On this day: Charles Bradley born; Bones McKinney passes; playoff wins over Magic, 76ers
On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Boston shooting guard Charles Bradley was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, in 1959. Bradley played his college ball at the University of Wyoming and was selected with the 23rd pick of the 1981 NBA draft by the Celtics, picked ahead of teammate and future general manager of the team Danny Ainge.
He played two seasons with Boston in a reserve role, putting up averages of 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and as many steals per game over 102 games. The Havre de Grace native was waived by the Celtics in October 1983.
He then signed with the (then) Seattle Supersonics (now, Oklahoma City Thunder), his final stop as an NBA player.
Happy birthday in heaven Bones McKinney. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/wXM0qw9HcH
— Honest??Larry (@HonestLarry1) January 1, 2022
It is also the date that we lost former Celtics small forward Horace Albert “Bones” McKinney in 1997. A native of Lowland, North Carolina who played at both North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina, McKinney played most of his six-season NBA career with the team that drafted him, the (now defunct) Washington Capitals.
After that team went belly up, he was picked up by Boston in the dispersal draft, and played a total of 97 games for the team over two seasons, averaging 5.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game before retiring as a player in 1952. Rest in peace.
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