John Havlicek

Lore & Background

A swingman, Havlicek played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1959 to 1962, winning an NCAA championship in 1960. He was selected by the Celtics in the 1962 NBA draft and played with the team until his retirement in 1978. A 13-time NBA All-Star, Havlicek was named to the All-NBA First Team four times and to the All-NBA Second Team seven times. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team on five occasions and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times.

Havlicek is known for his stamina and his hustle as well as his abilities. During his career with the Celtics, he became known for stealing the ball to save the game–and the Celtics' playoff hopes–near the end of game seven in the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals. Havlicek served as captain of the Celtics from 1969 to 1978, and was named NBA Finals MVP in 1974. Following his retirement, his number 17 jersey was retired by the Celtics. Havlicek was inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.

Reader's Guide

Havlicek was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where his parents ran a general store. He was of Czech and Croatian descent. He was a three-sport athlete at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, where he was a boyhood friend of Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro. During his senior year of high school Havlicek earned All-Ohio honors in all three sports.

He scored 1,594 career points in 59 games along with averaging 30+ points per game his junior and senior seasons. He scored a school record 53 points in a 103-101 overtime win over Cadiz as a junior. He also played in the Ohio North-South All-Star game with Jerry Lucas. Havlicek was quarterback and captain of the football team for all four years, and hit .444 and .484 in his junior and senior seasons of baseball.

In college at Ohio State, he played with Jerry Lucas, Larry Siegfried, Bobby Knight, and Mel Nowell. He also played football under Woody Hayes during his freshman year before focusing solely on basketball. During his sophomore year the 1960 Ohio State Buckeyes won the NCAA title. Havlicek appeared in 28 games scoring 12.2 ppg.

He was named as an alternate of the 1960 United States national team that competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics. He averaged 14.5 ppg his junior year and 17.0 ppg his senior year earning All-Big Ten honors both years and was named an All-American his senior year. He scored 1,223 points during his three-year tenure. The Buckeyes won 78 of 84 games and captured the Big Ten championship all three years.

In the NBA, Havlicek was drafted by the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Pipers of the ABL, and the Cleveland Browns of the NFL in 1962. After the Pipers failed in their bid to join the NBA, Havlicek became a full-time Celtic. Head coach Red Auerbach called him 'the guts of the team'. Nicknamed 'Hondo', Havlicek revolutionized the 'sixth man' role.

During his rookie year in 1962–63 he played all 80 games coming off the bench, averaging 14.3 PPG, 2.2 APG and 6.7 RPG, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He and the Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 to win the 1963 NBA Finals. The following year he averaged nearly 20.0 PPG, resulting in his first All-NBA Second Team selection. He scored a regular season best 43 points during a game vs. the Baltimore Bullets on December 17, 1963.