NEEDHAM, MA – (March 29, 2022) – NBC Sports Boston and the Boston Celtics celebrate the life and memory of the late legendary Tommy Heinsohn with the 2nd Annual Tommy Heinsohn Night on Wednesday, March 30 at 7:30 PM ET at TD Garden during the Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat game.
Heinsohn was drafted by the Celtics prior to the 1956-57 season, and he earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1957 en route to helping that team win the first NBA Championship in franchise history. Heinsohn was named to six All-Star teams and won eight titles in his playing career, and he was the team’s leading scorer for four of those runs. Red Auerbach named Tommy the team’s Head Coach in 1969, and he directed a new era of Celtics dominance, leading the 1974 and 1976 squads to World Championships, won five Atlantic Division crowns. He spent several decades as a beloved broadcaster. Tommy passed in November of 2020 at the age of 86. He will forever remain a basketball icon throughout the NBA, and a singular presence in Boston Celtics history.
Tommy Heinsohn Night commemorates Tommy’s outstanding legacy as a Boston Celtics player, coach, and broadcaster. The NBCUniversal Boston owned sports network, NBC Sports Boston along with the Boston Celtics will showcase Tommy Tributes on-air, online, on social and digital, as well as through several in-game tributes including: a custom full arena cheer card by local artist Julia Emiliani to showcase Tommy’s impact as a player, coach and broadcaster; a portrait of Tommy at halftime by America’s first female speed painter Jessica K. Haas; a performance of the National Anthem by the College of the Holy Cross’ oldest a capella group The Delilah’s, as a nod to Tommy’s college career; and Tommy’s number 15 will be decaled onto the floor in front of the scorer’s table by the Celtics bench.
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SIGN UP HERE NBC Sports Boston’s tribute coverage of Tommy Heinsohn Night begins with Celtics Pregame Live at 6:30 PM and will highlight Tommy’s impact on the Celtics, the NBA, and the game of basketball, with insight from long-time broadcast partner Mike Gorman as well as special guest appearances. Talent will remember Tommy through special moments and stories and will honor him by wearing number 15 pins on-air.
Tommy’s immeasurable legacy will be celebrated inside TD Garden with a tribute video played during the game featuring a rich collection of milestones from Tommy’s legendary career, and special edition “Tommy” custom shirts handed out to the members of the crowd. Several members of the Heinsohn family will also be in attendance to commemorate the occasion.
The Boston Celtics and NBC Sports Boston will announce the annual “Tommy Award” to the Celtics player who best embodies attributes of hustle, effort, and pride throughout the season. The award presentation will be showcased in-arena as well as on broadcast and digital platforms.
About Tommy Heinsohn
Boston Celtics
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Tommy Heinsohn is the only person to be an active participant in each of the Celtics’ 17 World Championships, an extraordinary and singular legacy. His career with the Celtics had an auspicious start, as he earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1957. Even more notably, he was the best player on the floor in the decisive Game 7 of that season’s NBA Finals against the St. Louis Hawks, leading the team with 39 points and 23 rebounds as the Celtics delivered their first championship banner. Dominant performances and championships were no mere opening act; they would come to define his NBA playing career (1956-65), in which he was named to six All-Star teams and won eight NBA Championships, the team’s leading scorer for four of those title runs. Red Auerbach named Tommy the team’s Head Coach in 1969. Like his playing career, Heinsohn's coaching tenure was punctuated by prosperity, as he directed the 1974 and 1976 squads to World Championships, won five Atlantic Division crowns, and was picked the league's Coach of the Year in 1973 during which he won a team record 68 games.
Tommy was honored on multiple occasions as a player, a coach, and a broadcaster. Among those honors, his number 15 was retired by the Celtics in 1965, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1986, and then as a coach in 2015. He is one of just four people to be inducted as both a Player and Coach, joining former teammate Bill Sharman, John Wooden and Lenny Wilkens.
Like his time as a player and coach, Tommy also became a legend as a broadcaster over the past 39 years. He brought tremendous passion and excitement to his commentary and analysis, and helped inform and entertain generations of Celtics fans. For all of his accomplishments as a player, coach, and broadcaster, it is Tommy’s rich personality that defined the man. A loving father, grandfather, and husband. A talented painter and a lively golf partner. Unofficial mentor to decades of Celtics coaches and players. A frequent constructive critic of referees. Originator of the most “Celtic stat” of them all, The Tommy Point. And a boundless love for all things Boston Celtics, a passion which he shared with fans over 64 years.
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NBC Sports Boston reaches more than 4 million households in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Programming includes the Boston Celtics and Celtics Post Up; nightly opinion shows Early Edition and Boston Sports Tonight; daily football shows including The Breakdown, Quick Slants, The Game Plan, The Weekly Spread, Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast; Football Day in New England featuring pre and post-game programs surrounding all Patriots games; CAA football, basketball, daily radio simulcasts and more. NBCSportsBoston.com and all of the networks social media channels (@NBCSBoston) provide continuous news, video and in-depth, up-to-the-minute coverage of New England sports