25 Greatest Celtics of All-Time : #16

[Casperian]

This is #16 in a series of threads to determine the 25 greatest Celtics of All-Time.

Itīs the off-season, and we need something to talk about besides nonsensical trade-rumors.

So I thought we could make a big poll to decide once and for all who are the greatest Celtics of all-time. Iīm sure it has been done many times before, and I know that itīs tricky to rate our legends, but I think thereīs no better place for this than Celticsblog, and I havenīt seen such a poll here before.


Players to consider:

Danny Ainge
Don Chaney
Charlie Scott
Ray Allen
Nate Archibald
M.L. Carr
Bailey Howell
Frank Ramsey
Satch Sanders
Don Nelson
K.C. Jones
Jim Loscutoff
Paul Silas
Ed Macauley
Reggie Lewis


Rules

1. Only former or current players are eligible.
No former coaches, GMs or owners. The Celticsī history has just too many characters to include all of them.
You canīt vote for a player who has already won one of the earlier polls.

2. You can include off-the-court performances.
Although only former or current players are eligible, it is perfectly fine to include Tommy`s contributions as a coach and broadcaster, Danny Ainge`s work as a GM or Dave Cowensī nap on a parkbench after celebrating with the fans in 1974 in your evaluation.

3. You have three votes
The first vote is worth 4 points, the second 2 points, and the third 1 point. This system is certainly more suited for a poll like this than a simple "one vote" poll.

Just write a post with your votes, and after the poll is closed, I will go through the thread and count every vote personally. Iīll close the poll in 2-4 days.


#1  Bill Russell
#2  Larry Bird
#3  John Havlicek
#4  Bob Cousy
#5  Kevin McHale
#6  Tommy Heinsohn
#7  Paul Pierce
#8  Dave Cowens
#9  Sam Jones
#10 Robert Parish
#11 Bill Sharman
#12 Dennis Johnson
#13 JoJo White
#14 Kevin Garnett

Winner of the last poll:




Cedric Bryan "Cornbread" Maxwell
2x NBA Champion (1981,1984)
1x NBA Finals MVP (1981)

Maxwell was the 12th overall pick in the 1977 NBA Draft. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics, where he played for eight of his eleven seasons.

Maxwell made an impact in his second season with the Celtics. While Boston was mired in an otherwise awful 1978-79 season, as they awaited Larry Bird's decision to sign with the franchise, the second-year power forward averaged 19.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The Celtics would go just 29-53 on the year, but the young Maxwell's potential, along with the promising addition of Bird and others, set the stage for what would become an NBA dynasty.

Maxwell was best known for his moves near or beneath the basket. He was very effective in the low post, faking defenders into the air, drawing contact, then making high percentage shots (and sometimes drawing a foul) using either his jump-hook close to the basket or going up against the glass. It was rare that Maxwell took an outside jump shot, especially when Celtic teammates like Larry Bird or Tiny Archibald were on the floor. This helped the Celtics run a balanced offense with a formidable inside game that was hard for most teams to defend.

Maxwell, in addition to being a dangerous scorer and a colorful character, was a clutch performer in the playoffs. Despite being overshadowed by such stars as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, Maxwell was named MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals. Three years later, Maxwell scored 24 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in the decisive game-seven victory during the 1984 NBA Finals.

Source: Wikipedia

Final Outcome (points in parenthesis):
Total Votes: 29

Cedric Maxwell (42)
Reggie Lewis (36)
K.C. Jones (30)
Ed Macauley (25)
Frank Ramsey (20)
Danny Ainge (14)
Satch Sanders (13)
Paul Silas (10)
Nate Archibald (8 )
Jim Loscutoff (4)
Ray Allen (1)

[Roy Hobbs]

Ed Macauley
Danny Ainge
KC Jones

In other words, one superstar (by far, the best player not to make the list), and two role players who contributed both as players and in other capacities.

[Donoghus]

Ed Macauley
Reggie Lewis
Satch Sanders

[RAcker]

Ed McCauley
K.C. Jones
Danny Ainge

[Hoops]

Well, apparently Roy's campaigning is going to push Ed over the top this time (perhaps a good thing to recognize one of the "forgotten" ones). Still, I vote:

Reggie
Danny
K.C.

[Roy Hobbs]

Well, apparently Roy's campaigning is going to push Ed over the top this time (perhaps a good thing to recognize one of the "forgotten" ones). Still, I vote:

Reggie
Danny
K.C.

Boo!

[paintitgreen]

Different old guys:

Ramsey
Satch
KC

[Jon]

I'm still leaving Easy Ed off the list.  He may have been a star, but he didn't win a title in Boston.  I would have listed him a long time ago if we were simply listing the most talented players to ever wear a Celtics uniform; but if we were doing that, KG would be much higher and Ray would already be on the list.  Unfortunately, this qualification also keeps me from putting Reggie on the list yet. 

Keeping championships in mind and contributions to the Celtics, I go this way:

Frank Ramsay (won 7 titles and was Red's first sixth man, that's a lot of contribution).

Satch Sanders (arguably the best man defender on the dynasty teams and winner of 8 titles).

K.C. Jones (elite defender, winner of 8 titles as a player and 2 as a head coach; if Ainge gets on the list for being a player and a contributor, I don't see how he gets on it before Jones, who did more as a player and manager). 

[Redz]

Reggie
KC
Ainge

[Truck Lewis]

Reggie
Tiny
Satch

[Gemini]

Reggie
Macauley
Macauley

[Who]

Paul Silas
KC Jones
Satch Sanders

[Lou Tsioropoulos]

Ramsey
KC
Sanders

[slamtheking]

Ramsey
Tiny
Macauley

[PistolPete]

Satch
K C
Loscy