On this day in Boston Celtics history, the Celtics signed star point guard Stephon Marbury as an unrestricted free agent in 2009. The New York native decided to sign with the Celtics after he was bought out by the New York Knicks in the wake of a falling out with the then-head coach of the Knicks, Mike D’Antoni.
The Marbury era in Boston was a brief one, however. The former Georgia Tech standout finished one of the worst seasons of his NBA career wearing the green and white. His play dropped significantly across most counting stats.
Marbury averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 assists in 23 regular-season games with the Celtics in 2008-09, compared to his career rates of 19.3 points and 7.6 assists per game. He played in 14 postseason games that season; Boston lost its second-round series to Orlando in seven games.
The following season, Boston only offered the veteran’s minimum to Marbury, which the veteran summarily dismissed.
Instead, the Coney Islander headed overseas to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), where he has had a long, successful career as a player and now as a coach.
It’s also the date of a game legendary Boston point guard Bob Cousy dished out 28 assists in 1959, then an NBA record.
It came in a game against the (then) Minneapolis Lakers (now, Los Angeles) in Boston’s (and the NBA’s) highest-scoring game in history, a 173-139 obliteration of the Lakers.
The Phoenix Suns matched the scoring record in 1990, and the assist record stood until Scott Skiles broke it with 30 assists in one game — also in 1990.
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