A 1953 film, Hondo, The Sound of barbarian wars, which received two Oscar nominations in 1954, tells the story of the cavalry Hongdo Lane who meets Angie, a woman who lives with her son in the hostile territory of the Yapaqui Indians, and continues to fight to save Angie from a forced marriage...
The Celtics' "Hondo" Havlicek is one of the best all-rounders in NBA history.
He can do anything at both ends of the pitch, always running tirelessly, but never showing the problem of physical weakness, his defense is as inseparable to opponents as the devil, and the key moments are "Havlicek's performance moments" for him.
Born in 1940 in Martinsfery, Ohio, Havlicek, as a descendant of Czechoslovak immigrants, Havlicek was intelligent, capable, and brave from an early age, but he was different from others because of his height, arm span, and excellent physical strength.
Hafricheck grew up in a small town in Ohio where there was nothing else to play but a mountain. So from an early age he climbed the mountain without a problem, and later developed the habit of trotting whenever and wherever he was going, and there was such a news that was widely circulated in the Havlicek era:
"Havreichek's lungs are much larger than normal, and when X-rays were taken, one negative couldn't hold his lungs at all, and at least one and a half negatives were needed to take his lungs."
In high school, Havlicek was caught up by three teams at the same time — baseball, football, and basketball. Meanwhile, he has won the state's all-state player lineup on all three teams, and as a nationally renowned football quarterback rookie, Havlicek has been chased by countless colleges.
(Havlicek during high school football)
In the end, Havlicek chose to study at Ohio State University in his hometown, but he gave up the opportunity to become a football star and chose to join the school basketball team.
Havlicek performed well in his three-year varsity career, averaging 14.6 points per game and was named to the All-American Team for three years, during which The Ohio State recorded a horror record of 78 wins and 6 losses, and in 1960, Havlicek led the team to the NCAA championship.
After graduating from college in 1962, Havlicek was drafted by two professional leagues at the same time: the Cleveland Browns of Major League Football in the seventh round of the NFL Draft; and the Boston Celtics also selected him in the first round of the NBA Draft.
The Browns admired Haflicek's stature and ability to run and jump, so the team let him try to take over the position outside the team, but because the later All-America All-Team winner Gary Collins was more suitable for the team, so in late 1962, after Havlicek was cut after several exhibition games, he officially joined the Boston Celtics, became a member of the professional basketball team, and began his brilliant basketball career.
The Celtics in 1962 had won four consecutive championships, and the requirements for rookies in the championship team were very strict, but Havlicek completely occupied the team's main bench position in less than 5 games - in the 62-63 season, Havlicek was able to average 14.2 points per game to show active fighting and tenacious defense, and was selected for the best rookie lineup of the year.
In the 63-64 season, Celtic legend Bob Cush announced his retirement, Havlicek took over the team's offensive banner, and he averaged 19.9 points per game in the second year to become the team's main attacker, and this season, the Celtics achieved a record of 59 wins and settled the San Francisco Warriors in five games in the Finals, winning five consecutive championships.
Whenever the Celtics play, Havlicek's name is mentioned, he is always heard as "the best star player on the bench", and he can replace the two positions of forward and defender, so at the last moment of the game, he usually stays on the court to compete with his opponents.
Havlicek's most famous scene took place in Game 7 of the 1965 NBA Finals:
On April 15, 1965, the Celtics led the 76ers by one point in the last five seconds of the final game of the Finals. At this time, Bill Russell served on the bottom line, but due to excessive force, the ball was not caught by his teammates, but fell into the hands of 76ers guard Hal Greer. Greer received the ball and passed it directly to Oxlade-Chamberlain's hand under the basket, and at the moment when the basketball left the tip of Greer's finger, Havlicek broke the ball like lightning. The ghostly severance brought the Celtics to the NBA championship for the seventh time, and this steal was one of the NBA's most famous steals.
