Back In The Day NBA

NBA Great Bob Cousy Is One Victory From Seeing His Beloved Boston Celtics Win Another Title

Shandel Richardson

Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette via
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Perhaps no one was happier than Bob Cousy after the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

The Celtics now hold a 3-0 lead in the series. Barring a miracle, the inevitable will happen in the next week or so. The Celtics are one victory shy of winning another title. This is more than just young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown earning their first championship rings.

No, this is deeper.

It means the Celtics are closing in on their 18th title, meaning they will pass the Los Angeles Lakers for most in league history. The same Lakers who were are their biggest rivals. From Bill Russell against Jerry West to Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, the franchises are forever linked.

So it's that important for Cousy, a Hall of Famer, to see his beloved Celtics best the Lakers. He recently told the Boston Globe he is unsure how long his health will hold up. Cousy won six titles with the Celtics from 1950-63.

“I’m 95 [expletive] years old with one foot in the grave and I can barely move," Cousy said. "And one of the last things I want to be able to see is for the Celtics to hang up banner No. 18.”

Cousy could get his wish early as Friday when the Celtics can close it out in Game 4. No team has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit, so it's just a matter of time before he gets to celebrate No. 18.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson

SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com