50 years ago today, Havlicek stole the ball


It was fan appreciate night last evening at the TD Garden, and those who attended were treated to a celebration of one of the greatest plays in NBA-history:

The C's honored NBA-legend John Havlicek, who made the dramatic steal in 1965 of the Eastern Finals, 50 years ago today:



One current member of the Celtics, 21-year old Marcus Smart, certainly wasn't alive to experience the event. Smart joked after the game about his memory of the steal:



Maybe Smart should sit down, before Game 1 of the playoff series against the Cavs, and watch the highlight of the play. The call by Johnny Most should give anyone chills.



The now 75-year old Havlicek, nicknamed Hondo, discussed the significance of Most being behind the mic for that sequence:

Per the Boston Herald's Steve Hewitt:

It’s all because of Johnny Most’s call because it would have been an ordinary call for an ordinary play-by-play guy, but Johnny was very biased and very imaginative, and very Celtic

Now most of us reading this site weren't around for the Havlicek's Hall-of-Fame Career, but he will always be regarded as one of the greatest Celtics of all-time. If you are making a Mount Rushmore of Celtics' legends, you start with Bill Russell, and then can argue who would be next, Havlicek or Larry Bird.

Hondo won eight titles with the C's, including being named the Finals-MVP in 1974. For his career he averaged 20,8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in 16 NBA-seasons, making 13 appearances in the All-Star Game.

Photo credit NBA.com

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