Today in Boston Celtics history, Chauncey Billups played his first game for the storied ball club after being picked up by the Celtics with the third overall pick of the 1997 NBA Draft. He was later traded during his rookie season by then- Boston President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino, but his initial performance was not the reason for the trade.
Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.
That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade
the rookie scorer.
Historic milestones
That game was also the debut of former Celtics center John Thomas, and ex-Boston forward Ron Mercer. The Minnesota alum played a little under five minutes of game time, scoring 2 rebounds and a steal, while Mercer logged 11 points, 5 boards, and an assist.
It is also the day former Celtics wing and current Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle debuted for Boston in 1984. The future Celtics champ played his first minutes in a 116-105 win over the then-New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets, scoring a solid 8 points, and 7 assists with just 1 turnover in 20 minutes of play.
Togo Palazzi debuted this day in 1954, with the Celtics' 5th pick in that year's draft playing his first game for Boston in a 90-86 loss to the (then) Fort Wayne (now, Detroit) Pistons. Palazzi only registered a personal foul in his inaugural game. The Holy Cross alum shares that debut date with Gene Guarilia, who first played for the Cs 5 years later in a 123-109 win over the New York Knicks. The George Washington alum attempted 2 2-point field goals, converting both.
Birthdays
Today is also the birthday of ex-Celtic wing Blue Edwards, born this day in Washington, DC in 1965. An alum of East Carolina University, he was taken by the Utah Jazz 21st overall in the 1989 NBA Draft. He played for that club and the Milwaukee Bucks before being dealt with Derek Strong to Boston for Ed Pinckney and Andrei Fetisov in 1994.
He played one season with the Celtics before he would be dealt back to Utah for Jay Humphries and draft assets. He averaged 7.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game with Boston.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Today in Boston Celtics history: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born
