John Havlicek had an extraordinary career with the Boston Celtics. Drafted in 1962 with the seventh overall pick, he could have skipped basketball and played football instead, and in fact, almost became a wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns before joining the Celtics.
In his first year or two, Havlicek was sort of the backup to Frank Ramsey, who, along with Red Auerbach, invented the sixth man concept. As a rookie, Havlicek was primarily a defensive player, but early in his career, he significantly improved his shot and his ball handling, and when Ramsey retired in 1964, Havlicek was ready to step up.
He ultimately won 8 championships, including in 1974 and 1976.
Havlicek was great for many reasons, but not least of all because he had tremendous endurance and could run non-stop. In fact, his former teammate and coach Tom Heinsohn said that Mass General Hospital once studied him to understand why he was so much stronger later in games than anyone else.
In his later years, he became a tremendous offensive player, yet he never let up as a defender, as Julius Erving learned in the 1977 Eastern Conference Finals. As you’ll see here, Erving really struggled with Havlicek’s stifling D.
Keep in mind that in 1977, Havlicek was 37, but Dr. J was just 27, and entering into his prime.
Havlicek retired after the 1978 season, but later said that if he had known Larry Bird was coming along, he would have waited.
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