“The Basketball 100” is the definitive ranking of the 100 greatest NBA players of all time from The Athletic’s team of award-winning writers and analysts, including veteran columnists David Aldridge and John Hollinger. This excerpt is reprinted from the book, which also features a foreword by Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.
“The Basketball 100” is available Nov. 26. Pre-order it here. Read David Aldridge’s introduction and all of the excerpts here.
Rick Weitzman, stuck in the worst type of traffic, heard a knock on his windshield. John Havlicek wanted to grab his attention. Even Boston, usually prepared for a winter storm, was caught off guard by substantial snow in the middle of November. Cars were in gridlock. The two Celtics players, stuck on the Tobin Bridge, needed to make it to Boston Garden in time for a game. The way the roads were configured in 1967, Weitzman said, the drive would have taken about five minutes under normal traffic conditions.
“The clock [to game time] was moving,” Weitzman said. “And I wasn’t.”
Havlicek had an idea. He couldn’t risk missing the start of a contest with the San Francisco Warriors. His wife, Beth, was in their car a handful of paces behind Weitzman, but Havlicek knew he couldn’t afford to stay with her. He…