(Havlicek classic steals footage video)
In 1969, the Celtics ushered in the first reconstruction in the history of the Celtics, when KC Jones retired, and the other main players were all in the 35-year-old grade, such an elderly Celtic team needed Havlicek to stand up.
Havlicek did not live up to the trust of the team that year, he averaged 21.6 points per game, although the team only ranked fourth in the East, but in the playoffs, the Celtics showed their strength again, they reached the Finals, and beat the Los Angeles Lakers by a 4-3 score to win another championship.
The following year, the retirement of Sam Jones and Bill Russell announced the end of the Celtic dynasty, but Havlicek was still a surprise for the team — averaging 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Ranked 8th in the league in points and 7th in assists.
Beginning in the '70s, Havlicek began to stand at the forefront of all player playing time in the league for a long time:
In the 70-71 season, he averaged 45.2 minutes per game;
In the 71-72 season, he averaged 45.8 minutes per game.
The long playing time made Havlicek's nickname "Hondo" even louder, and Auerbach once commented on Havlicek:
"This child is never tired, and all he sees is running."
Yes, Havlicek saw nothing but constant running, and he and the Celtics experienced only one season of undervaluation, and in the 1972-73 season, the team adopted a fast-attack method - the Celtics tactics of this season were later carried forward by the then Celtics player Nelson Sr., who achieved an impressive record of 68 wins and 14 losses in the season.
Havlicek averaged 39 minutes per game, and his long appearance left him with a major shoulder injury, but the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks.
In the third game of the Eastern Conference Finals, Havlicek's shoulder injury recurred, and after that, there was news that he was reimbursed for the season and could not even go out with the team, but in the fourth game of the Eastern Finals, Havlicek appeared at home in New York in civilian clothes, which also made the fans in the entire New York arena collectively give a standing ovation to the "Hondo".
In 1974, Boston returned to the Finals with another year of outstanding performance by the 34-year-old Havlicek, who averaged 22.6 points, 5.9 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game in the year, and the Celtics also defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals to become the championship again, and Havlicek also won his own FMVP trophy.
In 1976, Havlicek suffered the worst injury of his career — at the beginning of the 1976 playoffs, Haflicek broke the ligament in the sole of his left foot.
At this time, the team doctor gave the plan to soak in ice water for 3 hours a day, which can promote circulation and reduce pain, while the tough Havlicek went home and soaked for 6 hours, and throughout the playoffs, he would soak for 6-7 hours a day, because he thought that this would double the effect and make an early comeback.
In triple time in Game 5 of the same year's Finals, Haflicek dragged an injured foot for 58 minutes. The coach said:
"It's not that I won't let Hafricheck rest, it's that he insists on not coming off."
In 1978, the 38-year-old Havlicek temporarily slowed down his running pace, and he ushered in the last season of his career, this year he still played 82 regular season games, averaging 16 points per game, but because the team's record was so poor, the management advised him to not try too the field, because even in his final year, Havlicek was often seen on the court to fight for one floor ball after another.
On April 9, 1978, Havlicek celebrated the last game of his career, scoring 29 points and leading the team to victory in a game against the Braves of Buffalo.
The scene of stadium fans collectively chanting "Hondo" before the game was also one of the touching moments in NBA history, and Havlicek officially announced his retirement at the end of the season that year after ending his months of retiring tour performances.
In June 1978, Boston officially announced the retirement of Havlicek's No. 17 jersey, and at the retirement ceremony, Havlicek left his own feelings about his game and chatting about the Celtic spirit, so much so that Auerbach had to remind him that the speech time was too timed.
But in the end, Havlicek left these words:
"That's how I play, I want to exhaust all my strength."
'I put on this shirt, no. 17, and I'm not going to rest on the pitch.'
On the evening of April 25, 2019, John Havlicek died at home at the age of 79 due to Parkinson's syndrome, and in the playoffs that season, the Celtics put on a jersey with a black ribbon to participate in the game, and finally lost 1-4 to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
With this article in mind -