Celtics great JoJo White elected to Hall of Fame

JoJo White, two-time NBA champ and one of the most clutch but underrated Celtics of all time, has earned his rightful place among basketball’s greatest players. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced today that JoJo will be one of 11 new members enshrined this coming September in Springfield, Mass.

Celtics fans who are old enough to have watched JoJo on the parquet remember him as one of the NBA’s top combo guards – a deadly shooter, dependable floor general and solid defender, during an era when there wasn’t much distinction between point guard and shooting guard.

JoJo’s career ended 34 years ago, and some of us who thought he was worthy of the Hall of Fame feared he might be forgotten. Although JoJo was one of the NBA’s best during the 1970s, he was often overshadowed by teammates John Havlicek and Dave Cowens. More than that, JoJo underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2010. So it was easy to see obvious similarities to another Celtics legend, Dennis Johnson, who played with Bird, McHale and Parish, and wasn’t inducted into the Hall until three years after his death.

JoJo was an All-American at the University of Kansas, and he teamed with big man Spencer Haywood (also a new Hall of Famer) to lead the U.S. Olympic squad to the gold medal in 1968. JoJo joined the Celts in 1969, as a building block in the first year after Bill Russell retired, but only because Red Auerbach pulled off one of his legendary personnel moves.

At the time, it looked like JoJo would be drafted not into the NBA, but into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. When the NBA draft took place, the uncertainty caused several teams to pass on JoJo, until Red grabbed him with the 9th overall pick. Turned out that Red had quietly arranged for JoJo to be inducted into the U.S. Marine Reserves, which allowed him to meet his military obligations and still suit up with the Celtics.

JoJo went on to earn NBA All-Rookie Team honors in 1970 and seven All-Star berths (1971-1977). He was twice named All-NBA Second Team. For his career, he averaged 17.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game in 12 NBA seasons.

Most important, JoJo was a difference-maker in the Celtics winning NBA titles in 1974 and 1976. In the latter year, JoJo was named NBA Finals MVP after averaging 21.7 points and 5.8 assists during the 6-game series.

Most of all, JoJo is known for his clutch performance in Game 5 of that ’76 Finals, the triple-overtime win over the Phoenix Suns that’s widely considered the greatest game in NBA history. JoJo played 60 minutes, scored 33 points on 15-29 shooting, added 9 assists and 6 rebounds, and made innumerable game-saving plays in the most pressurized situations.

Fittingly, JoJo will enter the Hall with Tommy Heinsohn, who’s being inducted as a coach and was at the helm of the Celtics during most of JoJo’s career.