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His averages of 27.1 ppg, 5.6
apg, and 5.2 rpg validated his versatility, as he proved to be far-and-away
the Squires’ best player. He teamed with a young Julius Erving during the
1971-72 season, leading the league in scoring with a 33.4 ppg average. He
was named as an All-Star both seasons. By then he found the drumbeat of the
NBA too hard to ignore – the venues were bigger, the competition stiffer,
the crowds more intense. He wanted to test himself against the best,
something he couldn’t do with any consistency in the ABA.
Bolting to the Suns prior to the
1972-73 season, Scott wasted little time proving himself a legitimate NBA
talent. He possessed the classic shooter’s mentality, unafraid to take the
big shots and quick to forget the ones that didn’t drop in. He finished his
first season as a Sun by posting averages of 25.3 ppg, 6.1 apg, and 4.2 rpg,
but the team struggled to a 38-44 record and missed the playoffs. For
Scott, it felt like talent wasted. He was used to winning, and Phoenix
simply didn’t have the talent to succeed against powerful Western Conference
teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. There was
talk of upgrades in the offseason, but little was done and the team
regressed, going 30-52 in John MacLeod’s first season as head coach. Scott
averaged 25.4 ppg, 5.2 apg and 4.3 rpg in another wasted effort.
Scott’s third and final season
as a Sun provided
more of the same – impressive personal numbers (24.3 ppg,
4.5 apg, 4.0 rpg) but little in the way of team success. He felt trapped,
and doubted that he would
 ever compete for an NBA championship. All of that
changed on May 23, 1975, when Boston traded Westphal and two picks to
Phoenix for the rights to Scott. He was suddenly on a team dripping with
talent. The Celtics went 54-28, with Scott the third leading scorer on one
of the most balanced teams in franchise history. Leading the way were
Cowens (19.0 ppg) and White (18.9), while Scott (17.6), John Havlicek (17.0
and Paul Silas (10.7) rounded out a starting five that averaged in double
figures. The Celtics beat a stubborn Buffalo Braves team, 4-2, in Scott’s
first-ever playoff appearance. A six game dispatching of the Cleveland
Cavaliers put the Celtics back on the championship stage, pitting them
against the most unlikely of opponents – the Phoenix Suns.
"It's funny how that worked
out," Scott said, well aware of the irony involving the ’76 Finals matchup,
"but we were very confident about our chances of winning the series."
The series, of course, remains
best known for Game 5 in the Boston Garden, the NBA’s self-proclaimed
“Greatest Game Ever Played”. It was a triple-overtime gem, played in that
antiquated blast-furnace on Causeway Street, and one in which the Celtics
prevailed to take a 3-2 series lead. Lost in the excitement was the series
clincher back in Phoenix, one in which Scott played his best with the most
on the line. His 25-point, 11-rebound, 5-steal, three assist performance
propelled Boston to its 13th NBA Championship.
The 1976 NBA Finals was clearly
the pinnacle of Scott's professional basketball career. He would go on to
play four more seasons, including a brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers,
before retiring as a Denver Nugget. Still, he considers Boston his NBA
home. He feels that it was his destiny to win a championship there, even if
road was far more arduous that he ever thought possible.
“I think my time spent with the Suns really helped me to appreciate what it
was like to win a championship,” Scott said without hesitation. “I was more
mature by the time I arrived in Boston, and I had just endured three
frustrating seasons in Phoenix. I was ready to come home and help the
Celtics win a championship. And that’s exactly what I did.”
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