This is #12 in a series of threads to determine the 25 greatest Celtics of All-Time.
It´s 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. I´m sure it has been done many times before, and I know that it´s tricky to rate our legends, but I think there´s no better place for this than Celticsblog, and I haven´t seen such a poll here before.
Players to consider:
Nate Archibald
Cedric Maxwell
M.L. Carr
Frank Ramsey
Satch Sanders
Don Nelson
JoJo White
Dennis Johnson
K.C. Jones
Jim Loscutoff
Kevin Garnett
Ed Macauley
Rules1. Only former or current players are eligible.
No former coaches, GMs or owners. The Celtics´ history has just too many characters to include all of them.
You can´t 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 Cowens´ 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. I´ll 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
Winner of the last poll:
William Walton "Bill" SharmanArguably the greatest shooter of his era, Bill Sharman was one of the first NBA guards to push his field-goal percentage above .400 for a season (.436 in 1952-53). He still ranks among the top free-throw shooters of all time with a spectacular .883 lifetime percentage, and he led the league in free-throw shooting for a record seven seasons
Jerry West recalled a game early in his rookie season, 1960-61, in which he was matched up with Sharman, who by then was in the 11th and final season of his career. West had the audacity to hit seven straight jumpers over Sharman. On the seventh, Sharman took a swing at him. The punch didn't connect, but the message did. West viewed Sharman a little differently on his next trip down the court.
"Bill was tough," West recalled in the Los Angeles Times. "I'll tell you this, you did not drive by him. He got into more fights than Mike Tyson. You respected him as a player."
In 1951-52, his first season with the Celtics, Sharman saw limited action but still managed to score 10.7 points per game and shoot .859 from the free-throw line. Although Boston finished in second place in the Eastern Division with a 39-27 record, the Celtics lost to New York in a best-of-three division semifinal series.
The following season Sharman's playing time nearly doubled, and his production rose to All-Star levels. He led the league in free-throw percentage (.850) and ranked fourth in field-goal percentage (.436) and sixth in scoring (1,147 total points, 16.2 ppg). Boston finished third in the Eastern Division at 46-25, then fell to the New York Knicks in the division finals. Sharman made his first trip to the NBA All-Star Game in 1953 and earned a berth on the All-NBA Second Team at season's end.
Sharman put up similar numbers in 1953-54, averaging 16.0 points while leading the league in free-throw percentage (.844) for a second consecutive season. His impressive .450 field-goal percentage placed him second in the NBA, behind teammate Ed Macauley's .486. The Celtics tied the Syracuse Nationals for second in the Eastern Division, then were swept by the Nats in the division finals.
With the advent of the 24-second shot clock for the 1954-55 season, Sharman's outside shot became a valuable commodity for the Celtics. He upped his scoring output to 18.4 ppg, earning a third straight All-Star selection and a second appearance on the All-NBA Second Team. In the 1955 NBA All-Star Game he scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and 15 overall to help the East to a 100-91 victory and earn the game's Most Valuable Player Award. Sharman's free-throw percentage (.897) led the league for a third straight year, and his field-goal percentage (.427) ranked sixth. Boston finished in third place in the Eastern Division at 36-36. Then, true to form, the Celtics fell to the Nationals in the Eastern Division Finals.
In 1955-56, Sharman earned official recognition as the best player in the league at his position. After leading the Celtics in scoring with 19.9 ppg, he earned the first of four consecutive berths on the All-NBA First Team. The rest of the squad that year included teammate Cousy, Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks, and Neil Johnston and Paul Arizin of the Philadelphia Warriors. Sharman continued to top the NBA in free-throw percentage (.867), and he ranked among the league leaders in scoring (sixth place) and field-goal percentage (.438, fifth), but the Celtics could not advance beyond the division semifinals, falling to Syracuse in three games.
Boston could always count on Sharman and Cousy for scoring, but the Celtics lacked solid rebounders and paid the price in the playoffs. However, that changed in 1956-57 with the addition of Bill Russell and Rookie of the Year Tom Heinsohn, and the return of sixth-man Frank Ramsey. This big and powerful front line combined with the All-Star backcourt of Sharman and Cousy to push the Celtics to an NBA-best 44-28 regular-season record.
In the Eastern Division Finals, Boston easily rolled over Syracuse in three straight games and was a heavy favorite to win the championship against St. Louis. The Hawks surprised the Celtics in the first game with an overtime win, but the Celtics came back the next night to rout the Hawks by 20 points. St. Louis won a cliff-hanger in the next outing; then Boston took two straight. However, St. Louis came back to tie the series at three apiece before the big-stakes showdown on April 13. That game, one of the most dramatic basketball contests ever played, went two overtimes before Boston earned its first NBA crown.
The presence of Russell and Heinsohn allowed Sharman to have one of his most productive seasons. He led the team with 21.1 ppg, shooting .416 from the floor and a league-leading .905 from the free-throw line. His five consecutive seasons atop the free-throw percentage charts established an NBA record that still stood in 1994.
In 1957-58, Sharman helped the Celtics clinch the NBA's best record again, at 49-23. He shot .424 from the field, averaged a career-best 22.3 points, and hit at an .893 clip from the line. The Celtics' scoring leader for a third straight season, Sharman ranked sixth in the league in that category but saw his free-throw shooting reign come to an end as Syracuse's Dolph Schayes eclipsed him with a .904 percentage.
Boston reached the NBA Finals for a second consecutive season, but this time the Hawks had the upper hand. St. Louis took the 1958 title with a six-game series victory. It marked the only time in the five seasons Sharman had teamed with Russell that the Celtics didn't win the title.
The 1958-59 season saw Sharman regain the free-throw shooting title with a career-best .932 mark. He led the Celtics in scoring for a fourth straight year, at 20.4 ppg, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team. The Celtics became champions again in 1959, beginning a record string of eight consecutive titles. Sharman averaged 20.1 points in the postseason, hitting 57-of-59 free-throw attempts.
Sharman played two more seasons for the Celtics and earned two more championship rings, but his contributions diminished each year as age began to take its toll and Coach Red Auerbach gave more minutes to another future Hall of Famer, Sam Jones.
Jones had come aboard as a rookie in 1957-58, and he would split time with Sharman for four seasons before becoming an integral part of the Celtics' dynasty in the 1960s. Sharman averaged 19.3 ppg in 1959-60 and 16.0 ppg in 1960-61. His final two seasons were not without their accomplishments: in 1960 he received his eighth consecutive All-Star selection, and in 1961 he won his seventh free-throw percentage title.
Source: Hoopedia
Final Outcome (points in parenthesis):
Total Votes: 20
Bill Sharman (62)
Dennis Johnson (38)
JoJo White (18)
Kevin Garnett (10)
Ed Macauley (5)
Reggie Lewis (3)
Satch Sanders (2)
Frank Ramsey (1)
K.C. Jones (1)
Topic: 25 Greatest Celtics of All-Time : #12 (Read 13066 times)