Tag: togo palazzi

On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 12

Today’s installment focuses on the 34 players who wore No. 12 over the years as of September 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 34 players who wore No. 12 over the years as of September 2023.

On this day: ex-Boston big man Rasheed Wallace signs; Togo Palazzi born

On this day in 2009, former Boston Celtics big man Rasheed Wallace officially became a member of the team.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston big man Rasheed Wallace signed with the team on a multi-season deal his body didn’t let him finish. Wallace, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, played his college ball at the University of North Carolina, from which he was drafted by the (then) Washington Bullets (now, Wizards) with the fourth overall pick of the 1995 NBA draft.

Wallace would make the All-Rookie team with the Bullets, and then play stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, and Detroit Pistons (with whom he would win a title in 2004) before joining the Celtics, making All-Star teams in four of those seasons.

‘Sheed (as he was often called) played just one season for the Celtics, his numbers hobbled by minor injuries.

On this day: Bob Cousy’s last game as a Celtic; Frank Ramsey drafted

On this day, Boston point guard legend Bob Cousy played his last game for the Celtics, and Hall of Fame wing Frank Ramsey was drafted.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, Celtics point guard luminary Bob Cousy finished his career with the Celtics with a bang in 1963, defeating the longtime Boston rival Los Angeles Lakers 112-109 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals four that year, securing Boston’s fifth consecutive NBA championship.

Cousy scored 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists in his final game as a Celtic, shooting 8-of-16 from the floor. The Holy Cross alum played for 13 seasons with Boston, virtually his entire career apart from seven games as player-coach for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969-70 season.

He would win six championships with the Celtics, and be elected to 13 NBA All-Star Games among many other honors over that stretch. Cousy averaged 18.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.6 assists in his time with Boston.

On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.

Per the Celtics, Boston alumnus Togo Palazzi has passed away at the age of 90

The 90-year-old Celtics alum was part of the team in its early years of existence, playing for Boston for parts of three seasons.

Boston Celtics wing Togo Palazzi has passed away according to a post from the team. The 90-year-old Celtics alum was part of the team in its early years of existence, playing for Boston for parts of three seasons before he was dealt to the (then) Syracuse Nationals (now, Philadelphia 76ers) for cash considerations in 1956.

A product of the nearby College of the Holy Cross — then a hotbed of NBA recruiting — Palazzi was picked up with the fifth overall pick of the 1954 NBA draft in the years before the team had become the juggernaut of the late 1950s and 1960s. A native of Union City, New Jersey who was born there in 1932, the former Boston wing was one of the ball club’s oldest surviving alumni.

The New Jersey native averaged 5.3 points and 2.9 points per game while with the Celtics in a reserve role. Rest in peace.

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On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.