Ray Allen had already proven himself as a star with the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics, but it was with the Boston Celtics where he would win his first NBA Championship.  The superstar shooter was traded from the Sonics before the 2007-08 season where he joined Paul Pierce and an incoming Kevin Garnett to form a "Big Three" and Allen, who no longer had to carry the workload (and also was getting a little older) may have scored less but was still very efficient and in his first year with the Celtics he was an NBA Champion.

As of this writing, Marcus Smart is entering his ninth season in the NBA, all of which have been with the Boston Celtics.  The 2014 6^th Overall Pick from Oklahoma State, Smart was a good pickup for the Celtics and earned Second Team All-Rookie honors with 7.8 Points and 1.5 Steals per Game season.  Smart would later have two straight seasons where he averaged over 10 Points per Game (2016-17 & 2017-18), and while he dipped below that season, he was sixth in Steals per Game and first in Steal Percentage, which would secure him a First Team All-Defensive Selection.  He repeated his First Team All-Defensive honor in 2020, and his glove-like acumen secured Smart as the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year.  Smart had another good year in 2022-23, but the Celtics traded him after the year in a three-way deal to get Kristaps Porzingis.

Smart might not be the most efficient player, but he leaves everything he has on the court and was a worthy recipient of the 2019, 2022, and 2023 Hustle Award —the third player ever to win the trophy and the first three-time winner.  This is a player whose defense could gain him forever stardom in Boston lore.

Pre-2019-20 Rank: #23.  Pre-2020-21 Rank: #25, Pre-2021-21 Rank #27, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #28, Pre-2023-24 Rank: #26

*Peak Period:  From 2009-10 to 2015-16

Last year, we said, “Al Horford's best years are behind him, but he is still a starter on an excellent Boston Celtics team that could win it all in 2024.”

That is what happened.

Horford has five All-Star Games on his resume, an NBA Champion, but the Hall looks at it all, including two NCAA Championships at Florida.  This is a better candidate than you might think, and he is still a favored championship contender.

Sidney Wicks was the UCLA big man who led the Bruins to numerous NCAA titles and was selected College Player of the Year.  He would be drafted by the Blazers and would become the centerpiece of the franchise.  Later went to Boston where he was a solid contributor.  No it’s not Bill Walton; it’s the forgotten star of the UCLA dynasty, Sidney Wicks.  Wicks is one of those great 70s players that time has seemingly forgot.  A four time All-Star and consistent 20/10 guy for the Blazers, Wicks was a dominant big man.  A three time champion at UCLA who was the star of the teams in between Alcindor and Walton, Wicks never got their publicity.  The obstacles holding him back from the Hall is a shortened career and playing for bad teams that happened to get a lot better right after he left.

Danny Ainge is one of those guys who depending on whom you talk to is either one of the most overrated players of all time or one of the least appreciated.  He definitely was not the most popular, but boy could he play.  He became a household name when he led BYU to an upset of Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament on a memorable full court drive in 1981; the same year he won the Wooden Award as national player of the year. 

Paul Silas is one of the most respected players of his generation.  Never a star, Silas was a workmanlike power forward that was at his best coming off the bench and bringing the muscle to the court.  A great rebounder and defender, Silas was an integral part of three championship teams, two in Boston and one in Seattle.  A long career highlighted by being on winners and collecting over 12,000 rebounds (currently 20th on the all time list) have overshadowed a great college career. 

With his year of eligibility pushed back from his attempts to get back in the big time through the D-League, Antoine Walker is sadly best known for his financial woes more than anything he did on the court. In his playing career, his best seasons were with Boston, where along with Paul Pierce his three pointers excited crowds (though he probably took too many) and he was a member of three All Star squads. In a reserve role, Walker had a very good season assisting the Heat in their first championship, but despite his role there, he is often the forgotten contributor on that team. Forgotten players generally don’t wind up enshrined; especially one who has become a punch line.