Henry J. Finkel (born April 20, 1942) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player whose professional career lasted from 1966 to 1975. Selected by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in second round of the 1966 NBA draft he remained with the team through 1966–67, then played with the

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

from 1967 to 1969 and spent the remaining years with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

, when, during his next to last season, the Celtics won the 1974 NBA Championship.

Early life

Finkel was born into a Jewish family and attended Holy Family High School in

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2020 United States Census the city had a total population of 68,589,Saint Peter's University Saint Peter's University is a private Jesuit university in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded as Saint Peter's College in 1872 by the Society of Jesus. The university offers over 60 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 2,600 un ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. He was spotted at a

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...

out with some friends by Harry Brooks, who had seen Finkel play in high school. Brooks was a "bird dog" (an independent scout) for the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

, which had just won the

1962 National Invitation Tournament The 1962 National Invitation Tournament was the 1962 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.

(NIT) in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

. Soon, Finkel enrolled at Dayton.

College career

A 6'11"

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

(at times listed as 7'0"), Finkel attended Dayton to play for Tom Blackburn, Dayton's coach since 1947. Finkel redshirted his first year, and eligibility-wise was a sophomore the following year. As a sophomore in 1963–64, Finkel averaged 23.0 points and 13 rebounds per game as the Flyers had a record of 15–10. However, Blackburn, who had been battling cancer, died eight days after the Flyers' final game of the season. Assistant coach

Don Donoher Donald Donoher (born January 21, 1932) is an American retired college basketball coach and athletics administrator. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Dayton from 1964 to 1989, compiling a record of 437–275. His ...

was then named head coach. As a junior, Finkel averaged 25.3 points and 14.9 rebounds for the 22–7 Flyers. As a senior in 1965–66, he averaged 22.7 points and 12.1 rebounds per game as the Flyers were 23–6. On December 30, 1965, he had a career-high 44 points against the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. He was named All-American by the

Helms Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

. He was co-MVP of the team in 1963–64 and the outright winner in 1964–65 and 1965–66. He led the Flyers to the NCAA tournament's Sweet Sixteen in both his junior and senior seasons, with the Flyers eventually losing to the #1-ranked team both years. He remains the third-leading scorer in UD history with 1,968 points, behind only 1965–66 teammate Don May and four-year player

Roosevelt Chapman Roosevelt "Velvet" Chapman (born April 6, 1962) is an American former college basketball player who, while attending the University of Dayton from 1980 to 1984, became the university's all-time leading scorer with 2,233 points. Through the 2019– ...

. He holds the Dayton record for scoring average in a single season (25.3 as a junior) and career (23.7). His career field goal percentage of .619 is third all-time and first among players with 500 or more field goals made. He received a bachelor's degree in Education. In 1974 he was inducted into the University of Dayton Hall of Fame. Due to Finkel's age (22), after his sophomore year he was eligible for the

1964 NBA draft The 1964 NBA draft was the 18th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 4, 1964, before the 1964–65 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

and was chosen in the fourth round by the

, but he chose to remain in school. He was selected again in the

1965 NBA draft The 1965 NBA draft was the 19th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 6, 1965, before the 1965–66 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

, again in the fourth round, by the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

, but he returned to Dayton for his senior year.

NBA career

Finkel was drafted in the second round (17th overall) in the 1966 NBA draft by the

. In his first year, he played sparingly—in 27 games he averaged 5.2 minutes, 1.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, mostly as a backup to center

Darrall Imhoff Darrall Tucker Imhoff (October 11, 1938 – June 30, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. He spent 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for six teams from 1960 to 1972. He made an NBA All-Star team, an ...

. On May 1, 1967, he was drafted by the San Diego Rockets in the NBA expansion draft. His playing time and production greatly increased from his rookie year. In 53 games, he averaged 21.1 minutes, a career-high 11.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and a career-high 1.4 assists per game. He also had a career-best .492 field goal percentage. During the season, he set personal single-game highs of 21 points, then 24, and finally 26 on March 6, 1968. One night later, on March 7, he exploded for 42 points against the Lakers as he made 13 field goals and was 16-for-18 from the free throw line. His scoring barrage continued the following night with another 35 against the Lakers. The following season, his third in the NBA, his playing time dipped again. In 35 games he averaged 9.5 minutes, 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds. August 22, 1969 was a date that changed Finkel's life forever as he was traded to the defending NBA champion

, coached by future Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell. Russell had been player-coach for the Celtics' championship season, but he stepped away from both roles after the season. With Russell no longer playing and the Celtics' roster aging, in 1969–70 the perennial NBA champion's record fell to an uncharacteristic 34–48 under new coach, Celtics' legend

Tom Heinsohn Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...

. Finkel took a lot of heat from Celtics fans—although he had one of his best seasons statistically, he simply wasn't Bill Russell and the team was rebuilding. With career highs in games (80) and minutes per game (23,3, seventh on the team), Finkel averaged 9.7 points and a career-best 7.7 rebounds per game. In 1970–71, help arrived as the Celtics drafted future hall-of-famer

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the Bo ...

. In 15.4 minutes per game backing up Cowens, Finkel averaged 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 80 games as the Celtics again found their winning ways with a 44–38 record. In 1971–72, his sixth in the NBA, in 78 games his minutes dropped to 9.4 per game with averages of 3.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. He played three more seasons with the Celtics, averaging about seven minutes per game and just over two points and two rebounds per game. In 1973–74, he won an NBA championship ring as the Celtics defeated the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

four games to three in the NBA Finals. Finkel played in all seven games, totalling 17 points and 10 rebounds. In November 1975, the Celtics released Finkel, ending his NBA career. Finkel averaged 5.1

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by nu ...

and 3.9

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

in his nine-year career.

Personal life

After his playing days ended, Finkel remained in the Boston area, where he was a broadcaster for the Celtics and for

SportsChannel SportsChannel is the collective name for a former group of regional sports networks in the United States that was owned by Cablevision, which from 1988 until the group's demise, operated it as a joint venture with NBC. Operating from March 1, 1 ...

, and later he was an advance scout for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. He established his own

office furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fur ...

company, Hank Finkel Associates, in

Woburn, Massachusetts Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of governme ...

. He resides in nearby Lynnfield.Where Are They Now?
at NBA.com

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkel, Henry 1942 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Jewish American sportspeople Jewish men's basketball players Basketball players from New Jersey Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Dayton Flyers men's basketball players Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Philadelphia 76ers draft picks San Diego Rockets expansion draft picks San Diego Rockets players Sportspeople from Union City, New Jersey People from Union City, New Jersey 21st-century American Jews

Early life

College career

NBA career

Personal life

See also

References