The wider Boston Celtics community lost a number of notable alumni in 2022 whose tenure with the storied franchise ranges from among the earliest years of the ball club up to the start of the team’s era of title contention in the 1980s.
The Celtics and the NBA community with it lost giants of the game alongside lesser-known but still important parts of the team’s and the league’s history. It occurred at a moment in franchise history when the organization appears to be entering yet another era where hanging banners is the overt goal of the ball club to continue the proud tradition those alumni helped create.
With that in mind, let’s pay tribute to those Celtics greats who left us in 2022.
Celtics Lab 162: An early look at where Boston stands in season-long accolades races with Ethan Fuller https://t.co/9Zr8lxMjvc
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 30, 2022
Paul Silas
1943-2022
A 16-season veteran who won 2 of his 3 titles with the Celtics and one of his two All-Star appearances with the team, the Creighton alum also garnered All-Defensive Team nods in 1973, 1975, and 1976 in Boston.
Silas went on to a long coaching career after his playing days were done.
Togo Palazzi
1932-2022
Drafted fifth overall by the Celtics in 1954, Palazzi left Boston in 1956 to play for the (then) Syracuse Nationals (now, Philadelphia 76ers) just before the ball club became the giant of the league in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
His dedication to the game continued long after he left the Celtics, with Palazzi coaching his alma mater of Holy Cross’ women’s program to their first-ever NCAA appearance, and held camps for adults for many years.
Bill Fitch
1932-2022
Hired by Boston to take the reigns from Dave Cowens as the 1970s wound down, Fitch’s strict coaching approach was well-received by rookie wunderkind Larry Bird, helping both reach 61 wins in their first season with the Celtics.
The second season went even better with Boston getting 62 wins and the 1981 NBA Championship for good measure. While their early success together was short-lived by the highest of standards, a 56-win season and an early exit at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks was enough to convince Fitch to move on.
Bill Russell
1934-2022
The greatest winner perhaps in any sport of all time with 11 titles with Boston as a player or player-coach, a list of accolades alone would dominate such an accounting, though we would be remiss to not note his dozen All-Star bids, 11 All-NBA nods, and 5 MVP awards among so many others.
Russell’s loss may loom the largest given how he paved the way both on and off the court as a mentor and human rights activist on top of his mastery of the game, setting the stage for so many others to use their platform for good afterward as well.
Rest in peace to them all.
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