On this day in 1964, the Boston Celtics selected four players of note in the 1964 NBA Draft, held in New York City.
They did not draft future Celtics champion forward Paul Silas, who was taken out of Creighton by the St. Louis Hawks in the second round of the draft with the 10th overall pick.
Silas would play for the Hawks in St. Louis and Atlanta as well as the Phoenix Suns before being dealt to Boston in the spring of 1972, where he would win two banners, be elected to multiple All-Defensive teams and an All-Star Game among many other honors.
Boston took center Joe Strawder with the 34th overall pick out of Bradley, but the big man never suited up for the Celtics.
He was instead sent to the Detroit Pistons for cash considerations, where he played three seasons.
The Celtics also drafted small forward Ron Bonham out of Cincinnati with the 16th overall pick.
Bonham would win two rings with Boston, in 1965 and 1966 — his sole two seasons with the team. He averaged 6.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game over that stretch.
Boston selected big man Mel Counts with the seventh overall pick out of Oregon State, and Counts would also win two championships with the Celtics, again in 1965 and 1966.
He played just those two seasons with Boston, recording 6.8 points, 5.8 boards and 0.6 assists per contest.
Finally, the Celtics drafted center John Thompson, who also played just two seasons with Boston, both banner years, again 1965 and 1966.
Thompson would go on to have a Hall of Fame coaching career immediately after retiring as a player in 1966, averaging 3.5 points, as many boards and 0.3 assists per game as a Celtic.
It is also the anniversary of two victories since the season of Boston’s last championship in 2007-08, both coming against the Atlanta Hawks four years apart.
The first was a 99-65 Game 7 blowout in 2008 that saw Boston advance to face LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.
Kevin Garnett scored 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Paul Pierce 22 points and 8 boards, and Leon Power 12 points off the bench.
In 2012, Boston beat the Hawks 90-84 in overtime behind a triple-double from point guard Rajon Rondo, who scored 17 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists.
“I felt good about all the shots I took,” Rondo said via the Associated Press. “My teammates told me to stay aggressive. Nights like tonight when I take a lot of shots, I finally found a way to get my team a win.”
Pierce added 21 points and 5 boards, KG 20 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks, and Ray Allen 13 points and 6 rebounds off of the bench.
