On this day in Boston Celtics history, Hall of Fame Celtics big man Kevin McHale made his debut for the team in 1980 in a home game blowout win against the Cleveland Cavaliers that Boston won 130-103.
The rookie power forward put up 10 points, 3 rebounds, an assist, and 2 blocked shots in 13 minutes of playing time off the bench, and shot 44.4% from the floor and a perfect 2-of-2 from the free throw line. It was just a sample of the punishing stat lines the University of Minnesota alum would soon be delivering on the regular for the Celtics as he laid the foundation for one of the best careers at his position in NBA history.
Buy Celtics TicketsAnd it certainly wasn’t a debut to sneeze at, either.
Happy birthday Wayne Kreklow. Boston Celtics. Champion. pic.twitter.com/czCwyEjpAL
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) January 4, 2023
It was also the debut of Boston shooting guard Wayne Kreklow, who logged a single bucket in 5 minutes of playing time, a perfect if underwhelming shooting night for the Drake University alum’s first game.
He would go on to play 24 more games for Boston, averaging 1.2 points per game with the Celtics.
It is also the date that small forward Michael Leon Carr (better known to most of us as “M.L.”) briefly joined the team for the first time as an unrestricted free agent.
An alum of Guilford College, Carr would be drafted seventh overall by the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA – a competing league that would merge with the NBA in 1978).
The Colonels would cut him in camp that summer, however, and Carr would spend a season playing overseas in Israel after signing with the Celtics on this date in 1974 but not making the final roster.
He would later return to the ABA to play for the Spirit of St. Louis, making that league’s All-Rookie team in the process.
That team — ironically along with the Colonels — were among the two teams that did not join the NBA when the merger happened in 1978, so Carr joined the Detroit Pistons as a free agent, then the Celtics the following season, where he would play six seasons, winning two titles in 1981 and 1984.
Carr would average 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists as a player for the Celtics, and would later coach and serve as general manager of the team.
Happy birthday Kenny Battle! Couldn’t find a clip or pic of you with the good guys so here you are with the Fighting Illini when you were known as Flight 33: #Celtics pic.twitter.com/hvT60lA3xU
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) October 10, 2020
It is also the birthday of former Celtic wing Kenny Battle, born this day in Aurora, Illinois in 1964 and who played 11 games for the team across two seasons.
Battle, a product of Illinois who was taken by the Detroit Pistons with the 27th pick of the 1989 NBA draft, would play stints with the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets before signing a pair of 10-day deals to join the Celtics mid-season in 1992.
He would return as a free agent that fall, and averaged 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game while with the team.
Finally, it is also the birthday of ex-Celtics center Ryan Hollins, who was born today in 1984 in Pasadena, California.
Hollins played his college ball at UCLA and was selected with the 50th overall pick of the 2006 NBA Draft by the (then) Charlotte Bobcats (now, Hornets).
The former Bruin would play there, with the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Cleveland Cavaliers before he signed with the Celtics as a late-season addition in 2012.
He would play just 15 games for the team that season, logging 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
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