The Charlie Scott Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Wednesday, May 11th, 2005
His averages of 27.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 5.2 RPG validated his versatility, as he proved to be far-and-away the Squires’ best player. He teamed with a young Julius Erving during the 1971-72 season, leading the league in scoring with a 33.4 PPG average. He was named as an All-Star both seasons. By then he found the drumbeat of the NBA too hard to ignore – the venues were bigger, the competition stiffer, the crowds more intense. He wanted to test himself against the best, something he couldn’t do with any consistency in the ABA.
Bolting to the Suns prior to the 1972-73 season, Scott wasted little time proving himself a legitimate NBA talent. He possessed the classic shooter’s mentality, unafraid to take the big shots and quick to forget the ones that didn’t drop in. He finished his first season as a Sun by posting averages of 25.3 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 4.2 RPG, but the team struggled to a 38-44 record and missed the playoffs. For Scott, it felt like talent wasted. He was used to winning, and Phoenix simply didn’t have the talent to succeed against powerful Western Conference teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors. There was talk of upgrades in the offseason, but little was done and the team regressed, going 30-52 in John MacLeod’s first season as head coach. Scott averaged 25.4 PPG, 5.2 APG and 4.3 RPG in another wasted effort.
Scott’s third and final season as a Sun provided more of the same – impressive personal numbers (24.3 PPG, 4.5 APG, 4.0 RPG) but little in the way of team success. He felt trapped, and doubted that he would ever compete for an NBA championship. All of that changed on May 23, 1975, when Boston traded Westphal and two picks to Phoenix for the rights to Scott. He was suddenly on a team dripping with talent. The Celtics went 54-28, with Scott the third leading scorer on one of the most balanced teams in franchise history. Leading the way were Cowens (19.0 PPG) and White (18.9), while Scott (17.6), John Havlicek (17.0 and Paul Silas (10.7) rounded out a starting five that averaged in double figures. The Celtics beat a stubborn Buffalo Braves team, 4-2, in Scott’s first-ever playoff appearance. A six game dispatching of the Cleveland Cavaliers put the Celtics back on the championship stage, pitting them against the most unlikely of opponents – the Phoenix Suns.
"It's funny how that worked out," Scott said, well aware of the irony involving the ’76 Finals matchup, "but we were very confident about our chances of winning the series."
The series, of course, remains best known for Game 5 in the Boston Garden, the NBA’s self-proclaimed “Greatest Game Ever Played”. It was a triple-overtime gem, played in that antiquated blast-furnace on Causeway Street, and one in which the Celtics prevailed to take a 3-2 series lead. Lost in the excitement was the series clincher back in Phoenix, one in which Scott played his best with the most on the line. His 25-point, 11-rebound, 5-steal, three assist performance propelled Boston to its 13th NBA Championship.
The 1976 NBA Finals was clearly the pinnacle of Scott's professional basketball career. He would go on to play four more seasons, including a brief stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, before retiring as a Denver Nugget. Still, he considers Boston his NBA home. He feels that it was his destiny to win a championship there, even if road was far more arduous that he ever thought possible.
“I think my time spent with the Suns really helped me to appreciate what it was like to win a championship,” Scott said without hesitation. “I was more mature by the time I arrived in Boston, and I had just endured three frustrating seasons in Phoenix. I was ready to come home and help the Celtics win a championship. And that’s exactly what I did.”
