1974 Finals Game 7 Havlicek Steal vs Bucks
Havlicek stole the ball!
John Joseph Havlicek ( HAV-lih-chek; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019), often nicknamed Hondo, was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire 16-year career with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Havlicek won eight NBA championships — one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8–0 record in the NBA Finals series — and was voted the NBA Finals MVP in 1974.
- Event
- NBA Finals Game 7
- Year
- 1974
- Teams
- Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks
- Venue
- Boston Garden
- Key Player
- John Havlicek
- Outcome
- Celtics win in overtime (102-86)
- Championship Number
- 13
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
The air inside the Boston Garden was thick enough to choke on, a mixture of sweat, popcorn, and pure anxiety. With ten seconds left in regulation, Oscar Robertson caught the inbound pass near half-court. The crowd held its breath as he looked for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Suddenly, a blur of green and white shot across the floor. Havlicek, legs burning from forty minutes of sprinting, lunged with impossible reach. His fingertips grazed the ball just as it left Robertson's hands, sending it careening toward the baseline. The buzzer sounded, but the game wasn't over.
Reader's Guide
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Did You Know?
- Havlicek was a three-sport athlete at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, earning All-Ohio honors in all three sports during his senior year.
- He was drafted by the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Pipers of the ABL, and the Cleveland Browns of the NFL in 1962.
- Havlicek revolutionized the 'sixth man' role in the NBA, coming off the bench for the Celtics during his early years.
- He was nicknamed 'Hondo' after the 1953 movie of the same name starring John Wayne.
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