On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team drafted small forward Cedric Maxwell out of UNC Charlotte with the 12th overall pick of the 1977 NBA draft, their sole selection of note.
Maxwell would play eight seasons for the Celtics, averaging 13.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, and would win two championships with Boston in that stretch (in 1981 and 1984), winning Finals MVP in 1984. After losing his starting role to forward Kevin McHale after an injury, the North Carolina native would be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for legendary sixth man center Bill Walton.
Maxwell maintains a close relationship with the Celtics and their fans to this day, hosting an eponymous podcast and making frequent appearances on local sports media.
In that same draft (there were many more rounds to the draft in that era), the Celtics also selected Skip Johnson of Wake Forest, Jeff Cummings of Tulane, Bill Langloh of Virginia, Roy Pace of Rutgers, Dave Kyle of Cleveland State University, and Tom Harris of Bowling Green.
None of them ever suited up for the Celtics, however — not an uncommon occurrence for those taken so late in the draft.
It is also the anniversary of the 1980 NBA draft, in which the aforementioned McHale was drafted out of Minnesota with the third overall pick by Boston.
The former Golden Gopher had a Hall of Fame career with the Celtics, winning three championships (in 1981, 1984, and 1986), and would be elected to seven All-Star games and six All-Defensive teams among many other
McHale would play 13 seasons for Boston, the only team he would play for as a professional.
He would average 17.9 points, 7.3 boards, and 1.7 assists, and as many blocks per game over that stretch.
Along with McHale, Boston also drafted Purdue’s Arnette Hallman, Holy Cross’ Ron Perry, Idaho’s Don Newman, Iona’s Kevin Hamilton, Maine’s Rufus Hamilton, Norfolk State’s Kenny Evans, Virginia Tech’s Les Hanson, Boston’s Steve Wright, Northwestern’s Brian Jung, and Providence’s John Nolan.
As was the case in the 1977 draft, none of these players made the team.
Happy birthday in heaven Earl Shannon. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/tfwuX92A78
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) November 23, 2021
Today is the birthday of Boston wing Earl Shannon. Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1921, Shannon played his college ball at his hometown University of Rhode Island.
He kept things local when he made the leap to the pros, signing with the now-defunct Providence Steamrollers. He’d play three seasons with that team before finally leaving his home state to sign with the Celtics in 1949.
In the 5 games he played for Boston before retiring, Shannon averaged just a point per game.
Happy birthday to the guy Bob Ryan called: "the most physically gifted forward the Celtics drafted since John Havlicek. Happy birthday Ben Clyde. pic.twitter.com/4plyx1AZ2D
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) June 10, 2021
Shannon shares his born day with Benny Clyde, who came into the world on this day in 1951.
A product of FSU, Clyde was picked up by the Celtics in the 1974 NBA draft and played 25 games with Boston in the subsequent season. He recorded 2.8 points and 1.6 boards over that stretch.
It is also the date that the Celtics dropped Game 3 of the 2008 NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers 87-81 as Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant went off for 36 points.
Guard Ray Allen scored 25 points and 5 assists in the loss, but no other Boston starters broke double digits in scoring besides star forward Kevin Garnett, who had 13 points, 12 boards, and 5 assists.
“As bad as we played, we still had opportunities,” Allen said at the time via ESPN.
“That’s the positive. We can look at it, but I don’t think on either side of the floor we were good. We had so much more room for improvement.”
Boston of course went on to win the series and its 17th banner.
Happy birthday in heaven to Al Brightman. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/TopYEktutq
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) September 22, 2021
Finally, it is also the date that we lost forward Al Brightman in 1992.
A member of the Celtics’ inaugural season, he played 58 games with Boston in 1946-47 after playing his collegiate ball at the University of Charleston.
STORY by @Guardabascio: Introducing Hidden History, an occasional look at fascinating pieces of Long Beach sports history. Today we look at the Long Beach Chiefs and Wilson alum coach Al Brightman, two fascinating storieshttps://t.co/FCuk6E23f2 pic.twitter.com/NbytpI8z3s
— The562.org (@562sports) December 7, 2020
Putting up 9.8 points and an assist per game (rebounds were not yet being recorded), Brightman would retire and go on to coach in the rival American Basketball Association many years later, helming the (defunct) Anaheim Amigos in their first season of play.
He was replaced by fellow Celtics alum Bill Sharman in that role the following campaign when the team moved to Los Angeles and renamed itself the Stars.
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