Since their founding on the daybreak of the Basketball Affiliation of America (BAA, the league that will grow to be as we speak’s NBA), the Boston Celtics have worn 68 totally different jersey numbers (and three extra that aren’t a part of any numerical collection), worn by over 500 gamers all through Celtics historical past. To commemorate the gamers who’ve worn these numbers, Celtics Wire covers the complete historical past of jersey numbers and the gamers who’ve worn them because the workforce’s founding.
With 25 of those jerseys being retired to honor among the biggest Celtics to ever put on them, there’s quite a lot of historical past to cowl. And for as we speak’s article, we’ll proceed with the fifth of 5 (and the ultimate one, as will probably be retired in his honor) gamers to put on jersey No. 3 in workforce historical past, Celtics Corridor of Fame level guard Dennis Johnson.
The Pepperdine alumnus was drafted out of that faculty by the (then) Seattle SuperSonics (now Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder) with the twenty ninth general decide within the 1976 NBA draft, and would play 4 seasons with that ballclub and three extra with the Phoenix Suns earlier than the Suns traded him to Boston together with draft belongings for Rick Robey and picks.
DJ performed seven seasons with the Celtics, sporting No. 3 the complete time, whereas profitable two titles with Boston and being named to 2 of his 5 All-Star and 5 All-Defensive groups, amongst different accolades. DJ retired with the Celtics and averaged 12.6 factors, 3.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.2 steals per sport.
Hearken to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
This text was initially printed on Celtics Wire: Historical past of Celtics Jersey #3 – Dennis Johnson (1983-90)