On this day in Boston Celtics history, big man Ron Grandison signed with the storied franchise as an unrestricted free agent in 1988. Grandison played his college ball at both the University of California, Irvine, and the University of New Orleans before he was selected in the fifth round of the 1987 NBA draft with the 100th overall pick (there were many more rounds in this era) by the Denver Nuggets.
He would never suit up for that organization however and instead played a single season for the Rochester Flyers in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA – that era’s equivalent of the NBA G League) after being waived by the Nuggets.
Buy Celtics TicketsGrandison then signed with the Celtics the following fall.
Happy birthday Ron Grandison. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/HaKbxbi2um
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) July 9, 2021
The Los Angeles native’s stay in Boston was a short one, just 72 games in one season.
He averaged 2.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per game as a Celtic.
Coach John Thompson with guard Charles Smith. Smith would play for the Celtics in the late 80s/ early 90s for brief time. pic.twitter.com/MpwHN0ryid
— Frosty Bias ☘️ (@FrostyBias) August 31, 2020
Exactly one year earlier in 1987, point guard Charles Smith was also signed as an unrestricted free agent.
An alum of Georgetown University who went unselected in the 1989 NBA draft, Smith would play 65 games over two seasons with Boston, averaging 2.8 points, 1.1 boards, and 1.7 assists per game.
It is also the birthday of former Celtics point guard Chris Herren, born this day in 1975 in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Herren played collegiately for Boston College and Fresno State before he was picked up with the 33rd overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft, for whom he played one season.
It was on this date that the Celtics’ time in the Orlando bubble and their pandemic-interrupted 2019-20 NBA season ended in a 125-113 loss to the Miami Heat in the East Finals.
“Miami deserves a lot of credit,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said after the loss via the AP.
“They’re super physical, super tough, very, very savvy. I think they’re the best team in the East and deserve to be representing the East in the way that they have played.”
Finally, it was also on this date that we lost former Boston point guard Art Williams. The Cal Poly Pomona alum was born in 1939 in Bonham Texas and played his first three seasons in the NBA for the (then) San Diego (now, Houston) Rockets.
Traded to the Celtics in 1970 for draft assets, Williams played parts of four seasons with Boston, averaging 4 points, 2.5 boards, and 3.2 assists per game before leaving in free agency to play in the American Basketball Association in 1974.
Rest in peace.
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