I Had The Privilege Of Voting For The Official Top 15 All Time Celtics List And It Was One Of The Hardest Decisions Of My Life
Nathaniel S. Butler. Getty Images.To coincide with the NBA's 75 Year Anniversary, the Celtics decided that they would also unleash their own official list of the Top 15 players in franchise history. As a reminder, this is the gist of what the exercise is
Beginning October 18, fans will be able to see the team’s original championship banners, along with the team’s three retired number banners on display at the Boston Public Library. The banners, which formerly hung in the legendary Boston Garden through 1995, have been in storage for several years and will be seen during regular library hours inside the BPL’s Central Library in Copley Square through January 30, 2022.
Additionally, the Celtics will announce its 75th Anniversary Team presented by Arbella, comprised of the fifteen best players in team history. Fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite players in joining a panel of Celtics experts and historians in determining the all-time squads. Details of the voting will be announced in the coming weeks.
Let me be perfectly clear here. It was a little insane to get an email from the team wondering if I wanted to participate in this exercise. When I first read it, I thought they just meant blog about the list when it comes out. Uhhh yeah man, that's sort of my sole purpose in life. This team does literally anything, I blog it. Always have, always will. But then I read it again and they were actually asking if I wanted to be part of the group of 30 or so that would make up the official voting panel. What an insane thing to read for yours truly. I can understand why this might not seem like a big deal to some, but for me? It was very much a big deal.
I'm just a random idiot on the internet who simply loves and breathes this team. They are what I think about when I first open my eyes in the morning, they are what I think about the second I put my head on my pillow and close my eyes, and every second in between. It's been that way my entire life. Some might call that sad and rather pathetic, but looking at where it's gotten me, I disagree. I also fully understand that the only reason I was even considered for something like this is because I have the privilege of having a login to the greatest website on the planet. Without that, and without you fine stoolies clicking on the blogs even if it's to tell me the Celtics suck and I'm delusional, none of this would have been possible. Nobody in charge of this list knows I exist without that reality, and they sure as shit don't care about what my ballot would be. It's why I never, ever, take this job for granted. I've lived the cube life. I know what life is like on the other side. It's why I'm appreciative and more than willing to go on any stoolie's podcast whenever they ask, do radio hits when producers reach out, any of that shit. I understand it's all a privilege, not a right. To even be thought of when it comes to this stuff is still nuts for my brain to process. Even nearly 7 years into this thing, that's still a weird concept for me to grasp that honestly still makes me a little uncomfortable. So before we dig in, I had to say thank you. Thank you to the Celts for even considering me in the first place. Thank you to Dave and Erika for even allowing me to live this dream. And of course, thank you to the readers who played their own part in this opportunity without even knowing it.
Now, I have no idea if the 29 other people on this panel will reveal their ballot but I got the go ahead today that I could release mine. I imagine there will be some different combinations depending on who you ask. For my approach, I wanted to establish a couple of qualifications. As you can imagine, as the franchise with the most titles ever won in NBA history and a shit ton of Hall Of Fame players, there is quite the sample to choose from. I dove into the data, reviewed the tape, and came up with this general outline for how I would trim my list down.
1. Did they win a title?
2. Are they in the Hall Of Fame?
3. Did they play at least 6 seasons in Boston?
4. Were they part of the NBA's Top 75?
That third one one is by far the most important piece of the puzzle. When we get into the exercise, you'll see why I ended on a 6 season cutoff. At the end of the day though, someone legendary is getting snubbed. Could be a Hall Of Famer, could be a Finals MVP, tough choices have to be made. Our job was to not only come up with the Top 15 Celtics of all time, but to also put them into a First Team/Second Team/Third team. An exercise that started off with a bunch of no brainers got tougher and tougher once you got down to around 12-13. You run out of spots a lot quicker than you think and then see around 6 or so guys that are still deserving. After numerous days and long hours, this is where I netted out
Allow me to bring you behind the curtain to my brain. The first thing and easiest way to do this exercise was to break things up by era
1950/60s: Russell, Cousy, Tommy, Sharman, KC Jones, Sam Jones
1970s: Havlicek, White, Cowens
1980s: Bird, McHale, Parish, Johnson
1990/2000s: Pierce, Garnett
Honestly, when I came up with my initial list before putting them into teams, the first 12 names were fairly easy. From there, I struggled. Where do you put Reggie Lewis? What about Don Nelson or Cedric Maxwell? How does someone like Tatum or Rondo fit in? This is where I come back to my 3rd criteria point
Did they play at least 6 seasons?
I chose this number for a few reasons. For starters, I knew I had to have KG in there. To do that, you need guys with at least 6 seasons in Boston. That also ensured someone like Dennis Johnson would qualify. When it comes to Reggie Lewis, it's impossible to know what he would have blossomed into. He looked like a guy who was well on his way to becoming another Celtic great but unfortunately, he only played 6 seasons as a Celtic. This requirement also meant I couldn't include guys like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Isaiah, etc. Is Tatum someone that looks like he's on the path to being a top 15 guy? Sure. But the question with all this stuff is if you want to add someone, then another guy has to come off. I can't justify removing any of these guys for only 5 years of Tatum and 6 years of Reggie. If you include Tatum, you then most likely have to include Reggie, and now you need to kick two guys off. Neither have a title, neither are in the HOF, and neither are on the NBA's top 75. KG gets in with only 6 seasons because he checks all the boxes. He's a HOF player, he won a title, he's on the NBA's 75, and he played long enough for my arbitrary cutoff. Someone like Bill Sharman might not be a name many recognize, but the dude is a HOF player and is on the NBA's list of Top 75 players. How could that be possible and him not be a top 15 Celtic? You can see where things get tricky. KC Jones is a HOF player who was part of 8 titles. Not sure how you keep him out either.
This means I had to eliminate a Finals MVP in Maxwell, a HOF player in Don Nelson, a player with the 4th most assists in franchise history in Rondo, and two awesome young players in Lewis and Tatum. Sadly I had to rule out Toine even though he was a major figure in my life for a long time. No Ray Allen either. You could make a case for each which is what made that final cutoff so tough. I just don't know who you swap out. I even confirmed my list of 15 with multiple olds who could maybe provide some insight on guys that I was nowhere close to being alive for. At the end of the day, I am confident in my choices. Credit to me for having conviction.
So if you must, roast away. But you also have to tell me who you are swapping out. It's not as easy as you think.