The Jo Jo White Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
| Monday,
April 7th,
2003
The
exquisite jumper and boundless energy were nonpareil,
 yet these attributes barely tell the story of how Jo Jo
White became one of the most important Boston Celtics of
all time. He
is perhaps most famous for his role in “The Greatest
Game Ever Played”, the triple-overtime victory over
the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals, and
yet his was a career built on the dual pilings of
longevity (10 seasons in a Celtic uniform, seven seasons
an NBA All-Star) and durability (a team record 488
consecutive games played).
He was the ideal teammate, willing to suppress
his considerable offensive talents in order to make
those around him better.
He was a superbly conditioned athlete and the
catalyst of a vaunted fast–break attack that won two
world championships in the mid-70s.
He was, above all else, the consummate Boston
Celtic; like Frank Ramsey and Satch Sanders before him,
White understood his roll and played it to perfection,
and in the process continued the Celtic tradition of
placing team-centric accomplishments ahead of individual
honors.
Jo
Jo White was another in a long line of Red Auerbach
masterstrokes; while highly coveted in the 1969 NBA
Draft, the Kansas All-American slipped to the Celtics
because of what was believed to be a two-year military
obligation. White
found himself in the Marine Reserve program instead, and
Auerbach suddenly had the foundation on which to build a
post-Russell title winner.
A year later, Auerbach would add swashbuckling
center Dave Cowens to the mix; by 1974 the Boston
Celtics were once again atop the basketball world.
White,
who grew up playing sports in St. Louis, was such a
gifted all-around athlete that both the Dallas Cowboys
and Cincinnati Reds drafted him.
A consensus All-American at Kansas, White helped
the United States to Olympic gold in Mexico City as the
U.S. erupted for 17 unanswered points to begin the
second half against the Yugoslavians.
(White would score eight points in the
onslaught.)
Still,
his name will forever be linked to "The Greatest
Game Ever Played", and on that sweat-box of a stage
otherwise known as Boston Garden, Jo Jo White came to
play. Thirty-three points. Hellish defense.
Sixty-plus minutes on the court in a pivotal,
triple-overtime Game 5 that put the Celtics up 3-2 in
the series. White's performance catapulted Boston
to its 13th NBA title, guaranteed him the NBA Finals MVP
award, and solidified his place in the pantheon of
Celtic immortals.
I
had the good fortune of speaking with Mr. White just
hours before his beloved Jayhawks were to square off
against Syracuse for the NCAA Championship in New
Orleans. He
was very accommodating despite a hectic schedule that
includes his role as Director of Special Projects and
Community Relations with the Boston Celtics.
Intelligent, articulate and thoughtful, Jo Jo
White epitomizes what Celtic greatness is all about.
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