On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion point guard Jo Jo White was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1946. White played collegiately at the University of Kansas and later played for the United States Olympic Team at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. That team earned the gold medal.
After the Olympics, the Missouri native was selected by the Celtics with the ninth pick of the 1969 NBA draft despite White having a mandatory two-year commitment to the U.S. Marines. Boston did not have to wait the full two years for White to join the team, however.
Iconic general manager Red Auerbach managed to get White’s tour with the Marines shortened so he could play that season with the Celtics.
That worked out well, given much of the core of their championship teams from the 1960s — legendary big man Bill Russell and veteran shooting guard Sam Jones — retired unexpectedly.
The retirements led to the first losing season for the Celtics since 1950, but it also gave them the draft capital to take Hall of Fame center Dave Cowens in the draft the following summer.
Jo Jo White. Boston Celtics. 1976 NBA Finals MVP. pic.twitter.com/rNk0TgZsTY
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) November 14, 2020
White made the All-Rookie team his first season, and the All-Star team seven straight seasons after that, starting in 1971.
The former Kansas player won titles in 1974 and 1978 with the revamped Celtics, earning a Finals MVP in 1976 and a spot on two All-NBA teams before and after that season.
White played a franchise-record 488 consecutive games until the 1977-78 season when a heel injury derailed the record and his career.
The former Jayhawk never quite recovered and was dealt to the Golden State Warriors that season.
He retired as a player in 1981 and had his number retired by Boston the following year.
White was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1991 and remained close to the team in various capacities for the remainder of his life, passing in 2018 at age 71.
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