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 were hosting 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. Met Red Auerbach, shook hands with the great Bill Russell, got an autograph from Tommy Heinsohn. The Celtics won the game despite a big game from 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 Andrew Toney of the Sixers, Sidney Moncreif of the Bucks and, of course, Michael Jordan of the Bulls. 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 likes to talk about the day Michael Jordan outscored Johnson by 63 points in a playoff game in Boston in 1985. Bird responded by saying that 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 shooter, Johnson was a very important shooter. We lost Dennis Johnson to a heart attack in February. He was just 52 years old. For my money, he belongs in the Hall of Fame since he was part of two teams that reached a total of six NBA Finals. When on a basketball court, DJ was playing to win, whether he was with the Celtics or when he was playing 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 in College Hoops and the NBA. With March Madness just around the corner, join Tom here each day where he’ll line your pockets with cash. As always you pay only if you WIN.
