The Walter McCarty Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Friday, March 30th, 2012
You mentioned Tommy Heinsohn. Pretty special guy, huh?
I think Tommy appreciated what I brought to
the table, maybe more than anyone. My role
on that 
team
wasn’t to be the leading scorer. It was to
play great defense, shut down the other
team’s best scorer, run the floor, knock
down shots in the flow of the offense, and
hustle all over the court. I was the guy
who scrapped for the rebound, who dived on
the floor for loose balls – you know, the
type of player who did a lot of the dirty
work that maybe other players didn’t like to
do.
So I think I was a throwback player in a certain aspect, and I think Tommy saw that in my game and identified with it. I think he really respected what I did out there, and he wasn’t shy about broadcasting it during games or otherwise. He kept a tally of ‘Tommy Points’ for guys who did things that didn’t show up in the stat sheet, and that was really borne out of him watching me play. He knew that everybody focused on the guy scoring 35 points, or the guy grabbing 20 rebounds, but he changed the way that people look at basketball by pointing out the little things that make a big difference in wins and losses. So I’m very thankful for him, because he made everybody aware of role players and what role players do – sacrificing their bodies, taking charges, going to the floor for balls.
NBA players seem to be hung up on making their mark, leaving their legacy. And that usually goes hand-in-hand with winning the NBA Championship.
To be honest, I’m very content. And I hear that talk all the time. Everyone likes to point out that I didn’t win an NBA title, but I’ve always loved the game of basketball. I would have loved to have won a ring, but maybe that wasn’t for me. I had a great time and really enjoyed it, and I’m content to have walked away from the game like I did without winning it.
Seriously? You don’t have any regrets about not winning a championship with the Celtics?
Absolutely not. Would it have been special? There's no question, I would have loved to have won an NBA Championship. That's what we all dream about as players. But I was fortunate to win an NCAA championship at Kentucky, and I was able to play 10 years in the NBA, many of those with the greatest franchise in professional basketball. I feel like I'm part of a special family in that regard. And I'm not someone who is defined strictly by what he did on the basketball court. I have other interests, like my music and my family, and I'm content with how my life has played out to this point. It's been great, and I'm looking forward to the future.
You were traded 44 games for the Celtics during the 2004-‘05 season, but you still consider yourself a Celtic For Life.
Boston is the place that I call home. The fans are the best in the world. They know their basketball and they appreciate blue collar players who play hard and know their role. That was me. I tried to do my best to help the team win – if that meant diving for loose balls or running to my spot and shooting a three, I could tell that the fans really appreciated the things that I did while wearing a Boston Celtics uniform.
