Not only that, Russell and Red Auerbach mentored backup center John Thompson between the 1964-66 seasons, encouraging him to leave pro basketball after being picked by the Chicago Bulls in the 1966 expansion draft to pursue a career in coaching. Related Story Inked Up: How NBA players embraced tattoos and changed the game Read now Through the Boston Shootout tournament, which began in 1972, the Celtics also introduced some of the first Black referees to the NBA ranks. They’re the only NBA franchise to have had more than five Black head coaches (Udoka is the sixth), and the only one to have three Black head coaches who’ve won NBA titles.
The Celtics were also the first NBA team to hire a Black head coach when it named Bill Russell to the top spot in October 1966. Texas Western then beat a heavily favored and all-white Kentucky team in the 1966 NCAA championship, changing college sports forever. It was the first NBA franchise to draft a Black player in 1950, and the first NBA team to have an all-Black starting lineup in December 1964, which inspired Don Haskins to start five Black players at Texas Western during the 1965-66 season after the Celtics won the 1965 NBA title. The Celtics franchise has been incredibly progressive when it comes to race. The second? When most people think of Black culture and history, they tend to overlook Boston - which is not only a mistake, but erases the city’s history and the Black folks who call it home. So it didn’t matter where New Edition was from, they were trying to sell records. The first reason was that MCA was based in LA, had a partnership with Lakers ownership and knew that Black America was pulling for the Lakers and hated the Celtics. Though the Lakers would go on to beat the Celtics in Boston to clinch the NBA title that year, Black Bostonians wondered why New Edition filmed a video with the Celtics’ bitter rivals in the first place. This has been an issue since MCA Records decided to have Roxbury’s very own, New Edition - who were all Celtics fans, by the way - make a video for “ My Secret (Didja Gitit Yet?)” in Los Angeles with the Lakers in 1985. Still, fans and pundits just can’t help themselves from making lazy generalizations about the city of Boston and the team’s fans. Related Story Jaylen Brown on why it’s important for the Celtics and NBA to hire African American head coaches Read now They added Derrick White from the San Antonio Spurs at the trade deadline and became the top defense in the league under first-time head coach Ime Udoka. When paired with Rob “Time Lord” Williams III and Al Horford, son of Tito Horford, the first Dominican player to make it to the NBA, the Celtics’ starting lineup became one of the most formidable in the league after turning their season around in late January. Tatum is the product of a teen mom and a young father, and he never shies away from the bright lights or the hard questions. After striking gold with Brown, the Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum in 2017. Jaylen Brown was the third pick in the 2016 draft and has become one of the NBA’s most prominent voices on social justice, racism and inequity. NBA Defensive Player of the Year and starting point guard Marcus Smart was drafted in 2014. One reason to root for the Celtics is that, unlike other teams who’ve tried to buy their way to a title, this team’s core was drafted and developed by the organization. The stereotype of a Celtics fan - white, racist and obnoxiously loud - is a far cry from the actual fan base.
One of the frustrating things about being a Black Bostonian and a Boston Celtics fan is dealing with flat-out hatred from my own people toward the franchise and anyone who roots for the team.