Tom Heinsohn

Tom Heinsohn
Player information
Full name	Thomas William Heinsohn
Nickname	Tommy Gun, Ack-Ack
birthday	26th August 1934 (age 86)
place of birth	Jersey City , New Jersey , United States
date of death	November 10, 2020
size	201 cm
position	Forward
college	Holy Cross
NBA draft	1956 , Territorial Pick, Boston Celtics
Clubs as active
1953-1956 Holy Cross Crusaders (NCAA) 1956-1965 Boston Celtics
Clubs as coaches
1969–1978 Boston Celtics

Thomas William Heinsohn (born August 26, 1934 in Jersey City , New Jersey - † November 10, 2020 ) was an American basketball player and coach. In the NBA , he won eight championships as a player and two more as a coach with the Boston Celtics .

Life

Heinsohn played in the NCAA for the Holy Cross Crusaders, one of the best college teams at the time, for which Bob Cousy had also played. He was selected as territorial pick by the Boston Celtics in the 1956 Draft , the same year that Bill Russell joined the Celtics from college. After his first season, Heinsohn was voted Rookie of the Year and the All-Star Team of the Eastern Conference and won the first championship with the Celtics. Although the Celtics lost the following season in the play-offs against the St. Louis Hawks , Heinsohn won the NBA championship with the Celtics every time for the next seven years. In three seasons (1959/60 to 1961/62) he was the best scorer of the Celtics, he was also four times in the All-NBA Second Team (1960-1964) and after 1957 another five times as a participant in the NBA All-Star Games (1961 –1965) elected. He was characterized above all by a constant throw, for which he was nicknamed "Tommy Gun" by his teammates. From 1958 to 1965, Heinsohn was President of the National Basketball Players Association .

Heinsohn became head coach of the Celtics for the first time in 1969 after the team's big stars had ended their careers. Although the Celtics had a negative victory record this season, they increased it from year to year and finally had the best record in the league in the 1972/73 season, for which Heinsohn was named the best coach of the year in the NBA. He won the championship with Boston in 1974 and 1976. After the start of the 1977/78 season with only 11 wins from 34 games, he resigned.

From 1981 he worked as a television commentator and analyst for the Celtics games for CSN New England (formerly FSN New England). Heinsohn was known for his tommy points , which he gave to players who, in his opinion, had shown particular commitment in a game scene.

In 1986 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and in 2015 as a coach . He is only the fourth person to become a member of both sections, after John Wooden , Bill Sharman and Lenny Wilkens .

See also

• List of members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Web links

• Biography on the official website of the NBA (English)
• Tom Heinsohn - player profile on basketball-reference.com
• Tommy Heinsohn as a player in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . On: Hoophall website; Springfield, MA, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018 (in English).
• Tommy Heinsohn as coach in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . On: Hoophall website; Springfield, MA, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2018 (in English).

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Associated Press: Calipari, Haywood Top List of Hall of Fame Selections. The New York Times , April 6, 2015, accessed April 11, 2015 .