Brief Biography of NBA Player Danny Ainge and His Career

Danny Ainge was born on March 15, 1959 in Eugene, Oregon. Ainge was a standout high school athlete in basketball, baseball, and football at North Eugene High School.

After high school Ainge attended Brigham Young University where he starred in basketball while also playing minor and major league baseball. Ainge was selected in the 1977 Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays and eventually made it to the major leagues in 1979 while still enrolled in college at BYU. Ainge played with Toronto for three years and managed to put up somewhat decent numbers. In 1981, Ainge left baseball for good when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics. The Celtics actually had to pay off the remainder of Ainge's pro baseball contract.

Ainge would go on to have a very successful 14 year NBA career while playing for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, and Phoenix Suns.

Ainge's career with the Celtics started off a bit slow with sub-par numbers but he eventually found his niche with the team and had his most productive years between 1987 and 1989. In the 1988-1989 season with the Celtics, Ainge averaged 15.9 points and 4.8 assists per game. It was during his time with the Celtics that Ainge was part of two NBA Championship teams.

During the 1988-1989 season Ainge was traded from the Celtics to the Sacramento Kings where he continued to have a good season by finishing off the year with 20.3 points per game to go along with 6.7 assists. Ainge would stay with Sacramento through the 1990 season and then was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.

During his time in Portland, Ainge became a fan favorite and starred on the Trail Blazer's 1992 NBA Finals team. Though the Blazers lost to the Chicago Bulls, it was still a very encouraging season for the franchise.

After the 1992 season, Ainge signed with the Phoenix Suns and teamed up with superstar Charles Barkley. In the 1992-1993 season Ainge was a large part of the success of the Phoenix Suns NBA Finals team. Though the team lost to the Chicago Bulls in the series, Ainge proved that he still had skill as he averaged 11.8 points and 3.3 assists per game. Ainge would stay with the Suns through the 1994-1995 season and then retire.

Danny Ainge is currently the Director of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics, the team that he helped win two NBA Championships. He has had quite a controversial role in several trades but has recently become more popular among Celtics fans after acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the 2007 off-season.