Today in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise raised Dennis Johnson’s jersey to the rafters to commemorate the San Pedro, Calif., native’s seven seasons with Boston and the pair of NBA championships. An alumnus of Port of Los Angeles College and Pepperdine University, where he graduated from junior college at the former, the combo guard was drafted by the (then) Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder) with the 29th overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft.
DJ, as he was often called, played for that team and the Phoenix Suns before being traded to Boston in 1983 and winning a championship with the Sonics in 1979. The Celtics acquired Johnson for Rick Roby and draft assets, which in retrospect was a hefty deal. The California native retired at the end of the 1991 season when the Celtics didn’t offer him a new contract and began working with the team as a scout. In 1993, he accepted one of the team’s assistant coaching positions, a position he held until 1997.
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Johnson continued as an assistant coach, interim head coach or scout until his death in 2007. As an additional posthumous honor, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010 – RIP.
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It was also on this day in 2003 that former Boston big man Kendrick Perkins played his first game as a Celtic.
PHOENIX – DECEMBER 30: Kendrick Perkins #43 and Bill Walker #12 of the Boston Celtics react on the bench during an NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center on December 30, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Celtics 116-98. Notice to User: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and/or using this photo, User agrees to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Christian Peterson/Getty Images)
That was in a 105-98 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Gund Arena. Perkins only played 28 seconds of garbage time, which was too short to record any data. Fortunately, this was not indicative of his later career.
Birthday
Today is also the birthday of Celtics short-hand shooter Charles Claxton, the father of current Brooklyn Nets big man Nick Claxton. In 1970, he came to this world in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The undrafted player out of Georgia played a total of three games for Boston during the 1996-96 NBA season, averaging 0.7 points and rebounds per game.
March 5, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; The Boston Celtics logo is seen on the court before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Portland Trail Blazers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Claxton shares a birthday with former Celtics general manager Andre Turner, who was born in 1964 in Memphis, Tennessee. Oddly enough, Turner also only played three games for the Celtics before being waived in 1986.
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historical milestones
On this day in 1961, Hall of Fame big man Wilt Chamberlain scored 52 points and 30 rebounds against the Celtics (then the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors)) at the old Boston Garden. As was the case with Chamberlain, the Celtics still won 123-113, with only two other teammates scoring in double figures after Wilt’s dominant play took the Celtics out of the game.
Boston Celtics’ Antoine Walker (center) breaks between Robert Horry (left) and Brian Shaw of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter at Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 25. SSM/SV
On this day in 1989, Boston Hall of Famer Larry Bird’s triple-double in a 109-97 win over the (then) Seattle SuperSonics was almost as impressive as Wilt’s big game. Schick, who is from French Lick, scored 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Celtics to victory.
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On the same day in 2002, Boston legend Antoine Walker had a similar triple-double in a 115-100 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Player No. 8 scored 33 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, 7 points short of Bird’s feat on the same day 13 years ago.
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Finally, on this day in 1965, Boston signed big man Woody Salisbury as an unrestricted free agent in what would prove to be the final leg of his NBA career.
BOSTON, MA – APRIL 20: Panoramic view of the Celtics championship banner before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first round NBA playoffs between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on April 20, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. Notice to User: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and/or using this photo, User agrees to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Texas Southern University product played in 39 games for the team the rest of the season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: DJ jersey retired; Perkins debuts; Claxton born
