On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native penned a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.
Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports by ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the former Butler player opted for a largely ill-fated reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, who had left the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role in 2013.
“There were so many great things pulling me in that direction,” Hayward explained. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the (Red) Sox to the (New England) Pats to the (Boston) Bruins.
“There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise — from (Bill) Russell to (Larry) Bird, to (Paul) Pierce, and it goes on,” he added.
“And of course, there was coach Stevens: Not just for the relationship that we’ve built off the court — but also for the one that we started building on the court, all of those years ago, in Indiana.”
It is also the birthday of former Celtic wing Adrian Griffin, born this day in 1974 in Wichita, Kansas.
After playing in college at Seton Hall, he went undrafted in 1996. He eventually signed with Boston as a free agent in 1999. He played two seasons with the Celtics, averaging 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists with the team.
Happy birthday in heaven Al Lucas. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/Djfe7J8VnY
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) July 4, 2021
Ex-Boston guard and forward Al Lucas was born on this date in 1922.
A graduate of Fordham, the 6-foot-3 wing played just two games for the Celtics in the 1948-49 season, putting up 1 point per game in his very short stint with the team.
Finally, it is also the day we lost forward Gene Conley in 2017. One of a handful of people to win a title in Major League Baseball as well as the NBA, Conley also played for the Boston Red Sox, Boston (then Milwaukee) Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies in MBL.
He also played for the New York Knicks and the Hartford Capitals of the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Washington Tapers of the American Basketball League as well as the Celtics.
Conley played four seasons for Boston, his rookie campaign of 1952-53, and three more after five seasons away to play baseball.
He won titles with the Celtics between 1959 and 1961 and averaged 5.3 points and 6.8 boards per game off of the bench — rest in peace.
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
