![]() “They’re not Portland Trail Blazers fans.” “People watching us are Celtics fans,” he told the Wall Street Journal in 2016. He seemed unconcerned when he was called a “homer,” openly favoring the team he had been associated with for six decades. Heinsohn continued to deliver analysis and commentary until last year. For more than 35 years, he teamed with play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman on Celtics local TV broadcasts. Heinsohn later went on to a long broadcasting career with Boston radio and television stations and also with CBS Sports. During my tenure as a player and coach, that was always the secret weapon. We had pace and tempo, and we controlled it. “We ran whenever we could!” he told in 2016. 619 winning percentage.Īs a player and a coach, he advocated the same relentless style of play he learned from Auerbach. He had a career record of 427-263, for a. He was fired midway through a losing season in 1978 and never coached again. With star players Havlicek, Dave Cowens and Jo Jo White, Heinsohn restored the Celtics to their former glory, winning NBA championships in 1974 (over the Milwaukee Bucks) and 1976 (over the Phoenix Suns). The club’s 68-14 record in 1972-73, when Heinsohn was named the NBA Coach of the Year, remains the best in team history. In Heinsohn’s first four seasons at the helm, the team improved, year by year, from 34 to 44 to 56 to 68 victories. 15 was retired by the Celtics, and he then worked as a broadcaster for the team before taking over from Russell as head coach in 1969. Heinsohn retired after the 1965 season, making his final appearance in yet another championship-winning game. In the fifth and final game, Heinsohn led the Celtics with 19 points as they captured another title, 105-99. In the third quarter of the fourth game, playing with a cut over his right eyebrow, Heinsohn scored 15 points in less than five minutes to lead Boston to a 98-95 comeback victory. Seven years later, in a championship series against the San Francisco Warriors, who were led by 7-foot-1 Wilt Chamberlain, Heinsohn delivered another heroic performance. Russell, a player he admired above all others, scored 19 points for Boston, with 32 rebounds and five blocked shots. Heinsohn led his team with 37 points and had 23 rebounds. Louis tied the score, but two of Heinsohn’s teammates, Frank Ramsey and Jim Loscutoff, scored the final four points to secure the victory for the Celtics, 125-123. Shortly afterward, however, he fouled out of the game. With a little more than two minutes remaining in the second overtime, Heinsohn sank a long jump shot to put the Celtics ahead, 121-120. After a five-minute overtime, the teams were still deadlocked at 113. The score was tied at 103 at the end of the regulation. “The action was so feverish that fans were left limp when the last buzzer sounded.” The final game, played at the old Boston Garden, was “one of the most thrilling finals seen in the history of the league,” wrote New York Times reporter William Briordy. sports history.Īs rookie sensations together, Heinsohn and Russell led Boston to the team’s first NBA title in 1957, winning a seven-game championship series against the St. ![]() ![]() They were arguably the most dominant professional dynasty in U.S. ![]() The winning ways continued after Russell succeeded Auerbach as coach in 1966, with the Celtics claiming 11 titles between 19. “There are better shooters, I suppose, but Tommy’s agility and his exceptional body control gives him a big advantage.”Ĭousy told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette this week that his old teammate was “the most underrated power forward perhaps in the history of the league.”ĭuring Heinsohn’s nine seasons as a player, Boston won eight NBA championships. “Tommy has the greatest variety of effective shots in the league,” Sharman once said. Nevertheless, Heinsohn was a six-time all star and a powerful presence on both ends of the court, averaging 18.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for his career. When he tried to quit, he gained weight – prompting Auerbach to suggest that he start smoking again. In the early 1960s, Auerbach said Heinsohn had “the oldest 27-year-old body in the history of sports.” Even as a player, Heinsohn smoked at least a pack of cigarettes a day. He sometimes clashed with Red Auerbach, the Celtics’ head coach and team architect, who criticized Heinsohn’s lackadaisical training habits. Heinsohn, a 6-foot-7 forward, was the Celtics’ leading scorer for three years in the early 1960s, on a team that included such stars as Sam Jones, Bill Sharman, Bob Cousy and John Havlicek. After a standout collegiate career at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, Heinsohn – who was often known as “Tommy” – joined the Celtics in 1956 as a first-round draft choice, winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award over his teammate Bill Russell. ![]()
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