Danny Ainge

Daniel Ray Ainge (born March 17, 1959 in Eugene, Oregon) is a former professional basketball and baseball player who starred in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns, and also in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Related Topics:
March 17 - 1959 - Eugene, Oregon - Basketball - Baseball - NBA - Boston Celtics - Sacramento Kings - Portland Trail Blazers - Phoenix Suns - Major League Baseball - Toronto Blue Jays

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Talented in multiple sports, Ainge starred in high school on a football team that also included another future NBA star, Joe Dumars, and led North Eugene High School to back-to-back state basketball championships in 1976-77, earning all-state honors both years. He also was named to the 1977 Parade magazine High School All-America team.

Related Topics:
Football - Joe Dumars

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Ainge played basketball at Brigham Young University, after which he was selected in baseball's 1977 amateur draft by Toronto. He made it to the majors with the Blue Jays in 1979, but was able to amass only modest numbers for that team. In 1981, after receiving the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball player of the year, Ainge was chosen in the 1981 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, who had to buy out Ainge's contract from the Blue Jays after enduring a legal battle over the rights to it. Not everything went right for Ainge in basketball at first; according to Larry Bird in his autobiography Drive, Celtics players used to make fun of Ainge's initial shooting percentage, some joking that his batting average of .220 was better than his shooting percentage on the basketball court. But Ainge became one of the important pieces of the team that won the NBA title in 1984 and 1986, and a major helper of the middle to late 1980s Celtics teams.

Related Topics:
Brigham Young University - 1979 - 1981 - John R. Wooden Award - 1981 NBA Draft - Larry Bird - 1984 - 1986 - 1980s

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In 1989, Ainge was traded to the Sacramento Kings for young center Joe Kleine, whom the Celtics saw as a possible substitute to the aging Robert Parish. Despite Ainge's leadership, the Kings could not make it to the playoffs. In 1990, Ainge was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, whom he helped reach the NBA Finals, only to succumb to the Chicago Bulls in six games. He tied a record in this series: On June 5, he scored nine points in the extra period to tie an all-time NBA record for most points in an overtime during a playoff game. The Phoenix Suns, a team that had been looking for a new identity, were inaugurating a new home (America West Arena), a new coach (Paul Westphal) a new-look logo and uniform and a new superstar (Charles Barkley) when they signed free agent Ainge prior to the 1992-1993 NBA season, figuring that his experience would help the team during the playoffs. Ainge responded by scoring 11.8 points per game as the Suns went 62-20 that year, only to lose to the Bulls, also in six games.

Related Topics:
1989 - Joe Kleine - Robert Parish - 1990 - Chicago Bulls - June 5 - Overtime - America West Arena - Paul Westphal - Charles Barkley - 1993

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Ainge retired after the 1994-1995 season. While a player with the Suns, he opened a national chain of hat stores, The Hat Club, over which he still presides. He has worked at a number of charity organizations, and he has held a number of jobs since retiring, including head coach of the Suns, broadcaster for TNT, and, from 2003 on, executive director of basketball operations for the Celtics.

Related Topics:
1994 - 1995 - The Hat Club - TNT - 2003

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Ainge has been controversial in his role as a Celtics executive, trading popular players such as Antoine Walker and having personality conflicts with head coach Jim O'Brien that led to the departure of O'Brien to the Philadelphia 76ers (a job he would also depart from a year later). Walker has since returned to the team, and later traded again. Through it all, the Celtics have not noticeably improved, despite Ainge's stated desire to return the team to championship contention. However, Ainge has kept the support of former head coach Red Auerbach, still employed by the team as a "senior assistant", and the current ownership group.

Related Topics:
Antoine Walker - Jim O'Brien - Philadelphia 76ers - Red Auerbach

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Also, in an early 1990s episode of Married... with Children, light mockery was made at Ainge's expense: At a fictional All-Star basketball game attended by the Bundy family, the public announcer said Welcome to the game of the NBA stars and Danny Ainge!

Related Topics:
1990s - Married... with Children

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Ainge, a second baseman with the Blue Jays, hit .220 in his baseball career, with 2 home runs. As a basketball player, he became the second man ever to hit 900 or more three-point shots in the NBA (he made 1,002 three point shots), and he scored 11,964 points for an average of 11.5 points per game, 2,768 rebounds for an average of 2.7, and 4,199 assists, a total of four per game.

Related Topics:
Second baseman - Home run

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Ainge currently makes Gilbert, Arizona his off-season home, and he lives with his wife Michelle. He has six children. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. His nephew, Erik Ainge, is a rising athletic star as well. The younger Ainge is expected to start at quarterback on the football team at the University of Tennessee as a sophomore.

Related Topics:
Gilbert, Arizona - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - Erik Ainge - University of Tennessee

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YEAR TEAM AGE G AB R H 2B 3B HR HR% RBI BB SO SB CS AVG SLG OBA OPS

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1979 BlueJays 20 87 308 26 73 7 1 2 0.65 19 12 58 1 0 .237 .286 .269 .554

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1980 BlueJays 21 38 111 11 27 6 1 0 0.00 4 2 29 3 0 .243 .315 .263 .578

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1981 BlueJays 22 86 246 20 46 6 2 0 0.00 14 23 41 8 5 .187 .228 .258 .486

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TOTALS 211 665 57 146 19 4 2 0.30 37 37 128 12 5 .220 .269 .264 .533

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LG AVERAGE 700 91 185 31 5 17 2.37 86 66 94 13 8 .264 .393 .329 .722

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POS AVERAGE 698 92 184 29 6 13 1.80 77 65 86 19 9 .264 .377 .327 .704

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YEAR TEAM RC RCAA RCAP OWP RC/G TB EBH ISO SEC BPA IBB HBP SAC SF GIDP OUTS PA POS

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1979 BlueJays 23 -23 -20 .214 2.46 88 10 .049 .091 .293 1 2 7 2 8 252 331 2B

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1980 BlueJays 9 -6 -6 .280 2.76 35 7 .072 .117 .333 0 1 1 0 3 88 115 CF

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1981 BlueJays 15 -21 -22 .162 1.88 56 8 .041 .146 .288 1 1 4 1 5 215 275 3B

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TOTALS 47 -50 -48 .204 2.29 179 25 .050 .116 .298 2 4 12 3 16 555 721

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LG AVERAGE 91 0 0 .500 4.42 275 52 .129 .232 .430 5 4 8 7 17 555 786

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POS AVERAGE 88 -3 0 .480 4.30 263 48 .113 .221 .423 5 3 11 7 14 555 784

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DANNY AINGE LEAGUE LEADERSHIP RANKINGS

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1979 AL

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WORST RCAA 10TH -23;

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WORST RCAP T10TH -20

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1981 AL

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WORST RCAA 2ND -21;

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WORST RCAP T1ST -22

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