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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 6:37 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Tom Heinsohn
Career at a glance
Tom Heinsohn played 9 NBA regular seasons between 1956 and 1965, appearing in 654 games and averaging 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He spent his whole career with Boston (1956–65, 654 games). His best scoring season was 1961–62 with Boston: 22.1 points per game over 79 games.
He rebounded best in 1959–60 at 10.6 per game. Championship seasons: 1956–57 (Boston), 1958–59 (Boston), 1959–60 (Boston), 1960–61 (Boston), 1961–62 (Boston), 1962–63 (Boston), 1963–64 (Boston), 1964–65 (Boston). In the playoffs he appeared in 9 postseason runs (104 games, 19.8 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 12,200 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Tom Heinsohn
Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcaster. He played for the Celtics from 1956 to 1965, and also coached the team from 1969 to 1978. He spent over 30 years as the color commentator for the Celtics' local broadcasts alongside play-by-play commentatorMike Gorman. He is regarded as one of the most iconic Celtics figures in the franchise's history, known during his lifetime for his charisma and loyalty to the team and its traditions. From this, he earned the nickname "Mr. Celtic".
Heinsohn was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his contributions as a player. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame for his success as a head coach. He also helped form the NBA Players Association. Heinsohn was the only person to have the distinction of being involved in an official team capacity in each of the Celtics' first 17 championships, as well as each of their first 21 NBA Finals appearances.
- Born
- August 26, 1934 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
- Listed weight
- 218 lb (99 kg)
- Position
- Power forward
- High school
- Saint Michael's (Union City, New Jersey)
- College
- Holy Cross (1953–1956)
- NBA draft
- 1956: territorial pick
- Playing career
- 1956–1965
Career highlights and awards
- 8× NBA champion (1957, 1959–1965)
- 6× NBA All-Star (1957, 1961–1965)
- 4× All-NBA Second Team (1961–1964)
- NBA Rookie of the Year (1957)
- No. 15 retired by Boston Celtics
- NIT Championship (1954)
- Consensus first-team All-American (1956)
- Second-team All-American – Collier's (1955)
- Third-team All-American – AP, UPI, NEA (1955)
- No. 24 retired by Holy Cross Crusaders
- 2× NBA champion (1974, 1976)
- NBA Coach of the Year (1973)
- 4× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1972–1974, 1976)
- Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award (2009)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956–57† | Boston | 72 | 29.9 | .397 | .790 | 9.8 | 1.6 | 16.2 |
| 1957–58 | Boston | 69 | 32.0 | .382 | .746 | 10.2 | 1.8 | 17.8 |
| 1958–59† | Boston | 66 | 31.7 | .390 | .798 | 9.7 | 2.5 | 18.8 |
| 1959–60† | Boston | 75 | 32.3 | .423 | .733 | 10.6 | 2.3 | 21.7 |
| 1960–61† | Boston | 74 | 30.5 | .400 | .767 | 9.9 | 1.9 | 21.3 |
| 1961–62† | Boston | 79 | 30.2 | .429 | .819 | 9.5 | 2.1 | 22.1 |
| 1962–63† | Boston | 76 | 26.4 | .423 | .835 | 7.5 | 1.3 | 18.9 |
| 1963–64† | Boston | 76 | 26.8 | .398 | .827 | 6.1 | 2.4 | 16.5 |
| 1964–65† | Boston | 67 | 25.5 | .383 | .795 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 13.6 |
| Career | 654 | 29.4 | .405 | .790 | 8.8 | 2.0 | 18.6 |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957† | Boston | 10 | 37.0 | .390 | .710 | 11.7 | 2.0 | 22.9 |
| 1958 | Boston | 11 | 31.7 | .351 | .778 | 10.8 | 1.6 | 17.5 |
| 1959† | Boston | 11 | 31.6 | .414 | .661 | 8.9 | 2.9 | 19.9 |
| 1960† | Boston | 13 | 32.5 | .419 | .750 | 9.7 | 2.1 | 21.8 |
| 1961† | Boston | 10 | 29.1 | .408 | .767 | 9.9 | 2.0 | 19.7 |
| 1962† | Boston | 14 | 31.8 | .399 | .763 | 8.2 | 2.4 | 20.7 |
| 1963† | Boston | 13 | 31.8 | .456 | .765 | 8.9 | 1.2 | 24.7 |
| 1964† | Boston | 10 | 30.8 | .389 | .810 | 8.0 | 2.6 | 17.4 |
| 1965† | Boston | 12 | 23.0 | .365 | .625 | 7.0 | 1.9 | 12.7 |
| Career | 104 | 31.0 | .402 | .743 | 9.2 | 2.1 | 19.8 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 7″
- Weight
- 218 lb
- Position
- Power forward
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- Not listed
- Draft pick
- Undrafted / not listed
Height, Weight, Position, Country: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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