John Havlicek

About John Havlicek

John J. Havlicek (born April 8, 1940 in Martins Ferry, Ohio) is a retired American professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA titles, half of them coming in his first four seasons.

In the NBA, only teammates Bill Russell and Sam Jones won more championship rings during their playing careers. Havlicek is considered one of the best NBA players in history, especially on defense, and was inducted as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. He was a three sport star at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio and one of his boyhood friends was Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Phil Niekro. The Bridgeport High School Gymnasium was renamed the "John J Havlicek Gymnasium; in January 2007. He shares the honor with National High School Hall of Fame member,Frank Baxter, A long time coach at Bridgeport High School. The court is named after Baxter.

Perhaps the most famous play-by-play call in NBA history came on April 15, 1965, when legendary Celtics broadcaster Johnny Most exclaimed "Havlicek stole the ball!" after Havlicek intercepted Hal Greer's inbound pass to clinch the Eastern Conference Championship against the Philadelphia 76ers.