Boston Celtics: Honoring a Celtic who tragically missed his era

Sometimes athletes come up in the era. And we, as fans, discuss how that athlete would perform, if you he would be in a right situation. Most of the time it’s hypothetical, but it’s fun. Here we’ll do just that. So, what are the criteria in this hypothetical exercise? For one, every Boston Celtics player is available. Player skillset don’t change.

For example, if we would take Kevin McHale from the 1986 season, same skills would transfer to this era as they were in 1986 season. It means that he won’t be shooting 3-pointers or playing on the perimeter.

Let’s start with the honorable mentions.

Honorable mention: Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell

Bill Russell is probably the greatest Boston Celtics player of all time, but in this current era he would be pick-and-roll center who would block shots, roll to the rim, and maybe be an offense initiator on a short roll.

But I’m not sure that he would stand out in today’s game as one of the dominant offensive forces he was revered as during his time active. He could end up being a similar player to Draymond Green.

Honorable mention: Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird

Larry Bird is a good choice, but it’s a low hanging fruit. He would be exceptional in this era — probably similar to Nikola Jokic, a great passer, who could initiate offense from different spots. He would be even more unstoppable offensively than he was in the 1980s. Sadly, they would take away one of his primary strengths: trash talking. There’s no way he could get out with the things, he used to say.

Honorable mention: Boston Celtics journeyman Kenny Anderson

Kenny Anderson is an interesting one. He is the perfect example of too much, too soon era. He falls in the same category as Derrick Coleman or Chris Webber. I believe, it would be much harder for him to fail in this era.

Teams do much better job these days of protecting their own players, investing much more now. Anderson’s skillset would transform seamlessly as an incredible ball handler who could get to the paint at will. Was a good and flashy passer. He was not a good 3-point shooter, but could shoot from mid-range.

In this highlight era, if you would put him with decent wings who could run the floor, he would be on SportsCenter every night. I don’t know if his team would be winning, but it would definitely be so much fun to watch.

After all of that said, though, the primary player who missed his era is Reggie Lewis.

Boston Celtics tragedy Reggie Lewis

Lewis made All-Star team in 1992. In 1992 and 1993 he was the team’s leading scorer. And he almost always performed better in the playoffs. In four straight playoffs he has averaged more than 20 points and in 1992 post season he scored 28 points per game, which was third in the league. He trailed only Michael Jordan and Karl Malone. He was on that level.

Reggie Lewis was one of the very few players who could hang with Jordan. He didn’t stop Michael, but would go at him on both ends. Reggie was probably the only second best shooting guard in the East during that time.

If you would look for current time comparison, Jimmy Butler probably has most similar game to his. Reggie could shoot of the dribble, go to the rim and finish over the top, was exceptional in the mid-range. Lewis was never really a bruiser and didn’t take a lot of free throws — but that certainly doesn’t mean that he was soft. He could’ve put opponents in the poster really easy. Imagine him these days with no hand checking, more shooters around and less people in the paint and he would be even more unstoppable. You simply could not stop him.

Once he was coming up and becoming one of the best guards in the league, he passed away at the age of 27 because of a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Doctors had figured it out earlier that he had heart problems given Reggie even collapsed during a game, but doctors gave him permission to play. And then the worst possible thing happened: he died during shoot around at a high school.

In this era, where medicine is much more advanced, I think doctors would’ve come up with the solution. If not how to preserve his career, but at least how to save his life.

If he would’ve stayed healthy, maybe the Boston Celtics would’ve had an extra championship or two, because you could build a championship team around him. And maybe that period from 1993 to 2007 wouldn’t have been as grim as it was. But sadly, we won’t have a chance to find out.

Even after thirty years, people still remember him for his many contributions. And I hope that his legacy will continue to be so prominent for a long time.