Former NBA Player John Havlicek Dies At 79

Celtics Legend And 8-Time NBA Champion John Havlicek Died At 79

• NBA Hall of Famer and 8-time champion John Havlicek died.
• He was 79 years old.
• The Celtics announced his death Thursday evening in a Twitter post.
• Several other basketball players and his fellow teammates also paid their tribute to Havlicek on Twitter and social media.

Former Boston Celtics legend and eight-time NBA champion John Havlicek died at 79. The Celtics announced his pa s sing Thursday evening. He was suffering from Parkinson's diagnosis.

In his 16 NBA seasons with Celtics, Havlicek was inducted in 13 All-Star teams and 11-time All-NBA selection. Later, he was inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984 as well as NBA named him on its list of the 50 greatest players of all time.

Boston Celtics released a statement to announce his death that read:

John Havlicek is one of the most accomplished players in Boston Celtics history, and the face of many of the franchise’s signature moments

The statement continued,

He was a great champion both on the court and in the community, winning 8 NBA championships and an NBA Finals MVP, while holding Celtics career records for points scored and games played.

Former Laker star and basketball Hall of Famer James Worthy described Havlicek as "super nice" with "a quirky sense of humor" in a tweet where he expressed his condolence to the bereaved family.

My condolences to the #Havlicek family. I was very fortunate to know & spend time with #johnhavlicek , super nice & a quirky sense of humor ! #HOF

— James Worthy (@JamesWorthy42) April 26, 2019

Former teammate Bill Russell also paid his tribute to the late NBA star whom he called a "family" in an emotional post.

It is getting difficult each time I hear about another contemporary that pa s ses! What is harder is when we lose guys like John Havlicek, he was not just a teammate & a great guy, but he was family. That is how our @celtics teams were. #RIP Hondo @NBA #RIPJohnHavlicek @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/VP9MGPjrmZ

— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) April 26, 2019

Havlicek played as a shooting guard/small forward in Celtics for 16 long seasons. Before starting his career in Celtics, Havlicek played at The Ohio State University where he was a part of its national title-winning in 1960

Havlicek is best known for his steal in the waning moments of Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Conference finals in the last five seconds against the Philadelphia 76ers.