By: Michael D. McClellan | He played for the Boston Celtics during a period of nervous change, joining the club just as the Big Three was beginning to break down, its parts worn from too many minutes and too little rest, the post-Bias funk settling in like a fog, thick, heavy and unrelenting. He played valiantly through the Jimmy Rodgers and Chris Ford Eras, which is to say that he competed during the slow decay of basketball’s greatest franchise, his sizable contributions spilled in fruitless pursuit of the NBA’s greatest prize. He was there as Larry Bird lay prone in front of the Celtic bench, Bird’s back so creaky that his greatness, routinely on display for more than a decade, could only be coaxed out between bouts with pain. He was there for Larry Legend’s inevitable retirement, as he was for Kevin McHale’s farewell one season later. He grieved through the tragic loss of Reggie Lewis, and he played through final days of the historic Boston Garden. That Kevin Gamble – nicknamed Oscar by former teammate Danny Ainge – was able to do any of these things is simply amazing, especially for a player cut by two NBA franchises, passed on by the rest, and then forced to toil overseas. That Gamble could resurrect his career in the satellite world of the Continental Basketball Association and then, against all odds, play six integral seasons with the Boston Celtics, is as much a testament to his perseverance and work ethic as it is to his high basketball IQ.
Gamble’s basketball odyssey got its start in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. He entered Lanphier High just hoping to make the team, but by his senior season Gamble was the star, leading the Lions to the 1983 Illinois Class AA State Basketball Championship. Gamble scored 67 points in those four tournament games, which culminated with a 57-53 win over Peoria High School. Lanphier finished the ’83 season 30-3, with Gamble was the only Lanphier player selected to the All-Tournament team.
While few questioned Gamble’s ability at the high school level, many college recruiters wondered whether he possessed legitimate Division I basketball potential. Gamble believed otherwise. He was 6’7” with a quick first step and decent range. He was strong enough to compete beneath the basket, yet quick enough to play the wing. Still, there was only tepid interest at the major college level, forcing Gamble to enroll at Lincoln Junior College, where he played for two seasons under the tutelage of head coach Alan Pickering.
Two year later, Gamble transferred to the University of Iowa. Head coach George Raveling kept the junior college transfer pinned to the bench for much of the season. Gamble’s disappointing junior year took a turn when, as if by divine intervention, Raveling bolted the Iowa program to take the head coaching job at USC. On April 7, 1986, Iowa named Tom Davis as its new head coach. Davis’ arrival breathed new life into Gamble’s collegiate career. Given a clean slate, the Springfield product became a key starter for the Hawkeyes, as the team raced to a 17-0 start and the Number 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll. Iowa finished 30-5 before falling in the NCAA Regional Finals, and Gamble’s play was at the center of it all. Impressed with what they saw, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Gamble in the third round of the 1987 NBA Draft.
Competing for a roster spot with veteran John Paxson and first round pick Ronnie Murphy, Gamble found himself caught in a numbers game. He was released, setting off a nomadic wandering from which few NBA castoffs return: There was a full season spent toiling in the CBA, followed by an invitation to the Detroit Pistons’ rookie camp the following summer, followed by a training camp tryout with the Milwaukee Bucks later that fall. Gamble then played in the Philippines for a month, before returning to start his second stint in the CBA. A 12-game hot streak with Quad Cities caught the attention of scouts from several NBA teams, including the Boston Celtics, who reached out with an offer.
Gamble played sparingly those first couple of months, understandable with players like Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, Reggie Lewis and Brian Shaw ahead of him on the depth chart. That all changed over the final six games of the regular season. With DJ nursing a leg injury, Gamble made the most of his minutes and helped the Celtics enter the playoffs on a positive note. Gamble continue to play well in the postseason until going down with a groin injury, as the aging Celtics were swept in the first round by the Detroit Pistons. Still, the sample size was enough to convince the Celtics to bring him back.
“My big break,” Gamble says with a smile. “I knew I had to made the most of my opportunity if it came my way, and I think I showed them what I could do.”
