Today in Boston Celtics history, Kelvin Upshaw was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1963. An alum of both at both Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and the University of Utah, Upshaw went unselected in the 1986 NBA Draft. He worked his way to the NBA from the Continental Basketball Association (CBA – an equivalent to the G League in that era) to play for the Miami Heat in the 1988-89 season, appearing in nine games before returning to the CBA. Upshaw managed to fight his way onto the Celts’ roster on the merit of his work over two ten-day contracts, only to find himself waived when summer came.
He found himself back in green in the fall, though, signed as a free agent in late November 1989. The stay was brief, however, as he was waived just a month later, the day after Christmas. Kelvin had a long career as both a player and a coach, the epitome of a journeyman, playing his way onto multiple NBA teams and many others in lesser leagues. Upshaw was a reserve guard behind Dennis Johnson and Brian Shaw his first season with the club and behind Reggie Lewis his second.
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He only appeared in 37 games over two seasons (1988-89 and 1989-90) for Boston, logging 5.2 points and 3.4 assists per game in those two campaigns.
Kelvin Upshaw of the Boston Celtics moves the ball during a game versus the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Historic milestones
It is also the date of the third-lowest score the Celtics have held an opponent to in the shot clock era. The game was a home contest held at (then) Fleet Center (now, TD Garden) in 2003 that saw Boston beat the Denver Nuggets 77-58.
Rodney White led the Nuggets off the bench with 11 points, while Paul Pierce scored nearly as much as Denver did with a 45-point performance.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Upshaw born; Boston holds Denver to 58, Pierce gets 45