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Tom Heinsohn
Tom Heinsohn stats, teams and career impact
#133 all-timeCareer averages · 18.6 PPG · 8.8 RPG · 2.0 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Power forward
- Final NBA team
- Boston Celtics
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) · 218 lb (99 kg)
- Born
- August 26, 1934
- Died
- November 9, 2020 (86 yrs old)
- College
- Holy Cross
- NBA seasons
- 9 seasons · 1956–57 to 1964–65
Career summaryTom Heinsohn was a power forward who played 9 NBA seasons, from 1956–57 through 1964–65.
- Career PPG
- 18.6
- Career RPG
- 8.8
- Career APG
- 2.0
- #14 in 1961–62
- #133 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
Why Tom Heinsohn ranks #133 all time
Tom Heinsohn ranks #133 all time. Across his three best seasons, his average league finish was #15.3. His full-career value ranks #261, so this placement is driven more by dominance than longevity.
450+ minutes required per season
654 games · Career Value Rank #261
NBA honors6× All-Star · 4× All-NBA · ROYContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Tom Heinsohn with…
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- Tom Heinsohn vs. Ray Scott Similar career path
- Tom Heinsohn vs. Gus Johnson Similar career path
- Tom Heinsohn vs. Vern Mikkelsen Similar career path
- Tom Heinsohn vs. Kenny Sears Similar career path
- Tom Heinsohn vs. Jim Brewer Similar career path
- Tom Heinsohn vs. Larry Johnson Similar career path
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Boston Celtics
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 40.5%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 79.0%FT%
654 career games · 19,254 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
Tom Heinsohn 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 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–65 | 13.6 | 6.0 | 2.3 | +0.02 | BOS | 67 | 0 | 25.5 | 38.3% | — | 79.5% | #33 | 88.6 |
| 1963–64 | 16.5 | 6.1 | 2.4 | +0.86 | BOS | 76 | 0 | 26.8 | 39.8% | — | 82.7% | #17 | 152.0 |
| 1962–63 | 18.9 | 7.5 | 1.3 | +0.83 | BOS | 76 | 0 | 26.4 | 42.3% | — | 83.5% | #19 | 150.5 |
| 1961–62 | 22.1 | 9.5 | 2.1 | +1.90 | BOS | 79 | 0 | 30.2 | 42.9% | — | 81.9% | #14 | 253.0 |
| 1960–61 | 21.3 | 9.9 | 1.9 | +1.10 | BOS | 74 | 0 | 30.5 | 40.0% | — | 76.7% | #16 | 196.1 |
| 1959–60 | 21.7 | 10.6 | 2.3 | +1.51 | BOS | 75 | 0 | 32.3 | 42.3% | — | 73.3% | #16 | 240.9 |
| 1958–59 | 18.8 | 9.7 | 2.5 | +1.18 | BOS | 66 | 0 | 31.7 | 39.0% | — | 79.8% | #17 | 178.4 |
| 1957–58 | 17.8 | 10.2 | 1.8 | +0.61 | BOS | 69 | 0 | 32.0 | 38.2% | — | 74.6% | #21 | 149.9 |
| 1956–57 | 16.2 | 9.8 | 1.6 | +0.94 | BOS | 72 | 0 | 29.9 | 39.7% | — | 79.0% | #19 | 155.2 |
| Career | 18.6 | 8.8 | 2.0 | — | BOS | 654 | — | 29.4 | 40.5% | — | 79.0% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
Film evidence
Tom Heinsohn 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
Tom Heinsohn career retrospective
The league's retrospective supplies early-era footage of Heinsohn's running, rebounding and scoring role in Boston's first championship teams.
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.
17.5 composite · lower is better
16.0 average league finish
1,565 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 Tom Heinsohn ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score17.5
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
- 82.0
- Qualified seasons
- 9
- All-time rank
- #133
Strongest seasons
Every season
Tom Heinsohn 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
Scroll for more columns
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–65Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 30 | 67 | 1,706 | +0.02 | 64.0 | #33 | 88.6 | 62nd | Modeled |
| 1963–64Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 29 | 76 | 2,040 | +0.86 | 82.6 | #17 | 152.0 | 82nd | Modeled |
| 1962–63Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 28 | 76 | 2,004 | +0.83 | 80.2 | #19 | 150.5 | 77th | Modeled |
| 1961–62Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 27 | 79 | 2,383 | +1.90 | 84.9 | #14 | 253.0 | 84th | Modeled |
| 1960–61Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 26 | 74 | 2,256 | +1.10 | 81.0 | #16 | 196.1 | 77th | Modeled |
| 1959–60Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 25 | 75 | 2,420 | +1.51 | 80.8 | #16 | 240.9 | 85th | Modeled |
| 1958–59Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 24 | 66 | 2,089 | +1.18 | 80.0 | #17 | 178.4 | 83rd | Modeled |
| 1957–58Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 23 | 69 | 2,206 | +0.61 | 73.7 | #21 | 149.9 | 75th | Modeled |
| 1956–57Historical Defense Estimate | BOS | 22 | 72 | 2,150 | +0.94 | 77.2 | #19 | 155.2 | 84th | Modeled |
Career movement
Tom Heinsohn's box impact by season
Peak box impact +1.90 points per 100 possessions in 1961–62 · 9 seasons · 19,254 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.
Tom HeinsohnRay Scott
| NBA season | Tom Heinsohn | Ray Scott |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.9 | -0.6 |
| 2 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| 3 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| 4 | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| 5 | 1.1 | 1.9 |
| 6 | 1.9 | -0.1 |
| 7 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| 8 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| 9 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Tom Heinsohn
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.
PF · All-Time Career #164
Ray Scott
94career similarity score
96/100 closest-season score · 1961–62 ↔ 1965–66PF · All-Time Career #160Gus Johnson
94career similarity score
92/100 closest-season score · 1961–62 ↔ 1966–67PF · All-Time Career #123Vern Mikkelsen
94career similarity score
93/100 closest-season score · 1961–62 ↔ 1957–58Impact 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 →