The Boston Celtics on Wednesday moved one game closer to another NBA title, holding off the Dallas Mavericks 106-99. They’re now up a seemingly insurmountable three games to zero.
That’s good for them. But it’s also good for the legendary Bob Cousy.
Cousy, who won six championships with the Celtics in the 1950s and 1960s, would like to see the franchise he embodies win one more title. And he’s being pretty blunt about his message – Win before I die.
It’s not just us being a little insensitive toward the 95-year-old legend. It’s quite literally his message.
“I’m 95 f—ing years old with one foot in the grave and I can barely move,” Cousy told Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe. “I know I’m in overtime. So everything in your life becomes more meaningful.”
“And one of the last things I want to be able to see is for the Celtics to hang up banner No. 18.”
Bob Cousy says he wants to see another Celtics championship before it’s too late
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 12, 2024
“I’m 95 f*cking years old with one foot in the grave and I can barely move. I know I’m in overtime. So everything in your life becomes more meaningful. And one of the last things I want to be able… pic.twitter.com/a1GvJoQPsY
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Bob Cousy To The Celtics: Win One For The Gipper
You have to admire Bob Cousy for just laying it all out there. +500 points for bluntness.
The point guard for some of the Celtics’ most legendary teams has been alive for all 17 of the club’s NBA championships. He intends on being there for number 18.
They have a chance to close things out Friday in Game 4 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. It would be their first title since 2008 and just the second for the storied franchise since 1986.
Should that happen, the Boston Celtics would break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most titles in NBA history.
What better way to warm the heart of a 95-year-old Beantown legend?
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The Houdini of the Hardwood
Bob Cousy was known for his exceptional ball-handling skills and playmaking abilities. So much so that he was dubbed the “Houdini of the Hardwood.”
He played for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963 and briefly for the Cincinnati Royals, winning six NBA championships and being named NBA Most Valuable Player in 1957.
Cousy was a 13-time NBA All-Star and led the league in assists for eight consecutive years. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971.
And if you think the rivalry between the Celtics and Lakers doesn’t live on in this man, think again. It’s literally the driving force for him hoping Boston gets one more.
“I will take great pride in seeing this,” Cousy said. “This puts us back ahead of the Lakers. To have been a part of that is as good a legacy as I could hope for.”
Cousy will turn 96 this August.
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