Boston Celtics: A tribute to John Havlicek
By Sam Minton
Sadly on Thursday the Boston Celtics lost one of their own when John Havlicek passed away at the age of 79.
It makes sense that Friday in Boston was a dark gloomy day. The city and many more are mourning the loss of a Boston Celtics legend who was amazing both on and off the court.
On Thursday John Havlicek passed away at the age of 79 after a difficult 3-year journey with an aggressive form of Parkinson’s Disease.
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Havlicek was amazing on the court. Many of his peers remember how amazing of an athlete he was.
The Celtics legend had an amazing career. Even well after his career he still holds some franchise records. Havlicek leads the team in points, minutes, and games played.
Havlicek finished his career averaging 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. That is quite the stat line. Hondo was a 13-time all-star, 8 time all defensive team, and won 8 championships.
Boston would later retire Havlicek’s No. 17 and Hondo would end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame. everyone knew how amazing he was.
There is one play that has defined Havlicek’s career. It is an amazing memory to even the youngest of Celtics fans.
In the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals when he stole the 76ers inbound pass and tipped it to Sam Jones. The Boston Celtics would ice away the game and head on to the NBA Finals where they would eventually win another championship.
Even though I wasn’t alive during Hondo’s time I can still remember that play vividly. Who could forget the announcer shouting, “Havlicek stole the ball!”
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There are plenty of great memories that Celtics fans have thanks to John Havlicek. He was apart of some of the best basketball teams the NBA has ever seen. His memory will live on forever as one of the greatest Boston Celtics players to ever play on the parquet.