What You Don't Remember About Boston Celtics' Hall of Famers

The Boston Celtics have more National Basketball Association titles than any other team in the league, and more Hall of Famers as well. From Bob Cousy to Larry Bird, the Celtics have been represented in the Basketball Hall of Fame by many players. Everyone knows all about the careers of these Boston Celtic legends, or do they? Here are some things about some Boston Celtic Hall of Famers that maybe you don't know.

1. Bob Cousy played for the Royals when he was 41 years old!

Cousy, who was six foot one inches tall, had not played in the NBA since 1963 when he took the job of coaching the Cincinnati Royals and Oscar Robertson. To boost sagging ticket sales, he agreed to play, even though he was 41 years old. He appeared in only 7 games and played a total of just 34 minutes, but the promotion did increase ticket sales for the franchise. In the 7 contests Cousy scored a total of 5 points. Prior to this, Cousy had been coaching Boston College quite successfully after leaving the Celtics, leading them to spots in the NIT and NCAA tournaments.

2. Bill Russell averaged 22 rebounds a game for his career!

The six foot nine Russell had over 7,000 more rebounds than he had points, grabbing 21,620 boards over his 963 games in 13 seasons. This gave him an average of 22.5 rebounds a game! The leaders today for a single season are almost never higher than 15. Russell had years in which he garnered an average of over 23 caroms on 7 different occasions. The Hall of Famer averaged 15.1 points per game over his career, never having a season in which he got 20 per contest.

3. John Havlicek averaged almost 21 points a game over his career!

"Hondo" had seasons in which he went for over 24 a game 3 times, including the 1970-71 campaign in which he scored at a 28.9 clip. Usually thought of as a player that did a little bit of everything, he was the team's leading scorer more often than not. Havlicek, a six foot five swingman, even managed to score 16 points a game the year he retired, at the age of 37 in 1978.

4. Tom Heinsohn beat out Bill Russell for the 1956-'57 Rookie of the Year Award!

Heinsohn, later nicknamed "Tommy Gun" for the many shots he was known to launch during a tilt, averaged 16 points a game in his rookie season. Russell, meanwhile, missed the first 24 games of that campaign while leading the United States to Olympic Gold in Melbourne, Australia. Russell came back to post 14 points a game along with 19 rebounds per contest, but Heinsohn's initial year was so impressive that he won the award.

5. Dave Cowens had only 2 seasons in which he scored over 20 points a game!

The undersized center had a long range jumper that made him a nightmarish match-up for others at his position, but he scored 20 or more just twice in a year. However, he had almost 14 rebounds a game during his stay in the NBA. Cowens is remembered incorrectly as a shot-blocker; he averaged less than one per game over 11 years. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

6. Larry Bird had more rebounds a game than Kevin McHale!

Bird had 10 a game over his career while McHale had around 7. However, this is explained by the fact that Bird averaged 38 minutes a game to McHale's 31. McHale was brought in off the bench for a good part of his time with the Boston Celtics, cutting into his total minutes and allowing the difference in rebounds between the 2 players.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/hof.html