On this day in Boston Celtics history in 1941, big man and NCAA coaching legend John Thompson was born in Washington D.C. A former player for the Providence College Friars and a key part of their 1963 NIT Championship squad, Thompson would be later drafted by the Celtics with the 25th overall pick of the 1964 NBA draft.
He would play just two seasons in a reserve role for Boston, nicknamed “the Caddy” for his role backing up star big man Bill Russell, winning a title for his troubles in each of his two seasons with the Celtics before starting the next phase of his career.
Buy Celtics TicketsThompson would retire at the end of that stretch to go into coaching, first coaching at the high school level before taking the job at Georgetown University.
There, he would become a transformative mentor and coach, with Hall of Fame players like Allen Iverson crediting Thompson for changing the course of their lives.
The former Friar would become the first Black coach to win an NCAA title, and he continues to be held in the highest regard for the role he played in transforming the sport through the relationships he built with players.
Thompson would change careers again late in life, becoming a basketball analyst for TNT and ESPN, and stayed active in the wider basketball community until his death on August 30, 2020.
Thompson shares his birthday with former Celtic point guard Nate Archibald, who came into this world on this date in 1948 in the south Bronx, New York City, New York.
The Bronx native played for UTEP collegiately and was drafted 19th overall by the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings) in the 1970 NBA draft.
He would play for them, the (then) New York Nets (now, Brooklyn), and Buffalo Braves before that latter team dealt him to Boston when the two franchises were traded as well (long, weird, fascinating story).
Archibald played five seasons with the Celtics, winning a title with the team in 1981, and averaged 12.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game with the team.
It is the date that wing Marquis Daniels signed with the team as an unrestricted free agent in 2009.
The Auburn product played a total of 138 games over parts of three seasons with the Celtics (including that scary fall we will never forget), averaging 4.9 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game with the team.
Daniels left the team in 2012 to join the Milwaukee Bucks.
Finally, it is also the date of the passing of former Boston big man Bob Kinney, who left this world on September 2, 1985.
Born September 16, 1920, in Bexar County, Texas, Kinney would play his NCAA ball at Rice, joining the (now) Fort Wayne Pistons (now, Detroit) of the National Basketball League (NBL — a predecessor league of the NBA) in 1945.
He would be dealt for cash to the Celtics in January of 1949 and played two seasons with the team between that year and 1950.
Kinney logged 10.8 points and 1.6 assists per game with Boston, rebounds yet to be recorded in that era.
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