Player profile · BOS

John Havlicek

John Havlicek stats, teams and career impact

#47 all-timeCareer averages · 20.8 PPG · 6.3 RPG · 4.8 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Position: Small forward
Final NBA team: Boston Celtics
Height / weight: 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) · 203 lb (92 kg)
Born: April 8, 1940
Died: April 25, 2019 (79 yrs old)
College: Ohio State
NBA seasons: 16 seasons · 1962–63 to 1977–78

Career or season view

Career summaryJohn Havlicek was a small forward who played 16 NBA seasons, from 1962–63 through 1977–78.

Career PPG: 20.8
Career RPG: 6.3
Career APG: 4.8; #5 in 2 seasons; #47 all-time

Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded

Career overview

Why John Havlicek ranks #47 all time

John Havlicek ranks #47 all time. 5 top-ten finishes give him a sustained run near the top of the league. His full-career value ranks #34, so longevity is a major reason he lands this high.

Peak#5 in 1970–71

Best league finish

Sustained excellence2 top-five finishes

5 top-ten finishes

Career breadth16 seasons

1,270 games · Career Value Rank #34

NBA honors13× All-Star · 11× All-NBA · 8× All-DefenseContext only; honors are not model inputs.

Head to head

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Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources

Full team history

Teams: Boston Celtics
Greatest Celtics →

Career shooting

NBA regular season

Field goal: 43.9%FG%
Three-point: —3P%
Free throw: 81.5%FT%

1,270 career games · 46,471 minutes

Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.

Traditional box score

John Havlicek stats by season

Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.

Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.

Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →

				pts/100 · higher is better
1977–78	16.1	4.0	4.0	-0.40	BOS	82	0	34.1	44.9%	—	85.5%	#105	98.7
1976–77	17.7	4.8	5.1	+0.51	BOS	79	0	36.9	45.2%	—	81.6%	#79	163.9
1975–76	17.0	4.1	3.7	+1.17	BOS	76	0	34.2	45.0%	—	84.4%	#43	183.2
1974–75	19.2	5.9	5.3	+1.54	BOS	82	0	38.2	45.5%	—	87.0%	#27	244.8
1973–74	22.6	6.4	5.9	+1.87	BOS	76	0	40.7	45.6%	—	83.2%	#22	274.3
1972–73	23.8	7.1	6.6	+3.17	BOS	80	0	42.1	45.0%	—	85.8%	#12	414.8
1971–72	27.5	8.2	7.5	+4.06	BOS	82	0	45.1	45.8%	—	83.4%	#5	542.1
1970–71	28.9	9.0	7.5	+3.87	BOS	81	0	45.4	45.0%	—	81.8%	#5	540.6
1969–70	24.2	7.8	6.8	+4.03	BOS	81	0	41.6	46.4%	—	84.4%	#6	497.7
1968–69	21.6	7.0	5.4	+2.05	BOS	82	0	38.7	40.5%	—	78.0%	#15	314.9
1967–68	20.7	6.7	4.7	+2.22	BOS	82	0	35.6	42.9%	—	81.2%	#10	310.9
1966–67	21.4	6.6	3.4	+1.94	BOS	81	0	32.1	44.4%	—	82.8%	#10	258.6
1965–66	18.8	6.0	3.0	+0.86	BOS	71	0	30.6	39.9%	—	78.5%	#20	158.0
1964–65	18.3	4.9	2.7	+1.04	BOS	75	0	28.9	40.1%	—	74.4%	#16	169.5
1963–64	19.9	5.3	3.0	+1.02	BOS	80	0	32.3	41.7%	—	74.6%	#16	203.6
1962–63	14.3	6.7	2.2	+1.60	BOS	80	0	27.5	44.5%	—	72.8%	#13	210.2
Career	20.8	6.3	4.8	—	BOS	1270	—	36.6	43.9%	—	81.5%	—	—

Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.

Film evidence

John Havlicek highlights

Watch the selected footage or film analysis, then use the season record and impact data to put what happened on the floor in context.

