Celtics championships past, now and in the future.

[RobertWeathers]

We would likely have more banners if Bird and McHale didn’t break down at certain points of seasons and careers. Not to mention the HUGE losses of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. That could have been Jordan/Pippen level of greatness.
If one ever saw Bias one thing you noticed is he never had a fade away jumper. He never needed it.

Bias was going to be a Dominique Wilkins /James Worthy hybrid.

Almost 40 years later as it still upsets me a great deal.

 

[jimnance]

Bias was going to be a Dominique Wilkins /James Worthy hybrid.

Almost 40 years later as it still upsets me a great deal.

I'm a Boston native but have lived in Michael Jordan's hometown (Wilmington NC) for 30+ years. When I first arrived, I was still playing very competitive hoops and the quality level here was very good both in leagues and pickup games if you knew where to go. UNC- Wilmington is a Div. 1 school and many of their players played in both.
Heart of ACC country.
Some of the locals I played with played with MJ, including HS teammates.
So he is a god here.
But way over 90% of folks here who saw both MJ and Bias in the ACC, all say Bias was the better player.
I watched both on tv in Boston but it's not like today, I saw both just a couple times.
I also thought Bias was better.
He was an incredible player and pairing him with Bird,McHale and Parish would've been the best team in nba history. Multiple titles.
He would've prolonged Birds career since they both played the same position( combo power&small forwards).
But both on the court at the same time? Yikes!!
He was an incredible talent.
But Reggie' s death hit me much harder.
I used to work across the street from Northeastern and we hired interns from there. I was always a huge fan.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

What a weird draft.

A harbinger of things to come with the eastern European players…under-scouted at this time.

 

[jimnance]

What a weird draft.

A harbinger of things to come with the eastern European players…under-scouted at this time.

In fairness, when Sabonis was finally allowed to play in the U.S. by the USSR, he was well past his prime. Still very good but a shadow of what he was.
He could've been the greatest center in NBA history if he'd been allowed to play there earlier. Damn shame.
Still you're right about where he was drafted. What a joke.
Petrovic was an even worse joke.
Petrovic was a great player and easily the 2nd best player in that draft, after Bias.
But Europeans players hadn't yet had the same impact then, as now. Not even close so I guess you could understand why most NBA GMs were afraid to go out on a limb.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

In fairness, when Sabonis was finally allowed to play in the U.S. by the USSR, he was well past his prime. Still very good but a shadow of what he was.
He could've been the greatest center in NBA history if he'd been allowed to play there earlier. Damn shame.
Still you're right about where he was drafted. What a joke.
Petrovic was an even worse joke.
Petrovic was a great player and easily the 2nd best player in that draft, after Bias.
But Europeans players hadn't yet had the same impact then, as now. Not even close so I guess you could understand why most NBA GMs were afraid to go out on a limb.

When I first started loving basketball, the Celtics and Nets had a few incredible games with Lewis dueling against Petrovic. Amazing battles. Petrovic was so damn good. Would have been a superstar in today’s league. Reminds me of Curry. 43.7% on threes in the late 80s/early 90s!

Can’t believe both players were dead within a few years.

 

[jimnance]

When I first started loving basketball, the Celtics and Nets had a few incredible games with Lewis dueling against Petrovic. Amazing battles. Petrovic was so damn good. Would have been a superstar in today’s league. Reminds me of Curry. 43.7% on threes in the late 80s/early 90s!

Can’t believe both players were dead within a few years.

Yeah that really sucked. 2 truly great players who died before they even reached their primes. Petrovic drove me nuts because he was so hard to stop but I had big respect and admiration for his game

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Yeah that really sucked. 2 truly great players who died before they even reached their primes. Petrovic drove me nuts because he was so hard to stop but I had big respect and admiration for his game

I remember feeling the same way. I was rooting for Reggie, who was awesome in his own right. I kept thinking Petrovic was “cheating” in some way because he was unlike any other opponent. He had such a quick release and would create his shots off the dribble, often with just a sliver of space.

Might have been a top 20 all time player if his path had been different. He was that talented and ahead of his time.

The two superstars from that draft both died. So tragic.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I'm a Boston native but have lived in Michael Jordan's hometown (Wilmington NC) for 30+ years. When I first arrived, I was still playing very competitive hoops and the quality level here was very good both in leagues and pickup games if you knew where to go. UNC- Wilmington is a Div. 1 school and many of their players played in both.
Heart of ACC country.
Some of the locals I played with played with MJ, including HS teammates.
So he is a god here.
But way over 90% of folks here who saw both MJ and Bias in the ACC, all say Bias was the better player.
I watched both on tv in Boston but it's not like today, I saw both just a couple times.
I also thought Bias was better.
He was an incredible player and pairing him with Bird,McHale and Parish would've been the best team in nba history. Multiple titles.
He would've prolonged Birds career since they both played the same position( combo power&small forwards).
But both on the court at the same time? Yikes!!
He was an incredible talent.
But Reggie' s death hit me much harder.
I used to work across the street from Northeastern and we hired interns from there. I was always a huge fan.

