John has always been my favorite player when I was a kid. Celtics vs Phoenix Suns is my fav playoff series of iall-time. I love his ball intellect and kindness. A true gentleman.
Dont get me wrong i used to watch oscar robertson as a kid.He was one of my heroes,but frankly id take havlicek over oscar if i could have one guy in his prime on my squad.
+manny4552 Sure. Then aft 3 seasons Philly realized Erving and McGinnis were less than an ideal pairing. Sixers wisely dealt George to Denver for Bobby Jones, who mixed better with Dr J. Once Toney, then Moses came aboard, champions.
Randy smith used to try to guard him without much sucess when he played my buffalo braves.and smith once noted that not only did havlicek possess mad skills and super human endurance as we all saw.But he knew the court and where everyone was so well that he ran smith into about 50 crushing picks a game.
Possibly from a 70's episode of GREATEST SPORTS LEGENDS, where a famous athlete would interview the subject for the 30-minute episode. As a kid, I remember Reggie Jackson interviewing Hank Aaron (didn't know he interviewed Havlicek too), Tom Seaver presenting Pete Rose and in another episode Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Hornung (50's football star) presenting episodes with guys like Joe DiMaggio, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and others. In the 1980's, I remember sexy broadcaster Jayne Kennedy as presenter for episodes with Steve Garvey and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and then a young Michael Jordan himself presenting Elvin Hayes and George Gervin. Great show for sports geeks.
This information about Hondo's massive lungs and extremely low heart beat is truly fascinating. The guy was a perpetual motion machine on the court, but I always just assumed he was very diligent about his conditioning. On a side note, this makes me think of the greatest racehorse in history: Secretariat and his abnormally enlarged heart -- which was also described as a "perfect" heart by the surgeon. No wonder Big Red just kept on churning up the track race after race, none more astonishing than the Belmont.
at 1:40 JH just hit the nail on the head. And this interview was mid 70's I'm guessing so at this time Hondo would have no clue how much worse "hero ball" would become. Magic&Bird brought team ball back thru the 80's anyway but after they MJ killed all of the progress by playing "me me me ball"
R.O.A. Team basketball is making a comeback now with Lebron, the Warriors since the 2000s with guys like Kobe, AI, T-Mac and Vince Carter hogging the ball.
Basketball was and still is a team sport. What's not understood is that Great champions who excel at getting others involved in the offense are Rare. Passing sensations like Walton, Magic, Bird, Isiah, and Lebron simply don't come around that often. Michael distributed the ball a little more than people give him credit for.
It’s one thing to know the fundamentals but it’s another to execute it. He had Russell and Cowens to execute those pick and back-pick plays off the post, sideline, and baseline. Then screen and rolls, give and go’s and switching patterns. Finally, defense assignments and coverages. Now, who comes into the league with Heinsohn, Russell, Cousy, Jones, and Ramsey? Then with Cowens, White, Silas, and Chaney? Let’s just say, those things didn’t exactly work when Hank Finkel was in the game.
Finkel was an Abomination on the Celtics. Not his fault, he just didn't have the talent. Tough to follow Russell. Thankfully, Cowens came to the rescue soon afterward
Well-spoken. Today's players are better in one aspect IMO-outside shooting. Every team has numerous players adept at the 3-point shot. Havlicek often played 48 minutes in a game. Unbelievable. I never heard anyone say a bad word about Hondo.
Seems like half of those shots where they cut to the basket after release were fake. like at 0:43 there's no way the ball would have that kind of arch entering the basket from that far out. Hondo's a great player nonetheless
I would've liked to have seen the Boston Celtics with Havlicek play the New York Nets with Dr. J. The Celtcs were loaded during that time period but the Nets were hard to beat with the good Doctor.
Nicholas Tylawsky Not so fast, my friend. I saw the Nets play and they had an outstanding five players led by Doc. Larry Kennon, Billy Paultz, John Williamson, and Brian Taylor played very well as a unit along with Doc. I think they could have held their own against that Celtics team, post Russell. In my opinion those years were Doc's prime and he was pretty much unstoppable.
Wei Qi But Jo Jo White, Don Chaney, John Havlicek, Don Nelson, Dave Cowens with Paul Silas coming off the bench would have been too much for them. Remember they beat Kareem and Oscar's Milwaukee Bucks in 1974 then Paul Westphal and Alvin Adams' Phoenix Suns in 1976. I do not think the Kentucky Colonels, Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets of the ABA were comparable competition. I actually grew up watching these Nets on TV. I also saw them play at the Nassau Coliseum several times.
Yes it was .Cousy was an interesting case he could not dunk,was small played with one hand but no one and i mean no one except magic jonhson could see the floor and run an offense on his level.
