On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics point and shooting guard Sihugo “Si” Green passed away after a long battle with cancer in 1980 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Born in New York City, New York in 1933, Green would play his college ball for the Duquesne University Dukes between 1953 and 1956, with the New York native getting selected first overall in the 1956 NBA draft by the (then) Rochester Royals (now, Sacramento Kings).
Green would play for the then-Royals, the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks, a pair of currently defunct teams (the Chicago Packers and Zephyrs) as well as the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards) before joining the Celtics via trade.
Buy Celtics TicketsFamous for being the top overall pick in the draft that the Celtics landed iconic center Bill Russell second overall in the 1956 NBA draft, Green averaged 3.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game with Boston.
It is also the date that former Celtics forward Doug Smith would sign with the team in 1995 as an unrestricted free agent.
The Detroit, Michigan native played at the NCAA level for the University of Missouri and was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 1991 Dallas Mavericks.
Smith would play four seasons with the Mavs before inking a one-season deal with Boston, his last in the NBA.
He would log just 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds per game while with the Celtics, career lows both.
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