John Havlicek

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

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.

In Their Own Story

On April 15, 1965, during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics led 110–109 with five seconds left. A turnover by Bill Russell gave the ball to Hal Greer for an inbounds pass. Havlicek, guarding Chet Walker with his back to Greer, spun and leaped as the pass came in, tipping it to Sam Jones. Announcer Johnny Most famously screamed, 'Havlicek stole the ball!'—a call dubbed by the NBA as the most famous radio broadcast in basketball history. This play preserved Boston's playoff hopes, leading to a 4–1 Finals victory over the Lakers. In another critical moment during the 1968 Eastern Division Finals, Havlicek recorded a near triple-double with 29 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists in Game 5 to avoid elimination against the 76ers.

Reader's Guide

Havlicek was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where his parents ran a general store. He was of Czech and Croatian descent, from his father and mother respectively. Havlicek 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. As for his basketball stats, he scored 1,594 career points in 59 games along with averaging 30+ points per game his junior and senior seasons. Additionally, 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. As for the other sports he participated in, 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. Havlicek played college basketball at Ohio State University with future seven-time NBA All-Star Jerry Lucas (who was his roommate), future first-round NBA draft pick Larry Siegfried, future coaching legend Bobby Knight, and Mel Nowell, among many others. He also played football under Woody Hayes during his freshman year before deciding to focus solely on basketball. During his sophomore year the 1960 Ohio State Buckeyes, coached by head coach Fred Taylor and assistant coaches Jack Graf and Frank Truitt, won the 1960 NCAA title. That year Havlicek appeared in 28 games scoring 12.2 ppg. Havlicek was named as an alternate of the 1960 United States national team that competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Havlicek went on to average 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. During his time at Ohio State, Havlicek was primarily known for his defensive ability, however he still managed to score 1,223 points during his three year tenure. During this period the Buckeyes won 78 of 84 games and captured the Big Ten championship all three years.

Did You Know?

• Havlicek's regular-season high of 43 points was against the Baltimore Bullets on December 17, 1963.
• Havlicek was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team on five occasions and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times.
• Havlicek scored a school record 53 points in a 103-101 overtime win over Cadiz as a junior.