Hondo ran a sub 2 minute 1/2 mile in one of those super star competitions they used to have,without training or even trying very hard.He used to come into camp after the off season,run up and down the court a couple of times and he was ready to go.
@@ralphgreenwood2469yeah in the 1970s havlicek would not report till most of the preseason games were done and final cuts were almost made... then he would run and run and run one he arrived...he was never out of condition
All i know is what i remember i watched havlicek and erving both play dozens of times and i think havlicek was a better player.And when they went against each other havlicek outplayed dr. j.
And John was 10 yrs older as well. Past his prime & Julius was in his. I'm a big Rick Barry fan & he and Dr J prime lasted longer into the 70s. Only cause John was older. I'd have to take John over both. A better defender, better shooter than Doc & close to Rick. At least as good a ball handler. And while all were versatile, Hondo was a true star as forward & guard. He probably played about 65% at F & around 35% at G.
Hard to compare Dr J and Hondo.Two completely different styles of play.That's almost like comparing Reggie Miller and Dr J.It doesn't compute.Dr J did things Hondo couldn't do and Hondo did things Dr J couldn't do.Its like comparing apples and oranges.They were both great.
I really hate this show the guy shooting then cut to a close up to the fake basket stuff. Just show the real thing! Everybody misses sometimes, even the pros!
Hondo, more importantly than his ability to dunk, was his mastery of the pull up bank shot which was nearly impossible to stop on the fast break. You don't see as much of that fundamental move these days because everybody wants to dunk. These days Hondo might have pulled up for a 3 also. He's one of the greatest small forwards of all-time, no doubt, all he did was win.
Havlicek's first NBA basket was a dunk. In his autobiography he stated that he made sure to dunk at least once a season, if only just to give the newspapermen something to write about.
The celtics played the nets acouple of times in the preseason and havlicek seemed to outplay erving as i reacall.He outplayed dr j when erving was with the 76ers too,and its hard to out play him!!!!!
Havlicek had trouble with guys who were left-handed. It didn't matter if the guy could jump. He could make him go to his left, make him give up the ball or block his shot. He was a good leaper.
I would've liked to have seen the Boston Celtics with Havlicek play the New York Nets with Dr. J. The Celtcs were loaded during that time period but the Nets were hard to beat with the good Doctor.
John has always been my favorite player when I was a kid. Celtics vs Phoenix Suns is my fav playoff series of iall-time. I love his ball intellect and kindness. A true gentleman.
RIP to one of greatest players in nba and celtic history, Boston fan
In my block all my friends had favorite players I was #17 Hondo till this day some of my friends still call me Hondo. RIP Mr. Havlicek
R.I.P John Havlicek 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
# 17 folks, wish I would've lived the 60's, the greatest team ball ever
Jerry West said they use to play 3 players to guard Hondo because he'd wear them out he never stopped running .
Something about them sitting outside while talking feels so...... 70s
fuckin hell, reggie could ball
Dont get me wrong i used to watch oscar robertson as a kid.He was one of my heroes,but frankly id take havlicek over oscar if i could have one guy in his prime on my squad.
Havlicek's D was superior. Oscar probably had the edge on O. Pretty much a draw.
THey played different positions though
Hondo's a versitile guy according to most of his contemporaries of the game.like that bunny on the battery commercial.
@@LeighMet Oscar was a guard.. havlicek was a swingman.. played both guard and forward
@@manny4552 havelick was a 2guard oscar was point
Always a class act, great human being,R.I.P. # 17.
You are sooo the man:D Thanks:D Havlicek was a monster.
Reggie asked: what are the differences between 50's and 60's players and now the 70's?
easy, plaid polyester pants.
Havlicek tried out for the cleveland browns at wide receiver but was released in the final cuts and then joined the celtics.
+manny4552 He didn't just try out he was drafted.
manny4552
He was a pretty good athlete at Ohio State
Jim Brown wanted him because he would block for him but the Browns liked Gary Collins’ pass receiving abilities.
Havlicek outplayed erving while the doctor was with philly acouple of times.
+manny4552 Sure. Then aft 3 seasons Philly realized Erving and McGinnis were less than an ideal pairing. Sixers wisely dealt George to Denver for Bobby Jones, who mixed better with Dr J. Once Toney, then Moses came aboard, champions.
Yeah bobby jones was a smooth player and he paired well with dr j,meshed well together.
They did. Each was great on the break, willing passers. And adding a true PG in Cheeks (and unloading gunner Free), helped tremendously as well.
Randy smith used to try to guard him without much sucess when he played my buffalo braves.and smith once noted that not only did havlicek possess mad skills and super human endurance as we all saw.But he knew the court and where everyone was so well that he ran smith into about 50 crushing picks a game.
This is freaking CLASSIC!!!!
My god! Where do you get this footage from?
If he told you he would have to kill you...
I love Hondo, Jesse!
MICHAEL SOWELL I learned about his lung abnormality from your video on him. That shit is crazy!
Possibly from a 70's episode of GREATEST SPORTS LEGENDS, where a famous athlete would interview the subject for the 30-minute episode. As a kid, I remember Reggie Jackson interviewing Hank Aaron (didn't know he interviewed Havlicek too), Tom Seaver presenting Pete Rose and in another episode Wilt Chamberlain, Paul Hornung (50's football star) presenting episodes with guys like Joe DiMaggio, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and others. In the 1980's, I remember sexy broadcaster Jayne Kennedy as presenter for episodes with Steve Garvey and Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and then a young Michael Jordan himself presenting Elvin Hayes and George Gervin. Great show for sports geeks.
+Ed Vega That's epic, man! Thanks for sharing.
Hondo knew what he was talkin' about...and I'm a DIE-HARD Laker fan!
>;-)
This information about Hondo's massive lungs and extremely low heart beat is truly fascinating. The guy was a perpetual motion machine on the court, but I always just assumed he was very diligent about his conditioning. On a side note, this makes me think of the greatest racehorse in history: Secretariat and his abnormally enlarged heart -- which was also described as a "perfect" heart by the surgeon. No wonder Big Red just kept on churning up the track race after race, none more astonishing than the Belmont.
@@SpaceGhost67 Many thanks, Carlito! All best wishes!
@@SpaceGhost67 Many thanks, Carlito! All the best to you!
They look like they’re having a great time out there
by the time Dave Cowens arrived,he became the main man of the team.
John biblical had so much endurance as a player it was hard for any player to run with him.
Bill bradley used to often note that his game was predicated on running and he said when he guarded havlicek,hondo ran him into the ground every time!
at 1:40 JH just hit the nail on the head. And this interview was mid 70's I'm guessing so at this time Hondo would have no clue how much worse "hero ball" would become. Magic&Bird brought team ball back thru the 80's anyway but after they MJ killed all of the progress by playing "me me me ball"
R.O.A. Team basketball is making a comeback now with Lebron, the Warriors since the 2000s with guys like Kobe, AI, T-Mac and Vince Carter hogging the ball.
Basketball was and still is a team sport. What's not understood is that Great champions who excel at getting others involved in the offense are Rare. Passing sensations like Walton, Magic, Bird, Isiah, and Lebron simply don't come around that often. Michael distributed the ball a little more than people give him credit for.
Statistically Lebron hogs the ball more than any player in the NBA, todays NBA is the complete OPPOSITE of team ball.
@@MG-fn9xwLebron averages 7 assist multiple seasons ect He has more assist than jordan Havlicek ect
I can’t believe he passed so young !
It’s one thing to know the fundamentals but it’s another to execute it. He had Russell and Cowens to execute those pick and back-pick plays off the post, sideline, and baseline. Then screen and rolls, give and go’s and switching patterns. Finally, defense assignments and coverages. Now, who comes into the league with Heinsohn, Russell, Cousy, Jones, and Ramsey? Then with Cowens, White, Silas, and Chaney? Let’s just say, those things didn’t exactly work when Hank Finkel was in the game.
Finkel was an Abomination on the Celtics. Not his fault, he just didn't have the talent. Tough to follow Russell. Thankfully, Cowens came to the rescue soon afterward
Havlicek was a great player.. and he would have been great on any time.
And Hank finkel was an adequate backup on this level
@@Amick44 but finkel was a more than capable backup though
I once had a dream that Havlicek played one on one against Reggie Jackson. However I did have a 104 degree fever at the time.
Well-spoken. Today's players are better in one aspect IMO-outside shooting. Every team has numerous players adept at the 3-point shot. Havlicek often played 48 minutes in a game. Unbelievable. I never heard anyone say a bad word about Hondo.
Good points
One of the greatest of the greats
Seems like half of those shots where they cut to the basket after release were fake. like at 0:43 there's no way the ball would have that kind of arch entering the basket from that far out.
Hondo's a great player nonetheless
Lol I noticed that too
I would've liked to have seen the Boston Celtics with Havlicek play the New York Nets with Dr. J. The Celtcs were loaded during that time period but the Nets were hard to beat with the good Doctor.
dude...the boston celtics would have wiped the floor with them
and I'm a sixes fan, i love doc
Nicholas Tylawsky Not so fast, my friend. I saw the Nets play and they had an outstanding five players led by Doc. Larry Kennon, Billy Paultz, John Williamson, and Brian Taylor played very well as a unit along with Doc. I think they could have held their own against that Celtics team, post Russell. In my opinion those years were Doc's prime and he was pretty much unstoppable.
I thought you were talking about Russell's Celtics
Wei Qi But Jo Jo White, Don Chaney, John Havlicek, Don Nelson, Dave Cowens with Paul Silas coming off the bench would have been too much for them. Remember they beat Kareem and Oscar's Milwaukee Bucks in 1974 then Paul Westphal and Alvin Adams' Phoenix Suns in 1976. I do not think the Kentucky Colonels, Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets of the ABA were comparable competition.
I actually grew up watching these Nets on TV. I also saw them play at the Nassau Coliseum several times.
Havlicek and David Thompson were represented by the same agent Larry Fleischer.
+Davan Mani Fleischer got Thompson the biggest contract in the league about 77'. Just under a mil. Pistol and Dr J weren't far behind.
I read that his first nba shot ever was a dunk.
It was on a pass from Cousy.
Yes it was .Cousy was an interesting case he could not dunk,was small played with one hand but no one and i mean no one except magic jonhson could see the floor and run an offense on his level.
This man is a freak athlete.
Havlicek was a freak of nature.
I read his lungs were larger than the average male. Even at his size.
Havlicek must have been a great miler or two-miler on the track.
Hondo ran a sub 2 minute 1/2 mile in one of those super star competitions they used to have,without training or even trying very hard.He used to come into camp after the off season,run up and down the court a couple of times and he was ready to go.
@@ralphgreenwood2469yeah in the 1970s havlicek would not report till most of the preseason games were done and final cuts were almost made... then he would run and run and run one he arrived...he was never out of condition
All i know is what i remember i watched havlicek and erving both play dozens of times and i think havlicek was a better player.And when they went against each other havlicek outplayed dr. j.
And John was 10 yrs older as well. Past his prime & Julius was in his. I'm a big Rick Barry fan & he and Dr J prime lasted longer into the 70s. Only cause John was older.
I'd have to take John over both. A better defender, better shooter than Doc & close to Rick. At least as good a ball handler. And while all were versatile, Hondo was a true star as forward & guard. He probably played about 65% at F & around 35% at G.
Hard to compare Dr J and Hondo.Two completely different styles of play.That's almost like comparing Reggie Miller and Dr J.It doesn't compute.Dr J did things Hondo couldn't do and Hondo did things Dr J couldn't do.Its like comparing apples and oranges.They were both great.
@@ralphgreenwood2469 good points
@@Amick44 well said
Havlicek was right. Today's players are less focussed on the fundamentals of the game. Looking for slam dunks & 3 point shots.
Awesome.
I really hate this show the guy shooting then cut to a close up to the fake basket stuff. Just show the real thing! Everybody misses sometimes, even the pros!
Todays game is even further away from the fundementals. 4s and 5s shooting 3s is a joke
Wasn’t he a Secend round pick in the NFL draft???
7th round pick by the Browns in 1962. 95th pick overall. Wide Receiver
Rip to both of them
Reggie is still around
@@leoderosia9279 I’m mean the one on the video
@@sangdieng5024 But you did stated "both"
Reggie should have challenged Hondo to some BP, to see who could knock the most homers!
Sure, but read Hondo was a good baseball player in HS as well.
Mick A and a football player.
Does anybody know if Havlicek could dunk or not? Same with Pistol Pete.
Of course both of them could dunk.
Wilt Chamberlain Archive Thanks, but what about Rick Barry?
futureicon23 he could dunk too
Hondo, more importantly than his ability to dunk, was his mastery of the pull up bank shot which was nearly impossible to stop on the fast break. You don't see as much of that fundamental move these days because everybody wants to dunk. These days Hondo might have pulled up for a 3 also. He's one of the greatest small forwards of all-time, no doubt, all he did was win.
Havlicek's first NBA basket was a dunk. In his autobiography he stated that he made sure to dunk at least once a season, if only just to give the newspapermen something to write about.
The celtics played the nets acouple of times in the preseason and havlicek seemed to outplay erving as i reacall.He outplayed dr j when erving was with the 76ers too,and its hard to out play him!!!!!
Havlicek had trouble with guys who were left-handed. It didn't matter if the guy could jump. He could make him go to his left, make him give up the ball or block his shot. He was a good leaper.
I mean havelicek
I could've beaten havlicek
in 2k maybe
Were you on Crack when you typed this?
Have you woke up from that dream yet?
@@seanking6184 When I read this comment I started dying of laughter.
Havliceck had bad footwork.
Good enough foot work to win 8 championships. I'll take heart over foot work any day.
I would've liked to have seen the Boston Celtics with Havlicek play the New York Nets with Dr. J. The Celtcs were loaded during that time period but the Nets were hard to beat with the good Doctor.
They did play each other in a presseason exhibition game or two.. you can find box scores if you goggle it
My god! Where do you get this footage from?