On this day in Boston Celtics history, Jesusemilore Talodabijesu — better known to Celtics fans as “Semi” Ojeleye — was born in Overland Park, Kansas back in 1994. Semi played collegiately at both Duke University and Southern Methodist University (SMU), transferring from the former to the latter in search of more playing time.
There, he would help lead SMU to win the 2016-17 American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season and Tournament Championships before being picked up by the Celtics with the 37th overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft. He played four seasons with the Celtics before leaving the team to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season.
Ojeleye averaged 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in his time as a Celtic.
It is also the date of legendary Celtics wing Larry Bird scoring a triple-double against the Charlotte Hornets in 1989.
It came on the road in a 114-101 win over the Hornets that saw The Hick From French Lick log 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists on what was a bit of a rough shooting night for Bird.
The Indiana native hit just 4 of his 13 field goal attempts on the night, though he did make a respectable 50% of his 2 3-point attempts and sunk both of his attempts from the free-throw line.
He had a fair amount of help from his teammates to secure the win, including 16 points and 6 rebounds from Robert Parish and 13 and 12 points from Dennis Johnson and Jim Paxson respectively among the starters.
Kevin McHale led all Celtics with 20 points and 6 boards, while Reggie Lewis chipped 18 points, both off the bench.
Finally, it is also the date that the team waived both Jim Paxson and Charles Smith in 1990 after both had been suffering from recurrent injuries.
“Playing for the Boston Celtics was and is the ultimate dream of any basketball player,” Paxson said via the UPI. ”I not only played alongside players with unique talent but made a lot of friends along the way. I am now looking forward to new career challenges.”
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
