Celtics Legend Tommy Heinsohn Passes Away at the Age of 86

2020 continues to be one of the worst years in the history of mankind. We lost Alex Trebek earlier this week. Now? Celtics nation loses a beloved member of the family. Yesterday, it was announced that legendary Celtics player, coach, and broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn passed away at the age of 86.

Celtics great Tommy Heinsohn has died at age 86.

☘️ 10x NBA Champion
☘️ 6x NBA All-Star
☘️ 1x Coach of the Year
☘️ 1957 Rookie of the Year
☘️ 4x All-NBA
☘️ 2x NCAA All-American
☘️ Naismith HOFer as a player & coach

The legend played a part in each of the Celtics' 17 titles 🏆 pic.twitter.com/mS3Dlkxtfz

— ESPN (@espn) November 10, 2020

Tommy Heinsohn was the ultimate Celtic. Like it says right above, he had some part of every single one of the Celtics 17 NBA championships. Nobody else can say that. 17 championships as a coach, player, and broadcaster? That’s NBA 2K type of numbers! Before we say goodbye to Tommy Heinsohn for good, let’s go back down memory lane.

Tommy’s Playing Career

Tommy Heinsohn first started playing for the Celtics in 1956. Shortly thereafter, the championships piled on. He won eight championships as a player and was a six-time NBA All-star. Not to mention, he had one of the most lethal hook shots for that time period. Just to add another accolade, he was Rookie of the Year. Go figure! Heinsohn was certainly one of the better basketball players of his generation.

Tommy’s Coaching Career

Tommy Heinsohn’s coaching career is pretty impressive as well. He was the 1973 NBA Coach of the year. He went on to win two titles with the Celtics in ’74 and ’76. Not only that, but he coached in four All-star games. Heinsohn was elected into the Hall of Fame as BOTH a player and a coach. That’s pretty tough to do in this day of age. His competitiveness and innovation certainly were second to none, during that time frame.

Tommy’s Broadcasting Career

This is one of Tommy Heinsohn’s all-time moments. He was so fed up with Ricky Davis haha. pic.twitter.com/xYSv7iXbwD

— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 16, 2020

RIP Tommy Heinsohn, a Celtics legend, the greatest homer of all time, and a fellow Aron Baynes fanpic.twitter.com/auRty2PbuA

— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) November 11, 2020

These are only a few of Tommy Heinsohn’s best broadcasting moments. He was as good as any of them. Heinsohn was charismatic, funny, and knowledgeable about the game of basketball. Plus, nothing beats the story of the first time he broadcasted a game with his longtime partner, Mike Gorman. Basically ripping up Gorman’s notes and telling him to watch the game and just react to the game. Stuff of legends! There will never be another duo quite like Mike Gorman and Tommy Heinsohn.

In Conclusion

This is such a crushing blow to all Celtics fans worldwide. Tommy Heinsohn was the ultimate Celtics. So thank you Tommy. Thank you for your contributions as a player. Thank you for your contributions as a coach. But finally, thank you for enriching my life when broadcasting Celtics games for me growing up. You will be missed. #RIPTommy

–Al Nahigian (@BigAl2793)

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Feat. image courtesy of nba.com/