On this day in 1975, former Boston Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen was born in Merced, California.
A military kid, Allen “grew up” in a lot of places, but graduated high school in Dalzell, South Carolina. He attended the University of Connecticut for college, where he won Big East and UPI Player of the Year awards in 1996.
He would be drafted fifth overall in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks on draft night. He would also play for the Seattle Supersonics before being dealt to the Celtics in the summer of 2007.
There, he would help convince big man Kevin Garnett to come to Boston to set the stage for a new “Big Three” of he, KG and Paul Pierce. The trio would win a title together in 2008.
But, injuries and bad luck combined with several attempts to deal Allen by the front office eroded the spirit of “Ubuntu” behind the team’s last title, and would eventually lead to Allen decamping to the Miami Heat.
The move, for less money than the Celtics were offering to a conference rival, created a rift between that Banner 17 title crew that is yet to be completely healed, unfortunately.
It is also the date of German center Daniel Theis signing with the team in 2017 for a two-year, $2.19 million deal.
Theis, who’d previously tried to play his way onto an NBA roster without success, joined the Celtics that fall, and quickly became a regular part of the rotation.
Apart from time missed for a torn meniscus the following March, the Salzgitter native has been an important part of the team since, averaging 6.7 points, 4.7 boards and 1.2 assists per game right up to the present.
Former Boston fan favorite big man Guerschon Yabusele was also signed on this date, also in 2017.
Yabu, as he was called, had been drafted 16th overall by the Celtics in the 2016 NBA Draft, and spent a season overseas developing.
It ultimately didn’t work out with the Dancing Bear (he had several nicknames), Yabusele getting waived in the summer of 2019, but he logged 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds per game while with the team.
Former Boston guard David Wesley signed with the team as a free agent on this date in 1994 for a three-year, $900,000 deal.
He averaged 12.7 points, 3.1 boards and 5.8 assists per game while a Celtic, leaving the team in the summer of 1997 to sign with the Charlotte Hornets.
It was on this date in 2012 Celtics E’Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, Sasha Pavlović and Sean Williams were dealt in a three-team trade that brought back guard Courtney Lee.
Lee would play two seasons for Boston before he himself was dealt in another three-team deal that netted the Celtics Jerryd Bayless. In his time with Boston, Lee averaged 7.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
