On this day: Sanders, Carroll born; Driggers, Searcy debuted; Overton, Sykes sign; Nostrand passes

On this day in Celtics history, former Boston power forward Satch Sanders and interim coach Jim Carroll were born, while guard Nate Driggers debuted.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion power forward Thomas Ernest “Satch” Sanders was born in New York City, New York. Satch — as he was more commonly called — played his college ball at New York University, and would be drafted by the Celtics eighth overall in the 1960 NBA draft.

Sanders joined Boston just as it was establishing its dynasty of titles in the 1960s, winning eight with the team in that decade — a feat only surpassed by teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones and equaled by Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek, and K.C. Jones, all Celtic teammates from that era as well.

The New Yorker would retire as a player to get into coaching (including Boston in 1978) in 1973, averaging 9.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game with the Celtics.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 5

Today’s installment focuses on the 21 players who wore No. 5 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 21 players who wore No. 5 over the years as of September 2023.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 5

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 5 jersey for at least one game as of September 2022.

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 21 players who wore No. 5 over the years as of September 2022.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 5

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 5 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 21 players who wore No. 5 over the years.

On this day: NBA founded; Mercer, Moïso dealt; Overton born

On this day, the Celtics became part of the NBA after the Basketball Association of America/National Basketball League merger in 1949.

On this day in 1949, the National Basketball Association was born, with the Boston Celtics a foundational franchise in it.

Former from the merger of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL – not to be confused with the Australian league of today with the same name, or any of several less-prominent leagues of the same name).

The Celtics, who had been part of the BAA since its inception three years earlier, benefited greatly from the merger of the two leagues via players they drafted from the dispersal drafts of teams which did not join the newly formed NBA, like Ed Macauley.

The new league would have 17 teams playing in some of the larger arenas in the United States, and while it would lose a number of those teams in its first few seasons, it would then slowly grow into the 30-team league we know today.