John Havlicek, one of the great players of the 1960s and ‘70s, who Bill Russell once called the greatest all-around player he had ever seen, died on Thursday at the age of 79.
Havlicek, or Hondo, went eight-for-eight in the NBA Finals, bridging the Russell era of the late ‘60s and the Havlicek-Cowens era of the mid-’70s.
He still holds the Celtics’ franchise record for points (26,395), despite never playing with a 3-point line, and was known as a pioneer of the sixth-man role and for almost never missing a game.
He retired the NBA’s all-time leader in games (1,270) and only missed 30 regular season contests; he averaged just under 40 minutes for his playoff career; he averaged 47.2 minutes per game throughout the 1969 playoffs; he spawned one of the sport’s most famous radio calls; he was Russell’s lead assistant when both were still playing; he ran and ran and ran on the court, and, it turned out, actually had abnormally large lungs; he played at Ohio State with Bob Knight; and he lived an excessively interesting life for someone born into Ohio rurality.
READING
Bill Simmons’ memory of Hondo’s last game (from 2007)
Bob Cousy and the Celtics family have lost a great friend in John Havlicek
Will McDonough’s game story from the night “Havlicek stole the ball”
LISTENING
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