Welcome back to the Celtics season tipoff countdown!
Each day, we’ll give a review of news surrounding the Celtics. We’ll also look back in history to see what happened on today’s date in team history (August 25th). To round out the day’s post, we’ll give you stats and fun facts related to the number of days remaining before the first game (52 today). Let’s get to it!
Recent Team News
Jayson Tatum recently appeared on The Bill Simmons Podcast and touched on a wide variety of topics. He talked about his hatred of the Celtics as a kid growing up in St. Louis. Kobe Bryant was his idol growing up, and as a Laker, he had to hate Boston. He then went on to discuss his summer workouts with Kobe and the episode of Kobe’s show, Detail, about Tatum (He says he watched it 70 times). Tatum says he was able to pick the legend’s brain before they got into the workouts. He said “I tried to get into his mind and see how he went about things.” It certainly sounds like Kobe’s had a big influence on the budding star.
On This Date
August 25, 1965: Bill Russell demanded and received a new contract worth $100,001. The contract came one day after rival Wilt Chamberlain became the first player ever to earn a salary of $100,000 dollars. The two legendary centers had become fierce competitors over the years of playing against each other, and the contracts took it to another level. Even the great Bill Russell can be petty sometimes!
Via NBA
Stats (2017-18)
- Aron Baynes attempted 5.2 shots per game from two-point range. He converted on 2.6 of them per contest.
- The team as a whole had a 52% Effective Field Goal Percentage. This stat weighs three pointers as worth more than two pointers.
Fun Facts
- Seven players have worn number 52 for the Celtics. The most recent to don the jersey was Chris Babb, who wore it in 2014 for the 14 games in which he played.
That concludes today’s Countdown to Celtics Tipoff. Make sure to check back here tomorrow as the clock continues to tick towards the 2018-19 season!
