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It’s hard to imagine the Boston Celtics without Tommy Heinsohn. There isn’t a generation of Celtics fans who haven’t felt Tommy’s presence. He is the only one to have actively participated in each of the 17 Celtics World Championships, an extraordinary and singular legacy.
His career with the Celtics had an auspicious start, as he won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1957. Most notably, he was the top player on floor in the deciding Game 7 of the Finals. of the NBA against the St. Hawks, leading the team with 39 points and 23 rebounds as the Celtics delivered their first championship banner. The dominant performances and championships weren’t just a first part; they would come to define his NBA playing career (1956-65), in which he was named to six All-Star teams and won eight NBA Championships, the team’s top scorer for four of those title races.
Red Auerbach named Tommy the team’s head coach in 1969. Like his playing career, Heinsohn’s coaching tenure was marked by prosperity, as he led the 1974 and 1976 teams at the championships. of the world, won five Atlantic Division crowns and was chosen as the league’s coach. Year in 1973 in which he won a team record of 68 games.
Tommy has been honored on several occasions as a player, coach and broadcaster. Among those honors, his number 15 was retired by the Celtics in 1965, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1986, and then as a coach in 2015. He is one of four. people to be inducted. as a player and coach, joining former teammate Bill Sharman, John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens.
For all of his accomplishments as a player, coach and broadcaster, it was Tommy’s rich personality that defined the man. A loving father, grandfather and husband. A talented painter and a dynamic golf partner. Unofficial mentor of decades of Celtics coaches and players. Frequent constructive criticism from referees. Creator of the most “Celtic statistic” of all, The Tommy Point. And a boundless love for all things Boston Celtics, a passion he shared with his fans for 64 years.
We take this time to celebrate his life and legacy, and to share the grief of his passing with his family, friends and fans. As long as there are the Boston Celtics, Tommy’s spirit will stay alive.
STATEMENT BY WYC GROUSBECK, STEVE PAGLIUCA AND THE BOSTON CELTICS OWNERSHIP GROUP
It is a devastating loss. Tommy was the ultimate Celtic. Over the past 18 years our Ownership Group has relied heavily on Tommy’s advice and ideas and reveled in his hundreds of stories about Red Auerbach, Bill Russell and how the Celtics came to be a dynasty. He will be remembered forever.
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