Today is the 61st birthday of Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge.
Ainge was born in Eugene, Oregon in 1959, and by the time he was wrapping up his high school career, had become the first person in history to be an All-American recruit in football, baseball, and basketball.
He would play college ball at Brigham Young University, and would win the John R. Wooden award among several honors in his time there. He would also play for the Toronto Blue Jays in Major League Baseball for three seasons before entering the 1981 NBA Draft.
Boston, of course, would draft him with the 31st pick, and the future team president would go on to win two championships with the Celtics and an All-Star bid with the franchise in 1988.
In 1989, Ainge was traded to the Sacramento Kings, and then again to the Portland Trail Blazers the season after, making it to the 1992 NBA Finals.
He would sign with the Phoenix Suns in free agency the season after, and retire as a player at the end of the 1994-95 season, making the jump to the front office as Suns head coach in 1996, lasting until 1999.
Ainge then would accept the job as Boston’s GM in 2003, winning Banner 17 with the organization five years later, continuing in the hunt for another right up to today.
Happy birthday, Danny.
