Today in Boston Celtics history, the team officially signed forward Xavier McDaniel as an unrestricted free agent in 1992. McDaniel, a standout player during his college career with the Wichita State Shockers, distinguished himself by leading the NCAA in scoring in 1985 and in rebounding in both 1983 and 1985. On top of all that, he also earned a nod as a consensus first-team All-American in 1985. The former Shocker was taken by the (then) Seattle SuperSonics (now, Oklahoma City Thunder) in the 1985 NBA Draft with the fourth pick, and McDaniel finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind future Hall of Fame big man Patrick Ewing. The Columbia, South Carolina, native instead made the All-Rookie first team as a consolation prize.
The
6-foot-7 forward played in parts of six seasons with Seattle, part of one season with the Phoenix Suns, and one full season with the New York Knicks before joining the Celtics.
"X wasn't the perfect position fit," Celtics' executive vice president Dave Gavitt said of the signing at the time via the New York Times' Clifton Brown. "But we felt he brought us something that would make us a better team."
After his time with the Celtics, McDaniel played one season overseas with Iraklis Thessaloniki of the EuroLeague.
After that, he finished his NBA career with the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets, playing two seasons before hanging it up as a player.
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Today is also the day that Art Williams was dealt to the Celtics in 1970 by the (then) San Diego (now, Houston) Rockets. Picked up as a free agent by San Diego in 1967 after going undrafted, the Cal Poly Pomona alum played there for three seasons before his trade to Boston.
While with the Celtics, Williams would help Boston win a title in 1974 in a reserve role before leaving the league as a player in 1974 to join the ABA,
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Xavier McDaniel signs, Art Williams trade
