Today in Boston Celtics history: Russell gets NBA Finals-record 40 rebs; Glover draft
Today in Boston Celtics history, Bill Russell achieved an NBA Finals record by securing a total of 40 rebounds in Game 2 of the 1960 NBA Finals, which pitted the Boston Celtics against the St. Louis Hawks (now known as the Atlanta Hawks). Despite the Louisiana native's otherworldly performance on the boards, the Celtics lost the game to the Hawks with a final score of 113-103.
However, Boston ultimately won the series, thanks to exceptional contributions from Russell and point guard Bob Cousy. Earlier in that season, the University of San Francisco alum also set the regular-season record for rebounds, grabbing 51 against the Syracuse Nationals (now the Philadelphia 76ers) on February 5th. That record stood less than a year, as rival big man Wilt Chamberlain of the then-Philadelphia Warriors (now, Golden State) would grab 55 boards (and 34 points) in a loss to (of all teams) the Celtics on November 24th of the same year.
Transactions It was also the date of the 1971 NBA draft held in New York City, New York, which saw the Celtics take one player of note. That player was forward Clarence Glover, who the Celtics took 10th overall out of Western Kentucky. The Horse Cave native appeared in 25 games for Boston, averaging 2.
6 points and 1. 8 boards per game with the Celtics before they waived him. This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics history: Russell gets NBA Finals-record 40 rebs; Glover draft