Today in Boston Celtics history, David Wesley was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1970. An alumnus of Baylor University, the Texan floor general was passed over in the 1992 NBA Draft because of concerns over his height at a mere 6-foot-1 and his ability to make the transition from the 1 guard spot to the 2 at the NBA level.
After some time playing for the Wichita Falls Texans in the Continental Basketball Association Continental Basketball Association (CBA – that era's version of the G League), he signed with the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets before he signed with the Celtics the subsequent season. Wesley's offensive output doubled or very nearly so in each of his first three campaigns in the league, going from 3.1 to 7.4 to 12.3 points
per game. Wesley reached a career-high of 16.8 points per game in his final season as a Celtic in 1996-97, having played a total of three seasons with Boston.
He averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game with the franchise, signing with the Charlotte Hornets in the summer of 1997.
Transactions
It was also on this date that Celtics legend Tom "Satch" Sanders was fired and replaced by player-coach Dave Cowens in 1978. Sanders had a rare losing record as a coach at 23-39 over two seasons starting back in January 1978, thus the move to Cowens.
His former teammate did not fare considerably better in his sole season on the job, going 27-41 while also playing for the team.
Debuts
Finally, another Celtics legend would play his first minutes for the team – Jo Jo White – on this date in 1969.
The Hall of Fame guard played 17 minutes in a 109 - 108 loss to the (then) Baltimore Bullets (now, Washington Wizards), putting up 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists for a very solid debut.
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: White debuts; Sanders fired, Cowens hired; Wesley born
