Celtics community mourns the loss of John Thompson
"He's one of the guys who paved the way for so many of us."
The Celtics community is mourning the loss of one of their own. John Thompson, who played for the Celtics from 1964-66 and is more notably known for his run as Georgetown’s head coach, died Monday at age 78.
Celtics legend Bill Russell remembered his former teammate, who was his backup at center en route to two NBA titles, on Twitter.
“Very sad to hear of my friend & teammate John Thompson’s passing this morning,” Russell wrote. “Our thoughts are with his family & all of the men he brought through #Georgetown & the impact he had on so many lives. He will be greatly missed #RIP my friend.”
Very sad to hear of my friend & teammate John Thompson’s passing this morning. Our thoughts are with his family & all of the men he brought through #Georgetown & the impact he had on so many lives. He will be greatly missed #RIP my friend pic.twitter.com/SdXrSZTnsg
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) August 31, 2020
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said that he never really knew Thompson and only met him on a couple of occasions, but he knows his son, former Georgetown coach John Thompson III, well. He said that one of his first college basketball games he remembers watching involved Thompson’s Hoyas and he recognized the impact Thompson had on the game right away.
“I was a Hoosier fan growing up, so I remember a lot of the games I watched locally, but the first national game that I really remember watching as a kid was Villanova-Georgetown,” Stevens told reporters Monday. “That was a game that didn’t obviously end well for Georgetown, but Georgetown was such a giant. Their coach was so impactful and had such a presence.
“When you learn about all the great things he did off the court, what he meant to the players that played there, what he meant to the school, to see him up there a couple times when were practicing the last few years and to see him sitting on that perch and, you know, walking over and nudging somebody, ‘That’s big John.’ That’s a big, big icon in basketball. Our condolences go out to him, for sure, and his family.”
Celtics star Kemba Walker recognized the impact that the Hall of Famer had on young Black men getting into basketball.
“It’s been a really tough year,” Walker said. “John Thompson, he’s a guy you have to appreciate, especially for me and other young Black, African American guys. He’s one of the guys who paved the way for so many of us.”
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge remarked on the time he spent with Thompson when the two worked together on Turner Sports’ coverage of the NBA.
“I worked with John closely @NBAonTNT,” Ainge wrote in a tweet. “What a blast! We had so many laughs, in preparation, on the airplane and on the air. His legacy will live on. I was grateful to see the relaxed and funny side of him. God bless his family #leader #mentor #coach #friend #RipCoachThompson”
https://twitter.com/danielrainge/status/1300420868003201026
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