John Joseph Havlicek ( HAV-lih-chek; April 8, 1940 – April 25, 2019), often nicknamed Hondo, was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire 16-year career with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Havlicek won eight NBA championships — one of three NBA players with an unsurpassed 8–0 record in the NBA Finals series — and was voted the NBA Finals MVP in 1974.
A swingman, Havlicek played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes from 1959 to 1962, winning an NCAA championship in 1960. He was selected by the Celtics in the 1962 NBA draft and played with the team until his retirement in 1978. A 13-time NBA All-Star, Havlicek was named to the All-NBA First Team four times and to the All-NBA Second Team seven times. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team on five occasions and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times. Havlicek is known for his stamina and his hustle as well as his abilities.
During his career with the Celtics, he became known for stealing the ball to save the game–and the Celtics' playoff hopes–near the end of game seven in the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals. Havlicek served as captain of the Celtics from 1969 to 1978, and was named NBA Finals MVP in 1974. Following his retirement, his number 17 jersey was retired by the Celtics. Havlicek was inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Havlicek was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio, where his parents ran a general store. He was of Czech and Croatian descent, from his father and mother respectively.
Havlicek was a three-sport athlete at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, where he was a boyhood friend of Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro. During his senior year of high school Havlicek earned All-Ohio honors in all three sports. As for his basketball stats, he scored 1,594 career points in 59 games along with averaging 30+ points per game his junior and senior seasons. Additionally, he scored a school record 53 points in a 103-101 overtime win over Cadiz as a junior. He also played in the Ohio North-South All-Star game with Jerry Lucas. As for the other sports he participated in, Havlicek was quarterback and captain of the football team for all four years, and hit .444 and .484 in his junior and senior seasons of baseball.
Havlicek played college basketball at Ohio State University with future seven-time NBA All-Star Jerry Lucas (who was his roommate), future first-round NBA draft pick Larry Siegfried, future coaching legend Bobby Knight, and Mel Nowell, among many others. He also played football under Woody Hayes during his freshman year before deciding to focus solely on basketball. During his sophomore year the 1960 Ohio State Buckeyes, coached by head coach Fred Taylor and assistant coaches Jack Graf and Frank Truitt, won the 1960 NCAA title. That year Havlicek appeared in 28 games scoring 12.2 ppg. Havlicek was named as an alternate of the 1960 United States national team that competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Havlicek went on to average 14.5 ppg his junior year and 17.0 ppg his senior year earning All-Big Ten honors both years and was named an All-American his senior year.
During his time at Ohio State, Havlicek was primarily known for his defensive ability, however he still managed to score 1,223 points during his three year tenure. During this period the Buckeyes won 78 of 84 games and captured the Big Ten championship all three years.
Havlicek was drafted by the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League (ABL), and the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) in 1962. However, after the Pipers failed in their bid to join the NBA (partially due to Havlicek competing briefly as a wide receiver in the Browns' training camp), Havlicek became a full-time Celtic. A swingman who could play either guard or forward, he was known for his stamina, with competitors stating that it was a challenge just to keep up with him. Head coach Red Auerbach went on to call him "the guts of the team". Nicknamed "Hondo" (a nickname inspired by the 1953 movie of the same name starring John Wayne), Havlicek revolutionized the "sixth man" role in the NBA, coming off the bench for the Celtics during his early years.
During his rookie year in the 1962–63 season he played all 80 games coming off the bench and made an immediate impact averaging 14.3 PPG, 2.2 APG and 6.7 RPG. His play resulted in him being named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. During the postseason Havlicek appeared in 11 of the Celtics 13 playoff games and averaged 11.5 PPG as he and the Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 to win the 1963 NBA Finals. The following year during the 1963-64 season Havlicek once again appeared in all 80 games. His scoring increased as he averaged nearly 20.0 PPG. This resulted in his first All-NBA Second Team selection. He also scored a regular season best 43 points during a game vs. the Baltimore Bullets on December 17, 1963. The Celtics once again finished the year with the league's best record, and Havlicek appeared in all 10 postseason games averaging 15.7 PPG as he and the Celtics defeated the San Francisco Warriors 4-1, winning his second straight championship.
Entering his third year in the 1964-65 season Havlicek missed multiple games for the first time, but still appeared in 75 of the 80 games for the Celtics that year. His numbers slightly decreased and he averaged 18.3 PPG, just under 5 rebounds, and 3 assists a game. However during the postseason that year Havlicek was immortalized for his clutch steal in the closing seconds of the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals. In the seventh and final game, played at Boston Garden on April 15, the Celtics led the Philadelphia 76ers 110–109 with five seconds left. They only needed to inbound the ball from underneath their basket to secure the victory and advance to the 1965 NBA Finals. However, Bill Russell's pass struck one of the basket's support wires hanging down from the ceiling, leading to a turnover that gave the 76ers and Wilt Chamberlain the ball with a chance to win the game. Hal Greer was set to throw the inbounds pass for the 76ers. Havlicek stood with his back to Greer, guarding Chet Walker. But as Greer's pass came inbounds, Havlicek spun, leaped, and tipped the pass to Sam Jones. Veteran referee Earl Strom, who wrote about the game in his memoir Calling the Shots, called Havlicek's reaction one of the greatest plays he ever saw in his 32 years as a professional official. Announcer Johnny Most's call of "Havlicek stole the ball!" was dubbed by the NBA as "the most famous radio call in basketball history." He and the Celtics would go on to defeat the Lakers 4-1 in the 1965 NBA Finals, securing Havlicek's third straight title.
The 1965–66 season saw Havlicek appear in 71 games for the Celtics, averaging 18.8 PPG, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists a game. For his efforts, Havlicek was selected to his first NBA All-Star game and his second All-NBA Second Team. During the 1966 playoffs Havlicek stepped his play up even further as throughout the Celtics 17 playoff games he played 42 minutes a game off the bench and averaged 23.6 PPG along with 9.1 RPG. He and the Celtics beat both the Cincinnati Royals and Philadelphia 76ers to advance to the NBA Finals vs. the Lakers. They won their fourth straight championship, beating the Lakers 4-3. During the offseason Havlicek signed a one year contract extension with the Celtics worth $32,000. In the 1966-67 season Havlicek appeared in all 81 games and averaged 20+ PPG for the first time along with 6.6 RPG and 3.4 APG. He was selected to his second NBA All Star Game. He and the Celtics defeated the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, as Havlicek averaged a playoff best 27.4 PPG. However despite his performance, they were then defeated by the 76ers 4-1 in the second round, marking the first time in Havlicek's NBA career his season did not end in a championship.