Tag: Wally Szczerbiak

On this day: former Celtics Wally Szczerbiak, Tom Kelly born; Larry Bird gets back surgery

On this day in Celtics history, former Boston forward Wally Szczerbiak and ex-Celtic guard Tom Kelly were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston Celtic small forward Walter “Wally” Robert Szczerbiak was born in Madrid, Spain back in 1977. The son of Walter Szczerbiak, who played the same sport his son did in the (now merged with the NBA) American Basketball Association as well as overseas, Szczerbiak the younger was born overseas while his father played for Spanish team Real Madrid at the time.

The future Celtic played his college ball with the Miami (of Ohio) University Redhawks and was picked up with the sixth overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Madrid native would be dealt to the Celtics early in 2006 with Michael Olowokandi, and Dwayne Jones for Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, and Justin Reed.

On this day: Celtics deal for Olowokandi; Green, Brooks, Williams born

On this day in Celtics history, the team traded for Michael Olowokandi, and Sly Williams, MarShon Brooks, and Gerald Green were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise sent wing Ricky Davis, center Mark Blount, guard Marcus Banks, forward Justin Reed, and two second-round picks from the Celtics to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006.

In exchange for the package of player contracts and draft assets coming from the Celtics, Boston received forward Wally Szczerbiak, big man Michael Olowokandi, power forward Dwayne Jones, and a first-round draft pick. Relatively uneventful as far as impact on the organization in the short term, the trade would have been a footnote in team history except for the fact that it set the stage for the deal which would bring Ray Allen.

And through that move, Kevin Garnett, to Boston the following year.

Who are the best international players to play for the Boston Celtics?

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdenaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players who were born abroad who have worn the green and white.

The Boston Celtics are a storied franchise for more than just their titles. They have been a trailblazing team in terms of signing and fielding players from all over the world, a philosophy that started in their first season.

From Charlie Hoefer to Alaa Abdelnaby to Rick Fox to Kristaps Porzingis, there has been no shortage of players born abroad who have worn the green and white.

But who were the best and who were the worst? What criteria should we use to judge them across eras? In the spirit of the annual arrival of #RankingSeason, the thing to do is try.

And try the hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” did on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear how they assessed the international Celtics of all time.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 55

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 55 jersey for at least one game as of Aug. 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 13 players who wore No. 55 over the years as of Aug. 2023.

On this day: Allen traded for; Sullinger, Green, Gomes drafted

On this day, the trade that brought Ray Allen to Boston went down, and Jeff and Gerald Green, Jared Sullinger and Ryan Gomes were drafted.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, team president Danny Ainge and the rest of the front office traded for star shooting guard Ray Allen. Sending out a package of point guard Delonte West, small forward Wally Szczerbiak, and forward Jeff Green to the then-Seattle Supersonics in exchange for Allen and center Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

“You’re always listening when you come into a situation like this. You don’t wake up one day and look to move a player like a Ray Allen,” said then-Sonics’ general manager Sam Presti via ESPN. “Someone has to come get them and Boston did that here.”

The move of course would facilitate the trade of Kevin Garnett to the Celtics soon after, Ainge and Boston having assembled the requisite talent to convince the Big Ticket that such a deal would bear fruit in the banners department, which of course it did.

Three Boston Celtics alumni changing positions in 1999 NBA class redraft

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

As Hoops Hype’s staff keep themselves busy reassessing the draft orders of the last few decades over the years, there are always a fair number of Boston Celtics alumni making moves in their re-drafts as a result.

In the H/H’s reassessment of the 1999 NBA draft class, a total of three Boston alumni ended up seeing their draft stock shift with the benefit of hindsight lifting their fortunes. And while they won’t see any pay raises or anything else of that sort given the fictitious nature of such an exercise, it’s also nice to see this group get their flowers, too.

Let’s take a look at which Celtics alumni landed where.

Former Celtic Wally Szczerbiak on the NBA’s officiating this season

The former Boston small forward has a unique perspective on the league’s current officiating crisis.

Former Boston Celtics wing Wally Szczerbiak was only with the storied franchise for a single season, but he spent an entire decade in the NBA playing alongside legends of the game such as Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

That earned the onetime University of Miami player plenty of floor time with NBA referees, who called the game differently than today. Szczerbiak works as a color commentator for the sport he made a career out for himself. So the former Boston small forward has a unique perspective on the league’s current officiating.

Speaking in a recent interview for the “Dan Patrick Show,” Szczerbiak gave his point of view about the refs in 2022-23, as well as his time as a player in the NBA.

He even makes predictions about the NCAA tournament we can look back on with the benefit of hindsight — to hear what Wally World said about refs and more about the league of today, check out the clip embedded above.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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On this day: former Celtics Wally Szczerbiak, Tom Kelly born; Larry Bird gets back surgery

On this day in Celtics history, former Boston forward Wally Szczerbiak and ex-Celtic guard Tom Kelly were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston Celtic small forward Walter “Wally” Robert Szczerbiak was born in Madrid, Spain back in 1977. The son of Walter Szczerbiak, who played the same sport his son did in the (now merged with the NBA) American Basketball Association as well as overseas, Szczerbiak the younger was born overseas while his father played for Spanish team Real Madrid at the time.

The future Celtic played his college ball with the Miami (of Ohio) University Redhawks and was picked up with the sixth overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Madrid native would be dealt to the Celtics early in 2006 with Michael Olowokandi, and Dwayne Jones for Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, and Justin Reed.

Tyrese Haliburton perfectly trolled Wally Szczerbiak’s horrible take after making the All-Star team

Look at his profile picture on Twitter.

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was announced as a reserve for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game, and he had the best reaction.

Earlier this season, former NBA role player Wally Szczerbiak described Haliburton as a “mister supposed wannabe fake All-Star” during a broadcast for MSG Network.

At the time, when asked about the incident, the Pacers guard said he “couldn’t tell you” what Szczerbiak did as a basketball player. Haliburton added he had no intention of discussing the conflict directly with Szczerbiak, who publicly apologized.

Haliburton said it didn’t bother him very much, but when he was announced as an All-Star, he couldn’t help but take a not-so-subtle dig at Szczerbiak.

Haliburton hilariously changed his profile picture to a photo of Szczerbiaz.

He wasn’t the only one to take a shot at Szczerbiaz after the reserves were announced. Portland Trail Blazers wing Josh Hart also tweeted congrats to “fake allstar” Haliburton.

Haliburton, who processes the game at an incredibly high level, is in the midst of a fantastic campaign so far this season.

His All-Star nod was incredibly well-deserved and will likely be the first of many that he receives during his NBA career.

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On this day: Celtics deal for Olowokandi; Green, Brooks, Williams born

On this day in Celtics history, the team traded for Michael Olowokandi, and Sly Williams, MarShon Brooks, and Gerald Green were born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise sent wing Ricky Davis, center Mark Blount, guard Marcus Banks, forward Justin Reed, and two second-round picks from the Celtics to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2006.

In exchange for the package of player contracts and draft assets coming from the Celtics, Boston received forward Wally Szczerbiak, big man Michael Olowokandi, power forward Dwayne Jones, and a first-round draft pick. Relatively uneventful as far as impact on the organization in the short term, the trade would have been a footnote in team history except for the fact that it set the stage for the deal which would bring Ray Allen.

And through that move, Kevin Garnett, to Boston the following year.