On this date in Boston Celtics history, shooting guard James Young signed his three-year rookie deal with the Celtics in 2014. A native of Flint, Michigan, Young was picked up 17th overall out of the University of Kentucky in the NBA draft of that same year.
He would spend much of his time playing for the Maine Red Claws (now, Celtics) in the NBA D League (as the G League was still known then) in his inaugural season after missing Summer League due to injuries. Young would play for Boston for a total of three seasons, but could never quite find his footing in the NBA despite abundant patience from the front office.
The Kentucky product averaged 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in his time in green and white.
It is also the date that ex-Boston big man Jermaine O’Neal signed with the Celtics in 2010 after a career playing for the Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors.
Brought on to try and ease the burden on Boston’s aging, oft-injured frontcourt, O’Neal himself spent many games tending to minor injuries and only played 49 games for the team over two seasons.
He would log 5.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game with the Celtics.
It is the anniversary of the 2014 three-team trade that sent former Celtics center Tyler Zeller to Boston from the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Marcus Thornton from the Brooklyn Nets.
Boston got the North Carolina product for the use of their cap space to roster him as the Cavs juggled players in an effort to assemble a championship-caliber team around LeBron James.
Zeller would play three seasons for the team, putting up 7.1 points, 4 boards, and an assist while with the Celtics.
Today is also the birthday of Boston wing Johnny Bach, who played 34 games for the team in the 1948-49 season, averaging 3.5 points per game over that period.
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, he was a product of Fordham who was picked up by the Celtics in the second round of the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) and would return to head coach his alma mater in 1950 soon after retiring as a player.
Happy birthday in heaven to Al Brightman. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/TopYEktutq
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) September 22, 2021
Finally, it is also the date we lost forward Al Brightman in 1992. The Charleston product played 58 contests with the Celtics in the team’s inaugural season, averaging 9.8 points and 1.0 assists per game over that stretch.
Like Bach, Brightman would go into coaching soon after retiring from the game, coaching in a number of professional leagues and collegiately in the Pacific Northwest.
Rest in peace.
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