On this day: former Celtics Rasheed Wallace, Kermit Washington born
On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston big man Rasheed Wallace was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1974. A product of the University of North Carolina, Wallace made First Team All Atlantic Coast Conference in 1995 before he would be taken by the Washington (then) Bullets (now, Wizards) fourth overall in the NBA draft that same year.
Wallace would play for that team, the Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, and Detroit Pistons (where he would win a title in 2004) before joining the Celtics in free agency in 2009. The UNC product would sign a three-year deal with Boston that summer.
The big man had a tough season with the team in terms of production during the regular season, registering at or near-career lows in several counting stats.
The Celtics would get to the NBA Finals with Wallace in 2010 but would fall to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
Wallace would temporarily retire (he would attempt a comeback in two seasons with the New York Knicks) at the end of the season, having averaged 9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and an assist per game while with the team.
It is also the birthday of former Boston forward Kermit Washington, born this day in 1951 in Washington, D.C. Washington played his college ball at American University and was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the fifth overall pick of the 1973 NBA draft.
He would play for that club for five seasons before being dealt with Don Chaney and draft assets to the Celtics, for whom he would play 32 games in the 1977-78 season before being traded yet again.
Washington was dealt with Kevin Kunnert, Sidney Wicks, and Freeman Williams to the San Diego Clippers for Tiny Archibald, Marvin Barnes, Billy Knight, and the draft pick that would become Danny Ainge.
He averaged 11.8 points, 10.5 boards, 1.3 assists, and as many blocks per game as a Celtic.
It is also the date of former Celtics point guard Maurice King’s passing in 2007.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1934, King would play collegiately for Kansas, from which he would be selected 48th overall by the Celtics in the 1957 NBA draft (there were many more rounds in that era).
He would have among the shortest stints with the team in franchise history, playing just 19 minutes of 1 game.
In that contest, he put up 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists before leaving to join the Baltimore Bullets in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later, the Continental Basketball Association or CBA, that era’s equivalent of a G League).
Finally, it is also on this date that the Celtics lost Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat 106-101.
Boston dropped a critical contest they led by a solid margin for much of the second and third quarters. Miami took a 2-0 series lead in the Disney Bubble with the win with 25 points from point guard Goran Dragic and 21 more from big man Bam Adebayo.
After the game, the Celtics had a loud discussion that could be heard by reporters waiting for the postgame scrum. “It was nothing,” Walker said to the press later via the AP. “It was nothing.”
“We’re frustrated,” added star forward Jayson Tatum. “But that’s team sports. Not supposed to be happy we’re down 0 – 2. But that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Just talking about the game. It’s cool.”
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