A Tribute to Celtics Great John Havlicek
Longtime Celtics great John Havlicek died yesterday.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Boston Celtics announced Hall-of-Famer John Havlicek passed away at the age of 79. Havlicek was an 8-time world champion during his 16 seasons with the franchise. Havlicek finished his career on the court averaging over 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
With 26,395 career points, Havlicek is the all-time leading scorer of the Boston Celtics. He also played the most games in a Boston Celtics uniform at 1,270, missing no more than 11 games in any of his 16 seasons in Boston.
Havlicek was drafted as the 7th overall pick in the 1962 NBA draft out of Ohio State, and quickly became a key player on the Celtics. Displaying his athleticism, Havlicek was also drafted by the Cleveland Browns, attending training camp during his rookie year before focusing his attention to the NBA. During his rookie year in the NBA, he averaged 14 points to go along with over 6 rebounds on the way to an NBA Championship. The success continued for the Celtics and Havlicek as his first four years in the league the Celtics were NBA Champions.
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As an individual, the success was just as great for the late Havlicek. A list of his accomplishments include:
- NBA All-Rookie Team
- 13x All-star
- 11x All-NBA
- 8x NBA All-Defense
- NBA Finals MVP
If there was a word to describe Havlicek on the court, “gritty” would be a good one. His 8 All-NBA team honors are the best example of that. He was a lockdown defender, a pest, and someone who the opponent never looked forward to going up against.
While Havlicek has a ridiculous amount of accolades, his most famous Celtics moment describes his career in Boston perfectly. The famous “Havlicek stole the ball” call to seal the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals will go down as one of the most memorable moments in franchise history. With a one point lead and five seconds left, the Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to win the game. Hall-of-Famer Hal Greer attempted to pass the ball into Chet Walker, but it was quickly tipped away by Havlicek into the hands of teammate Sam Jones who dribbled up the court to run out the clock.
John Havlicek will go down as one of the greatest to ever dawn a Celtics uniform. His number will forever hang in the rafters, as well as being a fan favorite. Havlicek revolutionized the sixth man role during his career, all while being an eight-time champion.
Rest in peace Hondo.