Today in Boston Celtics history: Kevin McHale, Tom Gugliotta born

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Dec 19, 2025 - 05:19

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Today in Boston Celtics history: Kevin McHale, Tom Gugliotta born

Today in Boston Celtics history, Kevin McHale was born in Hibbing, Minnesota in 1957. McHale did not move far from his childhood home to play his NCAA basketball, playing for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, where he won All-Big Ten honors in 1979 and 1980. The 6-foot-10 forward was taken with the third overall selection of the 1980 NBA Draft after iconic Celtics general manager Red Auerbach traded Boston's No. 1 pick for big man Robert Parish and the pick used to take McHale. The trade set up the Celtics to have one of the greatest frontcourts of all time along with Hall of Fame forward Larry Bird.

The Minnesotan made NBA All-Rookie First Team in his inaugural season in the league and won his first title at the end of it in 1981. He made his first of seven All-Star teams in 1984 along with a Sixth Man of the Year award, as well as his second title. McHale won his third and last title in 1986, and many other honors over the course of his 13-year career with the Celtics, the only team he ever played for at the NBA level.

He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992 and averaged 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

More birthdays

It's also the birthday of Tom Gugliotta. Born this day in 1969 in Huntington Station, New York, Gugliotta played for N.C. State collegiately, and was drafted sixth in the 1992 NBA Draft by the (then) Washington Bullets (now, Wizards). The New Yorker played for that franchise, the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz before signing with Boston as a free agent in 2004.

Mar 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, 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

He played just 20 games for the Celtics in the 2004-05 season before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks with Gary Payton, Michael Stewart, and draft assets for Antoine Walker in February 2005. The Huntington Station native averaged 1.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game with Boston.

Historic milestones

Finally, the New York Knicks scored 88 points on the Celtics in just one half of a 143-140 win held at a neutral site in Providence, Rhode Island in 1963.