower of Celtics history — and how close some are to each other is another revelation.

Can you name the top 10 players in franchise history in terms of games played in the postseason? Scroll down, and see how you did.

The Boston Celtics have retired 24 jersey numbers – these are the players so honored

It’s no coincidence this team has the most retired jersey numbers with 17 banners hanging alongside them as of Oct. 2023.

There are no teams in the history of the NBA to have more titles than the Boston Celtics — at least not yet — so it makes sense there are no other franchises with more retired numbers to honor the players over the decades who earned and hung those banners.

In fact, there are no teams in any sport with more retired jersey numbers at 24 overall, a reflection of the excellence behind the Celtics mystique built by franchise architect Red Auerbach. From his signing with the team as coach and general manager onward, Boston became one of the premier teams of the greatest basketball league on the planet.

But who were the players for which those jerseys were retired? Let’s take a look at them all as of Oct. 2022.

Who are the top 10 Boston Celtics draft picks of all time?

The Boston Celtics have had a wealth of riches as far as the NBA draft is concerned.

The Boston Celtics have had a wealth of riches as far as the NBA draft is concerned, and it’s quite a challenge to try and rank the top 10 best draft picks ever made by the franchise. And given all the hardware pulled down over the years — as well as the long period of struggle between the late 1980s and late 2000s — trying to create a rubric that works in all eras is nearly as tough.

But that is our goal here, and at least in this assessment longevity with the team, individual contributions compared to teammates, and of course hardware will all be taken into consideration here.

So, let’s take a look at how they stack up over seven decades of history.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 24

Today’s installment focuses on the four players who wore No. 24 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 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 four players who wore No. 24 over the years as of August 2023.

On this day: Pierce, Jefferson, Allen, Bradley drafted; Jones born

On this day, the Boston Celtics drafted Paul Pierce, Al Jefferson, Tony Allen, and Avery Bradley; it is also the birthday of Celtics legend Sam Jones.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the 1998 NBA draft was held in General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and in it, the Celtics took only one player of note. The Celtics selected forward Paul Pierce out of Kansas with the 10th overall pick of the draft, a team the Californian was no fan of as a youth.

Even casual fans know the legacy of “the Truth” — as he was dubbed by future teammate Shaquille O’Neal in 2001 — has had on the franchise. An instrumental part of the 2008 title that brought Boston its league-record 17th championship, the Oakland native racked up a finals MVP for that series as well.

Over the course of his career with the Celtics, Pierce amassed 10 All-Star and four All-NBA elections, All-Rookie First Team, election to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and several other honors

Which Boston Celtics have played in the most Game 7s in the postseason?

The storied ball club has a number of their former players on any list of NBA greats who have played in the most Game 7s.

When talking about playing in Game 7s in the history of the  NBA playoffs, fans of the Boston Celtics will not be too surprised to learn the storied club has a number of their former players on any list of NBA greats who have played in the most Game 7s over the course of their careers.

But when you take into account the dominance of the Celtics from the 1950s to the precipice of the 1970s with long stretches of contention in the mid-seventies, the eighties and late aughts, it makes sense that such lists are littered with former Boston players.

Let’s take a look at the record books to find out.

Who has played the most playoff games in Boston Celtics history?

Can you guess who that might be, as well as the others of the top ten players in terms of postseason play in the history of Boston’s playoff action?

When talking about getting onto the court in the NBA playoffs, fans of the Boston Celtics might be surprised to learn that despite his fame as one of the winningest competitors in any sport, Hall of Fame Boston big man Bill Russell does not hold the record for the most playoff games played over the course of his storied career with the ball club.

In fact, that record belongs to another Boston player who took the court alongside Russell for several seasons. Can you guess who that might be, as well as the others of the top ten players in terms of postseason play in the history of Boston’s playoff action?

Let’s take a look at the record books to find out.

Which Boston Celtics have the highest postseason winning percentages?

The Boston Celtics have won an NBA-record 17 titles in the nearly eight-decade history of the storied ball club, putting their players in a great position in terms of the percentage of games they have won in the postseason.

The Boston Celtics have won an NBA-record 17 titles in the nearly eight-decade history of the storied ball club, putting their players in a great position in terms of the percentage of games they have won in the postseason.

And while the bulk of those titles came to Boston in the epic run of the Celtics as the dynasty of NBA dynasties in the late 1950s and early 1960s under the tenure of Hall of Fame Celtics Bill Russell and Sam Jones, a fair amount of playoff series were won in the Boston resurgence of the 1980s during the “Original Big Three” era of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, John Havlicek nearly bridging the gap between the two reigns.

Let’s dive into which Boston alumni had the best winning percentages in the playoffs (h/t Hoops Hype for the data).