Gamble played in 71 games the following season, averaging 5.1 points in 13.9 minutes-per-game. The Celtics entered the playoffs with high hopes, jumping to a 2-0 series lead against the New York Knicks, only to drop the next three games, eliminated in the first round for the second year in a row.
1990-91 proved to be Gamble’s breakout year. He played in all 82 games, averaged 15.6 points (fourth on the team, behind Bird, Lewis and McHale), and helped the Celtics to a 56-26 record and a return to first place in the Atlantic Division. The Celtics were again faced with a Game 5 in the opening round, this time against Reggie Miller and Indiana Pacers. When Bird’s head bounced off the Boston Garden parquet, forcing him to the locker room with a concussion, it looked as if another first-round exit were in the making.
“Larry wasn’t going out in the first round again,” Gamble says, smiling at the recollection. “We knew he was coming back out there, and that he was going to play big, but it was just an incredible moment to see him walk back out of that tunnel. The place went crazy, and we were able to beat the Pacers and move on. Unfortunately, we lost to the Pistons in the next round.”
Gamble played in all 82 games the next season, but the Celtics were eliminated by the Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs. Bird retired over the summer, and Boston entered the 1992-93 season with Parish and McHale playing well beyond their All-Star years. Facing the upstart Charlotte Hornets in the opening round of the playoffs, the Celtics succumbed quietly, 3-1. The series is best remembered for Reggie Lewis’ strange collapse in Game 2. Replays showed Lewis clutching his chest, as if unable to catch his breath. A team of cardiologists would later diagnose Lewis with a rare heart ailment, urging him to retire immediately from professional basketball. Two months later Lewis was dead, collapsing while shooting baskets at Brandeis University.
“An unbelievable loss,” Gamble says. “Devastating to the team, to the community, and to his family. Reggie Lewis was just a tremendous person.”
Gamble would play one more season in a Celtic uniform, before finishing his NBA career with stints with the Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings. He would retire following the 1996-97 regular season, having played ten seasons in a league that didn’t want to give him a chance. In beating the odds, Gamble proved that hard work and dedication can go a long way toward big time success. He remains forever grateful to the Celtics for taking a chance on him, when everyone else had their doubts.
“I’ll always be a Boston Celtic,” Gamble says. “There were so many great times. So many great players. It was just an honor to be a part of that great tradition – it’s something that I’ll never forget.”
You were born on November 13th, 1965 in Springfield, Illinois. What sports were you into?
Basketball and baseball were the two main sports that I liked to play. I liked to watch football, but it wasn’t one of the sports that I really competed in. And as I got older, I focused more and more on basketball.
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You have described yourself as an ‘observer type.’ Did this help make you a better basketball player?
I don’t know if it made me a better basketball player – it’s really hard to say. That’s just my personality, and that’s just what type of person I am. I’m laid-back and observant, so I guess I was able to learn quite a bit by observing other players. That might have had something to do with it. It was also the hard work that I put in from a very early age, as a child coming up and playing basketball everyday. And that might have had more to do with it than anything.
You led Lanphier High to a state championship in 1983. Looking back, what stands out about that championship season?
Just the whole experience. We knew we were going to have a pretty good ball club when we were seniors in high school, because the majority of us had been together since eighth or ninth grade. It was just a very good nucleus of players that came from different grade schools and middle schools, so we knew we were going to have a special team that last year. We thought that, with our talent and a little luck, we might be able to win a state championship, so it was always in the back of our minds. We were fortunate enough to win it. We had guys at every position, from point guard all the way to center – everybody knew their roles and everybody played their roles.
You played two seasons at Lincoln Junior College. Tell me about your head coach, Alan Pickering.
Coach Pick was my first adult role model in my transition from adolescence to a young man. He was that person that took me to the next step in my life. He molded me, and showed me what I had to do to make it at the college level. He also helped me to transition from living at home to living on my own. I’d never been alone and away from home like that before. Coach Pick helped me with what seem like simple things now, such as managing my time and building strong study habits, but a the time it all seemed overwhelming. He taught me not only to be a better basketball player, but also a better person.
You transferred Iowa for your junior season, but didn’t play much under head coach George Raveling.
