On this day in 1971, renowned Boston Celtics point guard Bob Cousy was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts along with longtime rival Bob Pettit of the then-St- Louis Hawks.
Initially drafted out of Holy Cross by the Tri-City Blackhawks in 1950, Cousy refused to play for the team, and would end up being picked up by the Celtics instead.
The New Yorker would play for Boston for 13 seasons, nearly his entire career (Cousy would play seven games for the Cincinnati Royals in the 1969-70 season in a brief comeback bid), winning eight titles and being elected to 13 NBA All-Star Games over his Celtics tenure, among many other honors.
It is the birthday of former Boston shooting guard Tracy Jackson, who was born this day in 1959 in Rockville, Maryland and drafted out of Notre Dame by the Celtics 25th overall in the 1981 NBA Draft.
Despite being taken ahead of current Boston head honcho Danny Ainge (No. 31 overall), Jackson’s Celtics tenure was a short one, his contract sold to the Chicago Bulls for cash considerations.
Jackson averaged 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in his time with Boston.
It is also the anniversary of two first-round East NBA Playoff games since the season of the Celtics’ last championship in 2007-08.
The first was a 104-87 win over the Chicago Bulls in 2017 a recorded message from Boston champion Kevin Garnett helped inspire, led by big man Al Horford (18 points, 8 rebounds) and point guard Isaiah Thomas (16 points, 9 assists).
Chicago, led by guards Dwyane Wade and former Celtic Rajon Rondo, had won the first two games of the series, but he Kentucky product broke his thumb in Game 2, and missed the contest.
The Celtics avoided digging a three-game hole for themselves with the victory, and would go on to win the series 4-2.
Boston would also sweep the Indiana Pacers four games to zero with a 110-106 win on this day in 2019.
It came at the hands of the Celtics’ bench, with Gordon Hayward leading Boston with 20 points and Marcus Morris Sr. adding 18 points and 8 rebounds, the duo combining to hit 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
“I knew there was going to be a spark off the bench … and that person was Gordon Hayward,” related guard Kyrie Irving via the Associated Press.
