On this day in Boston Celtics history, Celtics draft pick Joe Johnson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1981. Johnson would play his collegiate basketball at the University of Arkansas, which he would lead to the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament championship in 2000.
The Little Rock native would be drafted by the Celtics in the 2001 NBA Draft with the 10th overall pick of the draft and would play for Boston for 48 games of his rookie season before being traded. The small forward would be dealt with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio, and draft assets to the Phoenix Suns for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers in February 2002, then rejoin Boston for a single game in 2022.
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The former Razorback averaged 7.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while with Boston.
BOSTON, UNITED STATES: Joe Johnson (R) of the Boston Celtics battles Karl Malone (L) of the Utah Jazz in the first quarter 21 December 2001 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. AFP PHOTO/JOHN MOTTERN (Photo credit should read JOHN MOTTERN/AFP via Getty Images)
It is also the date of the 1994 NBA draft, held at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Celtics took one player of note, that being big man Eric Montross out of North Carolina, drafted with the ninth overall pick of the draft. Montross played two seasons with Boston, logging 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds with the franchise, before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for draft assets.
The Celtics would also draft Russian big man Andrei Fetisov 36th overall, but immediately traded him and forward Ed Pinckney for wing Blue Edwards and forward Derek Strong. Strong would play one season for Boston, logging 6.3 points and 5.4 boards per game over that stretch, while Edwards appeared in just 31 games for the franchise, recording 7.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per contest.
BOSTON, : Boston Celtics Eric Montross (R) evades the reach of Milwaukee Bucks Vin Baker (L) as the Bucks Marty Conlon (C) looks on 03 March at the Boston Garden. The Celtics won 103-91. (COLOR KEY: Bucks wear purple.) AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read JOHN MOTTERN/AFP via Getty Images)
It is also the anniversary of the 1982 NBA draft, held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, the Celtics again selected just one player of note, which was center Darren Tillis, taken 23rd out of Cleveland State University. Tillis would be with the team for just 15 games before being dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Scott Wedman. Tillis averaged 1.1 points per game over that short stretch.
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Later in the draft, the Celtics picked up Landon Turner out of Indiana. The Indianapolis native never suited up for Boston, however, as he had been paralyzed in a car accident in 1981, with the Celtics using the final pick of the 1982 draft to select him as a tribute to his impressive college career.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Johnson born; Montross, Tillis drafted; Pinckney deal