The Greg Kite Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
What was it like for you to join a team such a tremendous tradition, and also one loaded with future hall of fame players?
I'd been
playing basketball a long time by the time I made it to that first training
camp, so in a lot of ways I wasn't star-struck by
playing for the Celtics or playing with the guys that I'd seen on TV so often.
But every now and then I'd catch myself just thinking about these guys, and how
big they were to fans all over the world. It was in those quiet moments that it
usually hit me the hardest.
I remember playing in an exhibition game in Philly, and we were in the pre-game
shoot-around, and Dr. J comes up to me and says, 'Hi, Greg'. I couldn't believe
that one of the greatest players in NBA history actually knew my name [laughs].
It was a little bit of a surreal feeling to think that I'm a part of this.
From a rookie standpoint, the players accepted us and did their best to make us
feel like a part of the team. It wasn't too bad – we had to handle the team's
practice gear and haul around the video equipment – the ball and chain, as we
referred to it, [laughs].
I remember someone asking Kevin McHale if he'd ever passed out practice gear
when he was a rookie. He said, 'Nah, if they had wanted a bellhop they would
have drafted a bellhop'. Whether he did or not, I don't know [laughs].
The biggest adjustment as a rookie was the long season. You're used to the long
practices as a rookie, because most college practices are long. But there are
just so many games. And I think it's actually harder on rookies who aren't
playing a lot. If you're not playing much it can get to be a little bit tedious,
because you've got to be patient and keep yourself ready. You've got to continue
to work hard. You don't have a lot of live practice time. That's something that
I did as rookie – I worked hard to keep myself in shape, and I stayed after
practice for extra work and things like that.
But mentally, in college you may play 30 games or something like that. In the
pros, if you make it to the Finals you might play more than 100 games, counting
exhibition games and the playoffs. So that's a long period of time with a lot of
games. After a couple of years you get used to it and it seems normal, but
during that rookie year it's a bit of a transition.
One of the biggest things for me was being too nervous offensively. I think I
struggled with that to a degree my entire career, but it was really an issue
during my rookie season. I found myself rushing and pressing too much. I think
the transition for big men from college to the NBA is the most difficult
adjustment to make. The biggest reason is because of the size and length of the
players. Getting a shot off in the NBA is very hard on the inside. And back when
I played, with fewer teams and more depth on the teams, it was a real challenge
to produce offensively. It may look easy on TV, but there's so much size that it
takes time for big men to develop. It's difficult to get a rebound, and it's
difficult to get a shot off. You go up against guys like Parish and McHale every
day in practice, with those long arms, and then you face more of the same when
you go out to play the real games. It's a different world.
That 1984 Finals between the Celtics and Lakers was unbelievable. Bird-Magic, East Coast versus West Coast, a renewal of the greatest rivalry in basketball. Take me back to that series; what was it like to be part of a championship team in your rookie season?
The two championships that we won in '84 and
'86 were definitely the highlight of my
career and the best thing that could ever
happen to me in basketball. It's all about
winning, and just the chance to go to the
Finals for four straight years is something
that I'll cherish for the rest of my life.
It was a great era, with great teams, and it
was special just to be a part of that.
From the beginning of training camp, that
'83-'84 team was completely focused on the
goal of winning that championship. And it
was everyone, not just the stars. Guys on
the bench like M.L. Carr and Quinn Buckner.
The team conversation was about having the
best record, not losing two games in a row,
and where were we in the standings versus
the Sixers and the Lakers. Home court
advantage was so important and everyone knew
it, so that was the big area of focus for
us.
I remember M.L. Carr telling me to enjoy the
ride, because not all rookies end up playing
in the Finals and having a chance to win a
championship. And that was very true. He had
been in the league a long time and had never
been close to winning a championship. And
then, when he makes it to the Celtics his
dream is realized. But he was quick to point
out that it doesn't always work out for
everyone. And so, for me, I was in the NBA
Finals four years in a row, but over the
next eight years the closest I ever got was
the Eastern Conference Finals with the
Pacers. And during some of those years my
teams didn't even make the playoffs.
