Tag: Tom Sanders

‘Let’s call it ignorance,’ says Satch Sanders of JJ Redick’s dismissal of earlier NBA players’ ability

Redick suggested the talent level of the league was lesser in an era where players sometimes held second jobs.

Whether he meant to get as far into the thick of one of the oldest (and most annoying, at least to some) debates in NBA basketball history or not, the comments made by former NBA player and contemporary podcast host JJ Redick certainly have taken on a life of their own. Redick trotted out the old argument that players in the league’s past were not good because they worked second jobs sometimes on a recent broadcasting appearance, which earned him the ire of Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy.

That thread was then picked up by former teammate and Celtics alumnus Tom “Satch” Sanders on a recent broadcast appearance of his own, in conversation with Sirius FM’s Brian Geltzeiler and Sam Mitchell.

“It’s one thing to deal with a certain kind of — let’s call it ignorance,” suggested Sanders. “Everyone’s got a mouth, and they can certainly say what they said. But clearly, he knows nothing about basketball.”

“But, he was a heck of a player,” added the Celtics champion, referencing Redick in a seemingly underhanded comment.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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The Celtics have retired 23 jersey numbers (and one name) – these are the players so honored

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

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 22 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 after the latest addition of Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett? Let’s take a look at them all.

Which Celtics had the longest careers with Boston?

These are the 10 Celtics who played the most seasons with Boston.

It is increasingly rare for a player to spend a significant portion of their career with one team never mind the bulk or even all of it in the modern NBA, but throughout the course of NBA history, few teams have done a better job at retaining their stars than the Boston Celtics.

In an era where their institutional coherence was in itself an advantage over many teams in the league, a host of Celtics lifers spent all of (or very nearly so) their careers in green and white — and given they were racking up titles at an unprecedented rate in the 1960s onward, it is understandable why they were loathe to leave.

But who were the Celtics who played the most seasons with the franchise across its storied history? Let’s take a look at the players who were part of the team for the most seasons below.

On this day: Stevens born; Brooks, McCarty trades; Timelord, Sam Jones, Tom Sanders debuts; Murphy passes

On this date, team president Brad Stevens was born, Scott Brooks and Walter McCarty were traded to the team and a number of Celtics made their debuts.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, current Boston Celtics team president Brad Stevens was born in Zionsville, Indiana in 1976. Stevens played collegiately for DePauw University while earning a degree in economics, earning Academic All-America honors three times and the All-Conference team as many times as well.

Stevens spent some time working as a pharmacy representative after college, then moved into coaching as a volunteer assistant with the Butler University men’s basketball program. It got him the job as a full-time assistant coach the next season, and he would be promoted to head coach of the Bulldogs in 2007.

Stevens quickly garnered national attention for the work he was doing at Butler, breaking the NCAA record for wins by a coach in their first three seasons while making the NCAA title game two seasons running in 2010 and 2011.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 16

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 16 jersey for at least one game.

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 seven players who wore No. 16 over the years.

On this day: Celtics fire Tommy Heinsohn as coach, hire Tom Sanders

On this day in 1978, the Boston Celtics fired iconic head coach Tommy Heinsohn, and hired Celtic champ Tom Sanders to replace him in that role.

On this day in 1978, the Boston Celtics fired then-head coach and former champion forward Tommy Heinsohn.

Heinsohn had began coaching the team after a stint as a broadcaster calling games for local station WKBG, which he had been doing for three seasons after retiring as one of the most decorated players in NBA history in 1965, winning eight titles and a host of other honors. The Holy Cross product was similarly successful as a coach early on, winning the league’s Coach of the Year honors in 1973 and a pair of titles in 1974 and 1976, as well as serving as the head coach of the East in All-Star games between 1972 and 1974, and again in 1976.