I was born and raised in Philadelphia. When I was nine years old, my father took me to my first NBA game. The Philadelphia Warriors hosted the Boston Celtics. His boss had given my father two tickets to the game. Our seats were in the front row behind the Celtics bench in the old Convention Hall. I met Red Auerbach, shook hands with the great Bill Russell, got an autograph from Tommy Heinsohn. The Celtics went on to win the game despite some great play by the Warriors Wilt Chamberlain. The following year, the Warriors moved to San Francisco leaving Philadelphia without a team for the next season. My experience the year before had such a positive influence on me that I became a Celtic fan for life.
Fast forward to 1983. That year, the Celtics were swept by the Bucks in the first round of the playoffs and the hated 76’ers won the NBA title. Red Auerbach was beside himself and something had to be done. He made a trade that brought guard Dennis Johnson to the Celtics. Johnson had been one of the main reasons the Supersonics reached the NBA Finals in 1978 and 1979. DJ was a versatile player who could play point guard or shooting guard. He was brought to Boston primarily to protect players like the Sixers’ Andrew Toney, the Bucks’ Sidney Moncreif and, of course, the Bulls’ Michael Jordan. The Celtics have reached the NBA Finals in four straight years since Johnson joined the team. The great Larry Bird always said that DJ was the best player he had ever played with. That’s saying something considering Larry played with Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Bill Walton and Nate Archibald.
Everyone loves to talk about the day Michael Jordan outscored Johnson for 63 points in a playoff game in Boston in 1985. Bird responded by saying Jordan got his 63 but we won the game. Just for the record, they played again the next night in Chicago and DJ held Jordan to 19 points as Boston closed out the series. Not considered a great shot, Johnson was a very important shot. We lost Dennis Johnson to a heart attack in February. He was just 52 years old. For my money, he’s in the Hall of Fame as he was part of two teams that reached a total of six NBA Finals. When on a basketball court, DJ played to win, whether he was with the Celtics or when he was going one-on-one with some of the players he coached in the NBA Development League that he coached before his untimely death. of the.
Tom Freese is well on his way to big winning seasons at College Hoops and the NBA. With March Madness right around the corner, join Tom here each day, where he’ll line your pockets with cash. As always you only pay if you WIN.