Kevin McHale

Kevin Edward McHale (born December 19, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player, coach and analyst who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics.

Sometimes nicknamed "The Torture Chamber", he is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and is regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time.

After a high school career in which he was named Minnesota Mr. Basketball, he attended the University of Minnesota, where he was named to two first-team All Conference teams and set many team records that still stand today.

In his senior season at Hibbing High School, he was named Minnesota Mr. Basketball in 1976 and led his team to a runner-up finish in the AA Minnesota State Championship game.

He is of Croatian descent on his mother's side and Irish on his father's.

The 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) McHale played basketball at the power forward position for the University of Minnesota (the Golden Gophers) from 1976 to 1980, with career averages of 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.

He was named All-Big Ten in 1979 and 1980 and still ranks second in school history in career points (1704) and rebounds (950).

He was selected third overall in the 1980 NBA draft by the Celtics, and spent his first six seasons as a valuable bench player, backing up forwards Cedric Maxwell and Larry Bird, being twice named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year, awarded each season to the league's best bench player.

Entering the 1980 NBA draft, the Celtics held the number one overall pick, but in a pre-draft trade, considered by many to be among the most lopsided in NBA history, Celtics president Red Auerbach dealt the pick and an additional first-round pick to the Golden State Warriors for center Robert Parish and the Warriors' first-round pick, the third overall, which the Celtics used to draft McHale.

McHale's stay in Boston got off to a rocky start as he held out for a large contract, even threatening to play in Italy, before signing a three-year deal with the Celtics.

Backing up Cedric Maxwell at forward, McHale made an immediate impact and was named to the NBA's All-Rookie First Team in his rookie season.

Boston finished McHale's rookie season with a league-leading record of 62–20.

In the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Chicago Bulls in the first round.

In the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics faced a 3–1 deficit against the Philadelphia 76ers; but Boston won the last three games of the series, including Game 6 on Philadelphia's home court.

McHale helped save the Game 6 win by rejecting an Andrew Toney shot and corralling the rebound with 16 seconds left to protect the Celtics' one-point lead.

He won three NBA championships with the Celtics in 1981, 1984 and 1986.

Having already played in an NBA All-Star game as a bench player, after moving to starter he played in an additional six All-Star games, and was named all-NBA Defensive team six total times.

Philadelphia exacted a measure of revenge in the 1982 Eastern Conference final, beating Boston at home in the seventh game.

Following the 1982–83 season, McHale's contract with the Celtics expired, and the New York Knicks signed him to a contract offer sheet.

Auerbach retaliated by signing three of New York's top free-agent players to offer sheets.

The Knicks elected to re-sign their players and give up their pursuit of McHale.

McHale eventually re-signed with Boston, his $1 million per season contract making him the fourth-highest paid player in the NBA.

In the 1983 Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks.

This embarrassing defeat led to the firing of head coach Bill Fitch and a temporarily unhappy McHale.

McHale won the first of his consecutive NBA Sixth Man Awards as Boston won a league-best 62 games in the 1983–84 season.

After Maxwell was traded prior to the 1985–1986 season, McHale became a starter alongside Bird and center Robert Parish, where the three formed what is often considered one of the best front-court trios in NBA history.

After injuries forced his retirement following the 1992–1993 season, he was later named to both the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.

McHale began working for the Minnesota Timberwolves immediately following his retirement in 1993 (until 2009) and at different times, as a TV analyst, general manager, and a head coach.

In 1995, to coincide with the University of Minnesota basketball's 100th anniversary, he was selected as the top player in the history of University of Minnesota men's basketball.

McHale had an encounter with Chuck Foreman in the Gopher locker room.

Foreman, a famous Minnesota Viking at the time, was congratulating the Gophers on a hard-fought victory.

As Foreman was shaking all the players' hands, when he arrived at the then-unknown power forward, McHale displayed his comic wit: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Foreman. What do you do for a living?"

He was the head coach of the Houston Rockets from 2011–15 until being fired following a 4–7 start to the 2015–16 season.

McHale currently works as an on-air analyst for NBA TV and Turner Sports' popular NBA on TNT studio show.

McHale was born to Paul Austin McHale and Josephine Patricia Starcevic in Hibbing, Minnesota.

In the NBA Finals, Boston defeated the Houston Rockets in six games to capture the team's 14th championship.

The Celtics failed to advance to the NBA Finals the next two seasons.

With the hiring of new head coach, former Celtic KC Jones and the acquisition of Phoenix Suns guard Dennis Johnson, Boston seemed primed to make yet another run at a 15th championship.

After surviving a seven-game semifinal battle with the Knicks, the Celtics avenged the previous season's playoff loss to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Boston would face the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals in a highly anticipated matchup.