That first year was very disappointing. Not that we didn’t get along, but Coach Raveling and I didn’t always see eye-to-eye. He didn’t see me as the player that Coach Pickering saw me as, or that my high school coaches saw me as. I was primarily a guard/forward in high school. I played guard at Lincoln College. But once I got to Iowa, Coach Raveling saw fit to play me at power forward, with guys like Eddie Horton, Brad Lohaus, and Al Lorenzen. Lohaus was a seven-footer. Eddie Horton was 6’8”, and probably weighed 260 pounds at the time. Al Lorenzen was 6’8”, 250. And I was playing the same position at 6’6”, 205. So it was very disappointing. I wish I could have red-shirted that year. I think I averaged a total of six minutes per-game that year, so it was very disappointing in terms of athletics.
That all changed under Tom Davis – you led the Hawkeyes to a 30-5 record and the NCAA tournament regional finals.
When Coach Davis came in, he met with us and said that we were starting with a brand new slate. He said that nobody had positions, and that you had to go out and earn your playing time. I ended up winning two positions on our ball club – the two guard spot, and the small forward position. I primarily played the two – shooting guard – for Coach Davis, and he’s probably the main reason I had a chance to make it to the NBA. I did have a pretty good senior season and a pretty good tournament, and because of that I ended up being drafted by Portland in the third round of the 1987 NBA Draft.
You were drafted by Portland in the third round, but waived after only nine games. What happened?
Early on I was just trying to define myself , to see where I fit in. My stint with the Portland Trail Blazers was a good one – I could tell that I could fit, that I could play in the NBA. I gained a lot of confidence playing with Terry Porter, Clyde Drexler, Jerome Kersey, Kevin Duckworth and guys like that. Being a rookie, I basically held my own. They had a couple of guys injured to start the season. John Paxson was out, and so was their first round pick, Ronnie Murphy. So I made it through training camp and made the ball club. I think the team knew that I was good enough to play NBA ball, but unfortunately for me, it turned out to be a numbers game. They weren’t going to cut their first rounder, and they weren’t going to cut a veteran like John to keep a rookie like myself. So it boiled down to a numbers game there in Portland. Coach Adelman was there as an assistant to Mike Schuler, and those guys told me that I was good enough to play in the NBA. They told me to not give up, to hang in there, and that sooner or later I would get my chance to show that I could play pro ball. So even though I was released, it was a very good time for me.
What did you do next?
It was disappointing not being able to stick in the NBA, but I just kept busy playing basketball. I played a full season in the CBA after being cut by Portland – I think I averaged 20 points and 8 rebounds-per-game – and had a successful season. Everyone that I talked to said the same thing: In order to play NBA basketball, I had to learn to play great defense. So that’s what I worked on while playing in the CBA. I expected to get a mid-season call from an NBA team, but it didn’t work out that way.
From there, I ended going to Detroit that next summer. They had drafted Fennis Dembo from Wyoming in the first round of the 1988 NBA Draft, and they had also brought in a couple of free agents. I played well in that camp also, but again, they already had their players picked out. They had Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, Isiah Thomas, Adrian Dantley, Vinnie Johnson, Joe Dumars, Rick Mahorn and John Sally. So I knew that it was going to be hard to make that ball club. That same summer I went to the Milwaukee Bucks’ mini-camp. I thought played well there, but for whatever reason I didn’t catch on, so that’s when I went over to the Philippines. I was there for a month. It was a good experience – I was able to see a different part of the world – but it just wasn’t my cup of tea, so to speak. I came back home, and that’s when I rejoined Quad Cities of the CBA. I think I played twelve games for them, and I averaged close to 30 points-per-game during that stretch. And that’s when I got the call from the Boston Celtics.
On December 15th, 1988, the Celtics signed you for the remainder of the season. How did you find out they were interested?
Ron Grinker – my agent out of Cincinnati, Ohio, who is no longer with us – called me up, and said that I had two teams that were interested in me. One was the Portland Trailblazers, who wanted me back, and the other was the Boston Celtics. At the time I knew that I was going to be called up, but at the time the Celtics were the last team that I thought would ever call me. There was no particular reason for that feeling, but with all the history and championships, and with the roster that they had at the time, I just didn’t think that they would want me. Ron said that those were the two teams that wanted me, so we sat down and talked about it. I finally decided against Portland because of the way things went there the first time around. I just made up my mind and said, ‘Let’s go to Boston.’
