John Havlicek
Teams
Boston Celtics - 1962-78
Playoffs
Appearances - 13 (1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977)
Conference Finals - 12 (1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976)
NBA Finals - 8 (1963,1964,1965,1966,1968,1969,1974,1976)
Championships - 8 (1963,1964,1965,1966,1968,1969,1974,1976)
Awards and Honors
Finals MVP - 1 (1968,1974)
All-NBA First Team - 4 (1971,1972,1973,1974)
All-NBA Second Team - 7 (1964,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1973,1974,1975,1976)
Hall of Fame - 1984
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Points - #20
Total Assists - #35
Points Per Game - #49
Total Rebounds - #84
League Leads
Total Assists (#4-1972, #5-1971)
Total Points (#2-1972, #3-1971)
Points Per Game (#2-1971, #3-1972)
Assists Per Game (#4-1971, #5-1972)
Free Throw Percentage (#4-1970)
John Havlicek won an NCAA title as a sophomore at Ohio State, then after a senior season where he averaged 17.0 points and 9.7 rebounds, he was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 7th overall pick. He was also drafted by the Cleveland Browns to play wide receiver, but after training camp he decided to focus on basketball and joined the Celtics.
Havlicek was used as a sixth man in his first several seasons, which made sense because he was joining the 4-time defending champs. In just his second season, he was the Celtics leading scorer, with 19.9 per game, even while he was coming off the bench all season.
He won championships in each of his first 4 seasons in that reserve role, not a superstar like teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones, but an important important piece, except for in his rookie year. In 1965, his third season, he made one of the most famous plays in basketball history, when he stole an inbounds pass with 5 seconds left in Game 7 of the Conference Finals against the 76ers, preserving a 1-point lead and sending the Celtics back to the Finals.
His role started to grow after the 4th championship season. In 1966-67, he averaged 21.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, but the Celtics lost in the Conference Finals, breaking their streak of 8 straight titles. The next year, he began to develop more as a passer as well, finishing with averages of 20.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.
Havlicek was great in that season's playoffs. In the Conference Finals, with Boston trailing the series 3-1, Havlicek put up 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists to keep the team alive, then closed out the series a few days later with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists to send the Celtics back to the Finals. The Finals MVP award did not exist yet (they created it the next year), but if it had, it probably would have gone to Havlicek, who averaged 27.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in a six-game series win over the Lakers.
The next season was the final one for Bill Russell and Sam Jones, and the Celtics closed out that era with another championship. Havlicek was even better in that year's final round, scoring 28.3 points and grabbing 11.0 rebounds per game, but he was outplayed by Russell in that series, and the Finals MVP went to Jerry West of the Lakers, who averaged 37.9 points in the Finals and had a triple-double in Game 7.
With Havlicek the only star remaining from the Celtics' dynasty, Boston missed the playoffs during the next 2 seasons, though Havlicek became one of the best players in the league during that time. In 1970-71, he averaged 28.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game, putting him at #2 in the league in scoring and #4 in assists, pretty incredible for a small forward.
He led the Celtics back to the playoffs in each of the next 2 seasons, and led them as far as the Conference Finals each season before he was able to break through to the Finals again in 1974. He averaged 22.6 points and 6.4 rebounds, then raised it to 26.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in the Finals as he won his 7th championship and his first Finals MVP.
Havlicek started to slowly decline after that season, and Boston lost in the Conference Finals in 1975, but they made it back to the Finals in 1976, with Dave Cowens as the team's star player and Havlicek taking a backseat, though he did make a shot with 1 second left in the second overtime of Game 5 that gave Boston a lead in a game that they eventually won in the third overtime, and Havlicek ended up with his 8th championship a couple days later.
He played two more seasons with Boston, finishing up after his 16th season as the Celtics' all-time leader in points, an honor he still holds. He was also #3 on the all-time scoring list at the time, behind only Wilt and Oscar Robertson, though he was fallen to 20th as of today. His biggest legacy is the 8 championships, two of which he won as the team's best player, with another 4 as a major contributor, and he needs to be remembered as one of the greatest players of all time.
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