Kevin Mchale - Graceful

Kevin Edward McHale (born December 19, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player who starred for thirteen seasons in the NBA for the Boston Celtics. He is currently an executive (Vice President of Basketball Operations) with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.

McHale was a part of what is considered one of the league's best-ever frontlines with small forward Larry Bird and center Robert Parish. The trio of Hall of Famers became known as the "Big Three" and would lead the Celtics to five NBA Finals appearances and three NBA Championships, in 1981, 1984 and 1986.

Possessing a wide variety of offensive moves close to the basket the agile, long-armed McHale played in seven National Basketball Association All-Star Games between 1984 and 1991. He led the NBA in field goal percentage in 1987 and 1988, shooting 60.4 percent each season. Also a standout defensive player, McHale was selected to the NBA All-Defensive First or Second Team six times. He twice blocked nine shots in a game, the most ever by a Boston Celtics' player (blocked shots did not become an official NBA statistic until the 1974 season).

For the first five years of his career McHale primarily came off the bench for the Celtics, winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in 1984 and 1985.

McHale's finest season came in 1986-87 when he was named to the All-NBA First Team as a forward. Heading into the 1980 NBA Draft the Celtics held the number one overall pick. But in a shrewd pre-draft trade, considered by some to be among the most lopsided in NBA history, Boston Celtics President Red Auerbach dealt the top pick and an additional first-round pick to the Golden State Warriors for Parish and the Warriors' first-round pick, the third overall. With that pick the Celtics chose McHale.

By his seventh pro season, McHale had rehearsed and refined his low-post moves and had become one of the NBA's most dominant offensive forces, out-leaping, out-spinning and out-maneuvering defender after defender in his "torture chamber". McHale was never better than the 1986--1987 season, when he set career highs in scoring (26.1) and rebounding (9.9). He also became the first player in NBA history to shoot sixty percent or better from the field (60.4%) and eighty percent or better from the free throw line (83.6%) in the same season. McHale was named to the All-NBA First Team and was named the NBA's best defensive player by the league's coaches.

In 971 regular season games McHale averaged 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds and in 169 post-season games averaged 18.8 points and 7.4 rebounds.

As of the end of the 2006-2007 season McHale ranked tenth in NBA history in career field goal percentage (55.4%) and he is among the Celtics' career leaders in several categories, including games played, points scored and rebounding.

McHale's number 32 jersey was retired by the Celtics on January 30, 1994, during a halftime ceremony at the Boston Garden.

He was chosen one of the NBA's fifty greatest players and was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.

McHale was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• basketball

[geocgeo]

Cover Kevin McHale? 1 player could never cover Kevin McHale unless his name was Bill Russell. Even Russ would have a hard time with McHale. Covering McHale was like trying to cover a football field with a postage stamp.

[gstyleceo36]

he had that up and under down to a science!!!!!!!

[44thepistol]

great vid about kevin. but why the song? =( instead of being inspired to play bball, i instead miss something.... dang!

[Sovnarkom]

did you film this with a toilet paper roll?

[dukenthaylor]

WOW! ANGELINA JOLIE SURE CAN BALL!

[IVEGOTBIGD33]

WHy the fuck is some dooshbag from glee have more videos then this guy?

[vule3]

Longest arms ever

[simongallmayer]

The Name of the Song? Who is singing ?

[FavreianVengeance]

@shaqpopcorn34 Barkley was still an all-star. He was done as a dominant player. Jordan was on his downhill too despite all your fantasy talk. And shut the fuck up on the Bird hating. He had fucking torn acls and a degenerative back condition. Jordan would've been done with that too. Stop taking your stupid fucking cheap shots just b/c you like to whack off to Jordan.

[shaqpopcorn34]

@FavreianVengeance ....lmaooo....done?....

bird= retired at 35....he was done...

mike= retired at 35 as a bull....after winning reg.season,allstar,and finals mvp....and scoring title....had 45 points a championship winner in final game as a bull...

bulls= coulda won in 99....that was a pathetic year anyway....delayed season,50 games jammed into a tight span,and the lowest scoring season in modern history...

it says a lot that you would be holding a 36 year old mike to a championship standard

[FavreianVengeance]

@shaqpopcorn34 Who gives a fuck what his excuse was. Jordan knew he wasn't going to win in 99. He was done.

[shaqpopcorn34]

@FavreianVengeance ...you damn fool....more proof you know NOTHING about bball....mike retired in 98 for one simple reason....bulls ownership had said even before the bulls won the 98 title,that no matter what happened it was phil jacksons last year....i guess 5 titles(when jerry krause said that) was not enough for phil to keep his job.....back to back seasons of 72-10 and 69-13 just wasnt gonna cut it...lmaoooo.....why would mike reward an owner that did that by returning?....NUFF SAID