Career retrospective

Remembering John Havlicek

The NBA's tribute supplies rare footage of Havlicek's constant movement, transition play and two-way motor across a 16-season career.

What these measures mean

Box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
Impact Rate: A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
Impact estimate: The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
Impact Rate rank: The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
Value contribution / Season Value: Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
Career Impact Rank: An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.

Career Impact Rank#47

7.0 composite · lower is better

Best 5#63

7.2 average league finish

Career Value Rank#34

4,586 total value

Impact Rate: 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
Box impact: Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.

Career standing

How John Havlicek ranks all time

These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.

Number-one seasons0

Best in the league

Top-five seasons2

Elite finishes

Top-ten seasons5

Upper-tier finishes

Top-10 Impact Margin8.8

Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons

Career Composite Score7.0

Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.

Best 3 effective weight: 74%
Missing-season finish: 154.5
Qualified seasons: 16
All-time rank: #47

Strongest seasons

Every season

John Havlicek advanced stats by season

Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.

More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage

					pts/100 · higher is better	0–100 · higher is better
1977–78Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	37	82	2,797	-0.40	55.9	#105	98.7	67th	Broad
1976–77Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	36	79	2,913	+0.51	67.9	#79	163.9	81st	Broad
1975–76Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	35	76	2,598	+1.17	77.7	#43	183.2	81st	Broad
1974–75Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	34	82	3,132	+1.54	86.1	#27	244.8	93rd	Broad
1973–74Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	33	76	3,091	+1.87	88.1	#22	274.3	91st	Broad
1972–73Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	32	80	3,367	+3.17	93.6	#12	414.8	97th	Modeled
1971–72Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	31	82	3,698	+4.06	97.6	#5	542.1	99th	Modeled
1970–71Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	30	81	3,678	+3.87	97.6	#5	540.6	99th	Modeled
1969–70Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	29	81	3,369	+4.03	96.5	#6	497.7	99th	Modeled
1968–69Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	28	82	3,174	+2.05	89.5	#15	314.9	90th	Modeled
1967–68Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	27	82	2,921	+2.22	92.5	#10	310.9	93rd	Modeled
1966–67Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	26	81	2,602	+1.94	91.0	#10	258.6	90th	Modeled
1965–66Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	25	71	2,175	+0.86	79.6	#20	158.0	81st	Modeled
1964–65Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	24	75	2,169	+1.04	83.1	#16	169.5	76th	Modeled
1963–64Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	23	80	2,587	+1.02	83.7	#16	203.6	85th	Modeled
1962–63Historical Defense Estimate	BOS	22	80	2,200	+1.60	86.8	#13	210.2	86th	Modeled

Career movement

John Havlicek's box impact by season

Peak box impact +4.06 points per 100 possessions in 1971–72 · 16 seasons · 46,471 minutes

Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.

Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutesModeled estimate

Player-specific impact scaleWorkload

Career comparison

Compare the shape, not the calendar

Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.

Compare with a similar careerOpen full comparison →

John HavlicekAlex English

Box impactEra-adjusted points per 100 possessions above league average · higher is better · dashed marker means the player did not play

John Havlicek and Alex English era-centered impact values by NBA season number
NBA season	John Havlicek	Alex English
1	1.6	-1.6
2	1.0	0.9
3	1.0	2.0
4	0.9	1.3
5	1.9	1.8
6	2.2	3.1
7	2.1	4.6
8	4.0	3.9
9	3.9	3.2
10	4.1	3.5
11	3.2	2.7
12	1.9	2.3
13	1.5	1.3
14	1.2	1.5
15	0.5	-3.4
16	-0.4	Did not play

NBA season number

Similar career arcs

Players with careers similar to John Havlicek

The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.

SF · All-Time Career #106

Alex English

career similarity score

89/100 closest-season score · 1971–72 ↔ 1985–86 SF · All-Time Career #136

Chris Mullin

career similarity score

88/100 closest-season score · 1971–72 ↔ 1990–91 PF · All-Time Career #192

Rasheed Wallace

career similarity score

85/100 closest-season score · 1971–72 ↔ 2005–06

How to read this page

Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →