Today in Boston Celtics history, Avery Bradley played his inaugural game for the team in 2010. A University of Texas alum, the Tacoma, Washington native was picked up by the Celtics with the 19th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft.
The defensive menace played his first game suiting up for Boston in a 99-76 blowout win against the Atlanta Hawks in the Celtics' 14th game of the season that year, the Washingtonian putting up 2 points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal to go with 2 turnovers in his first game as a Celtic.
Bradley managed that over 6 minutes and 11 seconds of playing time, missing both his field-goal attempts but converting both of his two attempts from the free-throw line.
Historic Milestones
It is also the date of the Celtics' first 4-point play in franchise history, a successful 3-point attempt plus a converted foul by Boston guard Chris Ford in 1980.
The play came in a 113-98 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in which Ford scored 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Rest in Peace
It is also the day that Celtics forward Willie Naulls left us in 2018. Naulls played his college ball with UCLA, and played stints with the (then) St. Louis (now, Atlanta) Hawks, New York Knicks, and (then) San Francisco (now, Golden State) Warriors before coming to Boston after the Warriors sold his contract to the Celtics in 1963.
Naulls was, with Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, and Tom Sanders, part of the first all-Black lineup in the history of North American pro sports in 1964, and a key part of three of Boston's titles in their golden age of dominance in the mid-1960s. He averaged 10.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game with the Celtics -- rest in peace.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Bradley debuts; Ford 1st 4-point play; Naulls passes