On this day in Boston Celtics history, famed announcer Johnny Most was born in 1923 in New York City. Named for his paternal grandfather, an anarchist newspaper editor named Johann Most, the former Celtics announcer was perhaps best known for his explosive call at the end of Game 7 of the 1965 NBA East Division Finals when he shouted “Havlicek stole the ball!” in his trademark gravelly voice.
Most called games for the Celtics for 37 years between 1953 and 1990, covering some of the most iconic moments in franchise history — and in the case of several of them, helping make some of them especially iconic.
Most would pass after a heart attack sustained in 1993 and was posthumously honored with the Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport.
It is also the date of the 1989 NBA expansion draft, which saw teams allow the newly-formed Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves to draft unprotected players from the already-existing teams in the NBA, each allowed to protect their favored players from being taken.
The Celtics saw big man Mark Acres taken from them in the draft, who had played two seasons for the team after signing with the franchise as a free agent in 1987. He averaged 3 points and as many boards per game over that stretch.
It is the birthday of former Boston big man Jérôme Moïso, drafted out of UCLA by the Celtics 11th overall in the 2000 NBA draft.
He played just 24 games with the team before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for Roshown McLeod and draft considerations, averaging 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in his time with Boston.
Yahoo! Sports: On this day: Celtics trade Billups, others for Anderson, Jones and Tabak https://t.co/yzutaeXGow
— Shemaiah 👑 (@shemaiahonthebt) February 20, 2022
Moïso shares that birthday with center Žan Tabak, who came into this world in 1970 in Split, Croatia.
Drafted by the Houston Rockets 51st overall in 1991, he would play for that club and the Toronto Raptors before he was dealt to Boston with Kenny Anderson and Popeye Jones for Chauncey Billups, Dee Brown, Roy Rogers, and John Thomas in the 1997-98 season.
He played just 18 games for the Celtics, putting up 3.3 points and 3.2 boards per game before leaving to play a season in Turkey.
Finally, it is also the date that we lost big man Rich Johnson in 1994. Picked up by Boston with the 46th overall pick of the 1968 NBA draft, the Grambling State alum played 97 games for the Celtics between 1968 and 1971.
Over his time with Boston, he averaged 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest. He would succumb to cancer 23 years later — rest in peace.
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