But it was a great experience. Having that
great rivalry with the Lakers and meeting
them in the Finals, that was big for
everyone at that time. And playing against
those great teams in Philly and Milwaukee,
that was tough as well. Great basketball
atmosphere, and it was great to be a part of
it.
Bill Walton joins the Celtics during the summer of '85. Tell me a little about that '86 title team, and also a little about Bill.
I think it was one of the greatest teams of
all time. There were five future hall of
fame players on that team – Bill, Larry,
Kevin, Robert and DJ. And then you had other
guys like Ainge and M.L., who had been
All-Stars.
We were really cooking that year. Having
Bill was huge. Bill had battled so many
injuries with his feet, and he'd had so many
surgeries that had derailed his career, but
he'd come into town that season finally
healthy. Bill was easily the best defensive
rebounder I've ever seen, even at that stage
of his career. His timing was unbelievable.
You couldn't grab a rebound any quicker than
Bill Walton could. He was such a
fundamentally sound player, and one of the
greatest passing big men in league history.
Bill also brought a lot of life and a lot of
fun to the team, just because of his
background and history. There was a lot of
give and take on that team, and a lot of
ragging each other [laughs]. Bill had his
own great sarcastic wit, but everyone got on
him as much as he got on them.
One of the fun things I remember that season
is that we had a great practice rivalry. The
white team versus the green team. The subs
versus the starters. It was Bill, me, Sam
Vincent, Rick Carlisle, David Thirdkill,
Jerry Sichting, Scott Wedman. We'd really
push those guys in practice, and there were
stretches during games when the subs would
be out on the floor, and Bill was the leader
of that second unit. We'd keep score during
the scrimmages and practices and we'd keep a
little tally in the locker room. And the
green team would always beat the white team,
but the white team would always cheat and go
in and erase some of the tallies [laughs].
They did have the handicap of scrimmaging,
and maybe having played 40 minutes the night
before, and they were a little tired and
maybe not as motivated, but we approached it
to win and made it very, very competitive.
The leadership that we already had on that
team, well Bill just took it to a whole
other level that year. That year it was very
much a goal that we never lost more than two
games in a row. We almost went the entire
season and achieved that, but it was late in
the season and we already had everything
wrapped up and KC decided to rest some of
the starters. So we dropped some games late
that season heading into the playoffs.
We were pretty much unstoppable in the
playoffs. We beat everyone in the East
handily, and then went to the Finals and
beat Houston in six games. I remember the
brawl in Houston that started with the fight
between Ralph Sampson and Jerry Sichting. It
was a different era then; if that had
happened today they wouldn't be playing in
the next game because they'd be suspended.
Houston had a great team that season. That
was before Ralph had all of the knee
problems, and he was at the top of his game.
And they had Olojuwon in the middle, easily
one of the greatest big men in NBA history.
You talk about size on that team – they had
the Twin Towers in Sampson and Olojuwon, and
their other starters were all over 6'-6”. I
think they started Robert Reid, Rodney
McCray and Lewis Lloyd. So that was a very
big team. They were a very big team, and
they had upset the Lakers in the Western
Conference Finals with that last second
shot.
A couple of other funny things about Bill.
Bill was a big Deadhead, and when the
Grateful Dead would travel they'd go
somewhere like Providence or Worcester and
camp out. And they could be there for a week
doing two or three shows at each place. And
when they were in Boston they'd come to our
morning practices. You'd look over and see
guys in the band like Phil Lesh and Bob
Weir. But you wouldn't see Jerry Garcia. And
someone would ask where Jerry was, and Bill
would say, 'Jerry hasn't seen daylight since
1968'. [Laughs]. I didn't go, but several of
the guys went to the Dead concerts with
Bill. Robert was actually up on the stage
with them, playing maracas and the
tambourine [laughs].
