On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team landed All-Star forward Gordon Hayward in 2017 after the Indiana native wrote a letter in The Player’s Tribune announcing his decision to leave the Utah Jazz to sign with the Celtics.
Earlier in the day, his agent had denied reports from ESPN NBA insider Chris Haynes that the unrestricted free agent would sign with Boston, but the former Butler player opted for a largely fateful reunion with his college coach, Brad Stevens, who had left. . the collegiate ranks to join the Celtics in the same role in 2013.
“There were so many great things that pulled me in that direction,” explained Hayward. “There was the winning culture of Boston, as a city — from the (Red) Sox to the (New England) Pats to the (Boston) Bruins.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa
“There was the special history of the Celtics, as a franchise – from (Bill) Russell to (Larry) Bird, to (Paul) Pierce, and it goes on and on,” he added.
“And of course there was Coach Stevens: not just for the relationship we built off the field, but also for the one we started building on the field in Indiana all those years ago.”
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
It is also the birthday of former Celtic wing Adrian Griffin, born on this day in 1974 in Wichita, Kansas.
After playing at Seton Hall in college, he went to basics in 1996. He eventually signed with Boston as a free agent in 1999. He played two seasons with the Celtics, averaging 5 points, 4 rebounds and 1.8 assists with the team.
Ex-Boston guard and forward Al Lucas was born on this date in 1922.
A graduate of Fordham, the 6-foot-3 wing played just two games for the Celtics in the 1948-49 season, netting 1 point per game in his very short stint with the team.
Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Gene Conley on April 25, 1959. AP Photo/SM
Finally, it is also the day we lost striker Gene Conley in 2017. One of the few people to win a title in both Major League Baseball and the NBA, Conley also played for the Boston Red Sox, Boston (then Milwaukee) Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies in MBL.
He also played for the New York Knicks and Hartford Capitals of the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Washington Tapers of the American Basketball League and Celtics.
Gene Conley (17) of the Celtics. (AP photo)
Conley played four seasons for Boston, his 1952-53 rookie campaign, and three more after five seasons away to play baseball.
He won titles with the Celtics between 1959 and 1961, averaging 5.3 points and 6.8 boards per game from the bench – rest in peace.
This post originally appeared on Celtic’s thread.
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