One moment you’re playing in the CBA, the next you’re contending for an NBA Championship with legendary players like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. What was it like joining the team for the first time?
I immediately got on a flight and went to Boston. The first day of practice I walk out there, and the guys are already on the court. I’m shaking in my boots a little bit, but it’s easy to understand why: You look at the other end of the court, and you see Kevin McHale. You see Larry Bird. You see Dennis Johnson. It’s like, ‘Wow.’ It didn’t feel like I had arrived; it was more a need to show these guys that I could play. Practice proceeded, and those guys welcomed me with open arms. I introduced myself. Of course, you probably know some of the stories about McHale and Danny Ainge – the two jokesters on the team – and I think it was Danny who pointed out that the Celtics suddenly had two Kevins on the roster. And when I told them that my last was Gamble, Danny’s eyes lit up. Danny had played professional baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays, and a guy named Oscar Gamble played for the New York Yankees during that time, so Danny started calling me Oscar. The nickname stuck with me for the rest of my career with the Celtics.
During practice, you used to play some friendly one-on-one with Kevin McHale. How did those games turn out?
I won some and I lost some. Kevin had to guard perimeter guys – Larry wasn’t the quickest guy, but Kevin was long. KC and Coach [Chris] Ford used to have Larry guard the bigger guys in practice, mostly fours [power forwards]. McHale used to guard the threes [small forwards], who were quicker. He used to practice with me to work on his quickness. Kevin had those long arms. He wasn’t real quick, but he moved his feet well. He would give you space, and then, when you went up for your jump shot, he would contest it with those long arms and his reach. So I think that was one of the things that he wanted to work on, because he was going to be matched up against players my size, or even bigger, who could take the ball to the basket. But we had fun. Playing one-on-one with those guys taught me a lot of things. I learned a lot about basketball being around them, observing them, and also playing against them in practice.
Dennis Johnson once convinced you to lead them onto the Garden floor when the team was introduced. What happened?
I had forgotten all about that, but now that you mention it I do remember [laughs]. Dennis came up to me and said that it was a tradition in Boston to have the new guy lead them out. I can’t remember if it was my first game with the team, but I do remember that it was during Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s farewell tour. We were playing the Lakers, of course, and I ran out of the tunnel and into the gym. When I got on the court I turned around and looked back, and all of the guys were still back there in the tunnel, laughing at me. It was funny because here I am, this young kid standing on the fabled parquet floor, who has watched this place on television for years-and-years, through all of those battles between the Celtics and the Lakers, and also against the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s what made it so horrifying for me, and such a good joke for them. I was so nervous, and I was also embarrassed. For them to put me out there like that, I’m surprised that I didn’t faint [laughs].
It looked like you might be released after that first season, but then DJ gets hurt. Tell me about the turning point.
I remember when DJ rolled his ankle in Atlanta – it was really bad – and we’re flying back to Boston that night, knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to finish up the season. We didn’t know if he was going to miss all six games, but we did know that he was going to miss a few. Our next game was against Cleveland, and we’re in the locker room going through our normal pre-game stuff. Coach [Jimmy] Rodgers comes into the locker room with the Cleveland’s starting lineup – Larry Nance, Brad Dougherty, Ron Harper, and so forth. Jimmy looks at Brian Shaw, and he tells him that he will guard Mark Price. Then he looks at me, and he says, ‘Oscar, you’re going to be starting, and you’ve got Ron Harper.’ That was the first time that I heard that I was going to starting in the NBA. I’ll never forget that feeling. Of course, everybody knew what Ron Harper could do – he was one of the best players in the NBA. He was known as a very good all-around player, strong offensively and defensively, which made my first start exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. I think I had 20 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. From that point on I think everyone on the team knew that they could count on me.
The Celtics were swept from the 1989 NBA Playoffs by the Bad Boys from Detroit.
