John Havlicek: The Best All-Around Player Of His Generation

Introduction:
Hondo did everything for the Celtics during his career, making him my choice for best all-around player for his era.

This type of argument in itself can be beaten to death. Just like: Who is the best pop singer of all-time? What place makes the best pizza? What city has the best skyline? Who is the greatest all-around basketball player? All of these debatable, but they are still the staff of life for musicians, chefs, travel planners and of course, basketball fans.

Since I don't really believe in being able to compare across generations, I won't go as far as to say John Havlicek is the greatest all-around player of all-time. However, my statement that he is the best of his era should ruffle enough feathers.

The question immediately leads to numerous other questions. Does "greatest" mean "the most valuable?" If that's the case, Bill Russell wins hands down with his 11 championships (not to mention one injury-plagued near-miss) in thirteen years would be a good testimony to win that argument.

But, in this case, I am looking at a more academic argument. By that I mean which player could, by using a variety of skills both cerebral and physical, contribute to winning the most games in different ways.

While I can sense the people already typing rebuttals for Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, it should be clear to see that Havlicek is first in the class.

At the time of his retirement, Havlicek had played the most games in NBA history. He was also the fourth leading scorer in the history of the NBA, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain, Robertson and West. When it comes to assists, he ranked 6th all-time, but impressive nonetheless as he was the highest of the non-lead guards. He also played in the most playoff games of all-time. In the end though, it was never about the numbers that defined Hondo.

Tom Heinsohn coached Havlicek for seven years, but he never cared about his statistics. He considered having Havliceck in his prime (which was probably from 1967 to 1974) was like having the queen in chess. He could do anything. You could keep him on the bench and see how the game is going, then stick him in either at forward or guard. Or, when the luxury was no longer possible, start him up front and switch him to the backcourt as the game demanded. It was, in a way, like having two All-Star players in one. On top of all that, you never had to worry about taking him out of the game, due to his unrivaled fitness level.

The key to his success though was not that he was just capable of playing two positions, but that he was a legitimate All-Star at both. He was arguably the best small forward who played in that era, combined with one of the steadiest, smartest and best passing guards who ever played.

All this did not even seem possible when Havlicek broke in to the NBA. Drafted at the end of the first round out of Ohio State, he was always thought of the other guy who teamed up with Jerry Lucas. The Celtics loved his defense, but thought his offense needed work. His first year happened to be Bob Cousy's last, which left the rookie only having to do one thing on offense---run. Havlicek would later recall that all he needed to do his rookie season was make layups after pinpoint passes.

That year, he was used exclusively as a forward. His shot and ball-handling were still too weak. Instead on just accepting these deficiencies as facts, he went home to work on these two skills all summer. He now had the confidence to do more with the ball, saw his scoring average jump from 14 to 19 a game, and most importantly claimed the role as the Celtics 6th man.

That first summer after being in the NBA was only a small sample of all the work he did throughout his career to stay on the top of his game. His off season workouts were really the first of his kind, making the NBA his passion, his 24/7 job. Many say that is how he was able to play at such a high level for such a long time.

One such example of his playing at an unmatched level at an old age was during the famous 1976 NBA Finals. Few know that Havlicek never practiced during the entire playoff run because of a two separate tissue tears on his foot. In an age where sports medicine was not nearly what it is today, he just iced it and played. At age 36, he went without practicing for 2 months during the finals run and still played well enough to lead the to the title. In the most well known game of the series, game 5, he played 58 minutes in a Triple OT win at the Boston Garden against the Phoenix Suns (also had a near triple-double that game to boot).

It's hard to fathom that with all the dedication Havlicek had for basketball, he would never had played it if he had it his way. The Cleveland Browns drafted him in 1962 despite never playing a down since high school. While at Ohio State, Woody Hayes was asked once who the best football player on campus was, and he said "Johnny Havlicek."

Havlicek was a quarterback in high school, but the Browns saw him as a receiver. Despite being told by teammates he had the best hands in camp, the Browns eventually cut him and his dreams.

The football dream did not end then though, as for the next six years a team would come to offer him a tryout. Don Shula even famously begged him for two days to join the Baltimore Colts. This testament to his athletic ability only strengthens his natural skill to do everything.

To truly understand the Havlicek career, you should break it down in eras. There was the 6th man era, where he practically invented the position. Despite playing with a talented cast of Russell, Heinsohn and Sam Jones, he would come off the bench and play more minutes than anyone save Russell. He was always on the floor to end games, and even made the occasional start in a must win situation.

Once Russell and Jones called it quits in 1969, the Celtics officially became Havlicek's Celtics. Now too much of the team to be a 6th man, he became the "play every minute" man. From 1969 to 1972, you can make the argument that he played better basketball in that stretch than anyone of that era. In the 1969-70 season, he led the Celtics in points, rebounds and assists. He was the man to stop, only no one could stop him. He would dominate on both ends of the court, something few true superstars have been able to do.

Once the 1973-1974 season came around, the Celtics rebuilding period was near completion. He could now be the elder statesman on the Celtics. However, a guy who still average 17 points a game and was also known as a top-notch defender in his mid-30s was more than most players similar to him could accomplish.

The names that normally accompany Havlicek in this discussion are Baylor, Robertson and West. Even Julius Baylor never made a significant effort on defense, so he's out in my book. Oscar didn't either until the twilight of his career. West is really the only argument for me as far as best all-around. The pair had many memorable duels as part of that Celtics-Lakers rivalry, but besides shooting, Havlicek did just about everything else better. They both defended and passed well from the backcourt, but the versatility Havlicek possessed gives him the edge. He guarded everyone from a guard like Calvin Murphy to a center like Spencer Haywood.

During this whole article, I might have strayed away from maybe the most important thing about John Havlicek. It was the hustle plays, the plays that seemingly could be pulled off., the "did you just see that" play. It was the "Havlicek steals it, Havlicek stole the ball...it's all over" play. Scoring, passing, defending, rebounding, thinking, endurance, longevity and leading: there was no player that had the total package in his era like John J. Havlicek.

About the author:
Khofaxspan is a die hard NBA fan and has written many more informative articles that can be found at sports talk website rootzoo.com. He's also an expert when it comes to analyzing nba rosters and enjoys chatting on rootzoo's Basketball forum.