Tag: Opinions

30 Years Later, Part 5: Greg Kite

When the Boston Celtics selected Greg Kite in the 1st Round of the 1983 NBA Draft out of Brigham Young University, the 6’11” center was coming off a 4-year career in which he averaged 6.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Lucky enough to spend time on the court with HOF inductees Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson, Kite won NBA Titles with the Celtics in 1984 & 1986. He was part of the inaugural season of the expansion Charlotte Hornets in 1988-89 and later played for the Orlando Magic, starting in their second season of 1990-91. Kite played for 7 teams and retired in 1995.

 

30 Years Later, Part 4: Dennis Johnson

Straight Outta Compton to the Hall of Fame

Dennis Johnson wasn’t going to the NBA. Hell, he wasn’t even going to play in college.

Coach Jim White asked DJ to come play at LA Harbor College, a 2-year college which lead him to Pepperdine University where he developed into a tough defender with huge leaping ability. Drafted 29th by Seattle in  1976, he played for legends Bill Russell and Lenny Wilkens. Helping the Sonics win the 1979 NBA Title, DJ was named Finals MVP.  Traded to Phoenix after the 1980 season, Johnson changed his game from a scoring 2-guard to an all-out scoring machine. When   Phoenix traded him to Boston following the 1983 campaign, DJ changed his game again, becoming a pass-first point guard. The Celtics won titles in 1984 & 1986 before Johnson retired after the 1990 season.  The Celtics retired Johnson’s #3 in December of 1991.

Johnson passed away in 2007.

His nephew, Nick, was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft. The Rockets recently traded Johnson to the Denver Nuggets as part of a deal for Ty Lawson.

 

30 years later, the ‘86 Celtics still shape the League

As we near the end of the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, I wanted to take a minute and reflect on the greatest team of my lifetime and the likelihood those same Celtics that were dominant in my childhood will have a major impact on the NBA Playoffs in my first year of being “a man.” Although I’m sad that this year’s Celtics team was swept out of the Playoffs, I have a good feeling that they’ll be back next year with a #1 option to go with this collection of B+ players.

Series begins 5/1/15…