Because this ranking system tilts toward winners, it’s no
surprise that we’re seeing a run of Celtics as we get into the top 40.
John Havlicek is the rare Celtic who bridged two different
Boston dynasties. He was drafted at the mid-point of the Bill Russell Celtics
that won 11 titles in 13 seasons in the 1950s and 1960s – then he starred for
the Dave Cowens Celtics teams that added two more in the 1970s.
Havlicek ended up with eight NBA titles and a career winning
percentage of 65 percent in the regular season and 63 percent in the playoffs.
He played in 13 all-star games and was an ironman, playing in 80 or more
regular season games in 11 of his 16 seasons. The fewest games he ever played
in a year was 71.
With all that going for him, No. 37 on my list feels a
little low, but his advanced stats aren’t as impressive as his per-game stats.
Although he averaged 20.8 points per game for his career, he only had three
seasons above 20.0 in PER. His career PER of 17.5 is below players such as
Joakim Noah, Corey Maggette and Calvin Natt. He also only had four seasons
above 10.0 win shares, which isn’t all that impressive considering how much the
Celtics won during his time. He was very much a cog in a greater machine.
He was a prime-time player though. Beginning in 1966-1967,
his playoff PER exceeded his regular season PER in six straight playoff
appearances, culminating with his 1973-1974 playoff run that ended with an NBA
title over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Milwaukee Bucks. In the NBA Finals, Havlicek averaged
26.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He was named NBA Finals MVP.
The NBA Finals bonus points turned that year into his best
in my system. At his peak, there were lots of small forwards who were better.
If you look at his entire career, few were as good as long as Havlicek.
|
John
Havlicek bio info
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Career
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1962-1978
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|
Games
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1,270
|
|
Points
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20.8
|
|
Rebounds
|
6.3
|
|
Assists
|
4.8
|
|
FG Pct.
|
43.9%
|
|
All-Star games
|
13
|
|
NBA MVPs
|
0
|
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NBA Titles
|
8
|
|
Playoff seasons
|
13
|
|
Playoff games
|
172
|
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Points
|
22.0
|
|
Rebounds
|
6.9
|
|
Assists
|
4.8
|
|
FG Pct.
|
43.6%
|
|
Hall of Fame
|
1984
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|
Top 100
rankings
|
||
|
|
Points
|
Top 100 ranking
|
|
1-year
|
307.40
|
76th
|
|
5-year
|
1,430.96
|
51st
|
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10-year
|
2,713.17
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32nd
|
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Career
|
3,709.21
|
25th
|
|
John
Havlicek at his peak
|
|||
|
1973-1974
|
Havlicek
|
Top 5
|
Points
|
|
PER
|
17.4
|
24.20
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
9.7
|
15.68
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
2.7
|
7.37
|
|
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VORP
|
3.7
|
7.94
|
|
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Total Advanced Stats
|
33.5
|
55.19
|
60.70
|
|
Playoff PER
|
20.5
|
25.27
|
|
|
Win Shares
|
3.5
|
3.23
|
|
|
Box +/-
|
6.2
|
8.11
|
|
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VORP
|
1.7
|
1.55
|
|
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Total Advanced Stats
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31.9
|
38.17
|
83.56
|
|
Reg. Season Win %
|
71.05
|
71.05
|
|
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Playoff Win %
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66.67
|
66.67
|
|
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MVP Voting (75 points)
|
5/905
|
0.41
|
|
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
|
25
|
25
|
|
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Total Score
|
|
|
307.40
|
|
Havlicek’s 10 greatest seasons
|
|
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1973-1974
|
307.40
|
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1972-1973
|
299.47
|
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1966-1967
|
279.55
|
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1967-1968
|
272.80
|
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1971-1972
|
271.73
|
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1968-1969
|
269.70
|
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1965-1966
|
256.64
|
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1964-1965
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244.68
|
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1974-1975
|
240.73
|
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1962-1963
|
240.45
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Career
winning percentage
|
|||
|
|
W
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L
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Pct.
|
|
Regular Season
|
824
|
446
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64.88%
|
|
Playoffs
|
108
|
64
|
62.79%
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