50 Greatest Basketball Players Ever - 21 to 30 of the best NBA players ever

#27 John Havlicek

Havlicek in the 1969 NBA Finals

Havlicek was drafted by both the Celtics and the NFL's Cleveland Browns in 1962. After competing briefly as a wide receiver in the Browns' training camp that year, he focused his energies on playing for the Celtics, with head coach Red Auerbach later describing him as the "guts of the team." He was also known for his stamina, with competitors saying that it was a challenge just to keep up with him.

Nicknamed "Hondo" (inspired by the 1953 John Wayne movie of the same name), Havlicek revolutionized the "sixth man" role and has been immortalized for his clutch steal in the closing seconds of the 1965 Eastern Conference championship. 'Havlicek stole the ball' was a radio call that resonated around the basketball world as it helped the Celtics secure a 4-3 win in the series, which they capitalized on by going on to win the NBA Finals.

"On stamina alone, he'd be among the top players who ever played the game," longtime New York Knicks coach Red Holzman once said of Havlicek. "It would've been fair to those who had to play him or those who had to coach against him if he had been blessed only with his inhuman endurance. God had to compound it by making him a good scorer, smart ballhandler and intelligent defensive player with quickness of mind, hands and feet."

The 6-foot-5 Boston Celtics star was a perpetual-motion machine, a human dynamo who was legendary for wearing out opponents with his relentless baseline-to-baseline efforts. A star at both forward and guard, Havlicek's versatility made him perhaps the finest all-around player in the history of the NBA at the time.

An 8-time champion, Havlicek's 8-0 record in the Finals is unmatched by anyone in basketball history (in terms of total championships while staying undefeated at that stage).