Yep. I'm not going to disagree. Bias was on the same level of athleticism as MJ. Anyone who saw Bias play saw that. I'd argue his offensive game was more diverse compared to MJ as well.

What we don't know or can't say is how much of a psychopathic competitor Bias was or would become as that's what made MJ "MJ"

 

[turkeyneck]

Bias was going to be a Dominique Wilkins /James Worthy hybrid.

Almost 40 years later as it still upsets me a great deal.

I had just walked into the MIT COOP and the cash register guy says to me "Did you hear about Lenny Bias? He's dead." He was going to be one of Red's great coups. Not enough due diligence, I'm afraid.

(Got the news about the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster the same way. I stay far away from the MIT COOP these days.)

 

[1960Pats]

I had just walked into the MIT COOP and the cash register guy says to me "Did you hear about Lenny Bias? He's dead." He was going to be one of Red's great coups. Not enough due diligence, I'm afraid.

(Got the news about the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster the same way. I stay far away from the MIT COOP these days.)

I got the Bias news the same way but from a policeman I knew that was on a traffic detail. As I passed by him he yelled the same thing to me.

 

[captain stone]

Just mustered-out of the Marines that April, in time for the POs, parade & draft... Woke up late that day, then took the T into town to meet friends... I got-off at Washington Street and went upstairs to exit at Washington & Summer Streets where the little newsstand is/was, and that's when I saw the Special Edition of the Herald: Len Bias Dead. I bought a copy and kept it with me the rest of the day. And thus began a 22 ****ing year Curse...

 

[jimnance]

Just mustered-out of the Marines that April, in time for the POs, parade & draft... Woke up late that day, then took the T into town to meet friends... I got-off at Washington Street and went upstairs to exit at Washington & Summer Streets where the little newsstand is/was, and that's when I saw the Special Edition of the Herald: Len Bias Dead. I bought a copy and kept it with me the rest of the day. And thus began a 22 ****ing year Curse...

I can't remember where I was when I heard the news. It was mind- blowing in a bad way.
In my lifetime there are 3 major events that happened where I not only remember where I was, but also who I was with and pretty much every tiny detail like it just happened:

1. JFK's assassination
2. The first moon landing
3. 9/11

2 horrible gut-wrenching events and one
awesomely great.

 

[jimnance]

I can't remember where I was when I heard the news. It was mind- blowing in a bad way.
In my lifetime there are 3 major events that happened where I not only remember where I was, but also who I was with and pretty much every tiny detail like it just happened:

1. JFK's assassination
2. The first moon landing
3. 9/11

2 horrible gut-wrenching events and one
awesomely great.

What was incredible is I saw #2and #3
live, as they were happening.
(Same with Ruby shooting Oswald).
I've lived all over the U.S., and I've run into many,many people who had the same
experience

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I was doing my residency and had been in the Operating Room for 10 hours assisting in major jaw surgery so I didn't get the news. i had stopped into McDonalds at midnight ( nothing else was open) to get a very late lunch/dinner and just stayed there when I found out on the radio. We had gone from the top of the mountain winning a championship a week or so earlier to a tragedy. That draft was cursed and had more than a few with substance abuse issues as was prevalent in society at the time.

 

[captain stone]

I can't remember where I was when I heard the news. It was mind- blowing in a bad way.
In my lifetime there are 3 major events that happened where I not only remember where I was, but also who I was with and pretty much every tiny detail like it just happened:

1. JFK's assassination
2. The first moon landing
3. 9/11

2 horrible gut-wrenching events and one
awesomely great.

What was incredible is I saw #2and #3
live, as they were happening.
(Same with Ruby shooting Oswald).
I've lived all over the U.S., and I've run into many,many people who had the same
experience

Just a bit too young to remember the JFK assassination, though I was on the children's floor of Somerville Hospital and watching the television when news broke of RFK's assassination 5-1/2 years later...

 

[jimnance]

Just a bit too young to remember the JFK assassination, though I was on the children's floor of Somerville Hospital and watching the television when news broke of RFK's assassination 5-1/2 years later...

The 60's were eventful. Both good and bad

 

[captain stone]

The 60's were eventful. Both good and bad

Yep, glad I lived through them as a single-digit midget....and through the '70s as a teen, and the '80s as a 20-something...

 

[maust]

Yep, glad I lived through them as a single-digit midget....and through the '70s as a teen, and the '80s as a 20-something...

I'm glad to have lived through every decade I made it through too

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I'm glad to have lived through every decade I made it through too

With lots of really good memories..that shall stay locked in the memory banks.

 

[jimnance]

I'm glad to have lived through every decade I made it through too

But did you?
You know, the matrix