I think we limped into the playoffs that year and had to play the Bad Boys. The one thing that I do remember – and it wasn’t a good memory for me – was that I got hurt during the first game of that series. I pulled my groin. It was a severe pull, so it obviously wasn’t a good series for me. I remember playing against Isiah, and Dumars, and the Microwave [Vinnie Johnson]. I think that might have been the first of their back-to-back championship seasons. It was a great experience, but I just wish that I could have been healthy enough to contribute more.
The Celtics bring you back the next season. What was it like to go through training camp with the rest of the team?
It was fun. It’s hard to remember now, but just going through a full training and getting ready for the regular season was a luxury. It helped in terms of getting my timing down with my teammates, because Larry was coming back and we had some adjustments to make. It was fun being around the guys, and getting the chance to play with some of the best basketball players in the world. You learn something everyday. You pick up so many little things about the game. So it was an exciting time for me; going through the preseason games, going on the flights with the team…it was a lot of hard work, but I came away from it with a lot of great memories. It also made me a better basketball player.
The ’89-’90 season ended with heartbreak, as the Celtics were eliminated from the first round for the second consecutive season. What happened in that series against New York, and how were the Knicks able to win that decisive game in the Boston Garden?
I didn’t play a lot that series – they were a bigger team, so they went big and we countered by going with a big rotation. Patrick [Ewing] had a great series against us. Gerald Wilkins had a great series. The Knicks played good team basketball and had us on our heels. If a team gets hot in a five game series, then it can definitely make things difficult for the opponent, and that’s basically what happened. The Knicks tied the series in New York, and then came into Boston and won that deciding game in the Garden. We had no one to blame but ourselves; if you don’t take care of homecourt, then you’re usually not going to win a playoff series. The Knicks were a young team coming up, and Patrick was hungry. They were able to do it. You have to give them credit.
The ’91 playoff series against the Indiana Pacers is best remembered for Larry Bird’s return after banging his head on the Garden floor.
You just knew he was going to return, but you didn’t start getting excited until the fans saw him walk out of that locker room. So we knew he was going to come back – he’d done so many amazing things during his career, and he’d hit so many big shots. He was the master of taking over a game. So it was one of those times when you’d just sit back and watch, and that you were just glad to be a part of it.
Larry Bird retired following the ’91’92 season. By then you were in integral part of the team, earning your reputation and playing time with solid defense. With Larry gone and the rest of the Big Three in decline, did you assume more of a leadership role with the Celtics?
Yes and no – I just tried to go to work every day and put up my normal numbers. I wasn’t a vocal leader. I tried to lead by example, so I guess you could say that I was a lunch pail type of player. I worked hard in practice every day, and gave my all on the court. I tried to defend my man with maximum intensity. I used to watch Chief [Robert Parish], and he always came to work. And he worked hard. I tried my best to emulate that, because I always felt that Robert set a good example of the younger players on the team. To me, he was the consummate pro. Whether it was in practice or in a game, you knew that Robert was going to give his best at all times. So I tried to imitate the things that he tried to do.
Tell me about the great Red Auerbach.
I remember when I held out for my contract. The Celtics always have a dinner in the Quincy area for the media – the old Celtic players always come out. It was around the time when the players started pulling down million dollar contracts, and stuff like that. I was mainly a scorer who played solid, fundamental defense, and Red just couldn’t understand how a guy who didn’t rebound could make a million bucks [laughs].
Before games he would come in the locker room and talk about the days when he coached, and some of the guys that he coached. Guys would be getting ready to get their ankles taped, and of course Red is on the taping table telling those old stories, and you couldn’t get your ankles taped [laughs]. So you’ve got to listen to the stories before the game, and time is clicking, and you have to wait for him to get those stories out. But for him to come in and sit and talk, that means a lot. Especially to some of the younger guys. He would come in and give you encouragement – he’d tell you to relax and just shoot the ball, and that really made you feel like you were a part of something special – but most of the time he would come in to tell his stores and show off his rings [laughs].
Final Question: If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that be?
Work hard. If you have a dream, don’t let anything get in your way. Do it the right way, because there are no shortcuts to success. It takes hard work and dedication – some people like the quick fix, but there is no quick fix out there.
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