There are very few professional athletes who were gifted enough to play in more than one sport. Two of the most successful were Deion Sanders, an 8 time Pro Bowl selection and two time Super Bowl winner,playing both cornerback and wide receiver, with the Falcons, 49rs,Cowboys, Redskins, and Ravens, to go along with playing outfield with the Yankees, Braves, Reds, and Giants. “Bo” Jackson was a running back with the L.A. Raiders, and was an outfielder and designated hitter for the Royals, White Sox,and Angels. He was the first athlete named as an All Star in 2 major sports. Michael Jordan made a brief attempt at baseball but returned to basketball. Danny Ainge played in two professional sports, but is primarily known for his significant role on Boston Celtics championships teams in 1984 and 1986. The 6’4’’ shooting guard, a John R. Wooden Award winner in his senior year at Brigham Young University, was known as a sometimes combative player, who had on court scraps with 7’1” Tree Rollins, and surprisingly Michael Jordan. Ainge played in the N.B.A. from 1981 through 1995, and aside from Boston , was also with Sacramento, Portland, and Phoenix. He averaged 11.5 points , 2.7 rebounds and 4 assists per game.
Prior to entering the N.B.A., the Eugene, Oregon native played major league baseball. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1977 and made his debut on May 21 1979, playing 2nd base, 3rd base as well as the outfield. He continued in the majors with Toronto until September 22 1981. In his brief baseball career his batting average was .220, to go along with 2 home runs, and 37 R.B.I. Of interest historically, is that he is the youngest player In Blue Jays history to hit a home run, at 20 years and 77days.
Ainge coached the Phoenix Suns from 1996 until 1999, and resigned to spend more time with family. In 2003 , he was named Executive Director, Basketball Operations, for the Boston Celtics. He has experienced the lows and highs as an executive. The Celtics 2006/07 season was the second worst in team history, with a record of 24 wins and 58 losses. Ainge responded to the challenge of turning around the free-falling franchise in 2007, by trading for the Minnesota Timberwolves power forward, twelve time All Star, and 2004 league M.V.P. Kevin Garnett. He also made another essential acquisition in 9 time All Star shooting guard Ray Allen, from the then Seattle Super Sonics. Paul Pierce ( named “The Truth” by Shaquille O’Neal ) the 8 time All Star shooting guard/small forward, gelled with his new team mates, and the “C’s” as their known in Boston, responded with the most dramatic single season swing in league history, with 42 more wins than the previous year. The “Big Three”, led the Celtics to a league best record of 66 wins and 16 losses, and a victory in the N.B.A. finals over the Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games. As a result, Ainge won Executive of the Year, and was promoted to President of Basketball Operations for the Celtics.
When Boston was in town this past weekend to play at the Air Canada Centre, I had the opportunity to get his thoughts on assembling championship teams and what it takes to be a successful coach. Prior to conversing about championships and coaching, I asked the former Blue Jay if he reminisced about his playing days in Toronto. Ainge was quite frank in saying that while he likes the city of Toronto and it’s people, he does not think at all about his time playing baseball for the Jays.
As for the most important elements in assembling championship teams, Ainge said that while there is emphasis on character and chemistry, basketball is a sport where “talent overwhelmingly wins”. He also stated that in terms of coaching, leadership is an essential element in succeeding. The Blue Jays alumnus sais the coach has to “sell the product to the players” in order for the players to respect the coach and buy into what he is professing. At the same time, he adds that if the team is not winning, then it gets more difficult for the coach to convince the players to follow his methodology. Ainge feels that most coaches know what their talking about in terms of game strategy, but it all comes back to being able to get the players to buy into what they’re being told. The two sport former pro added that the coach must also be able to convince the fans and the media of what they are preaching. As for a coach’s leadership skills, the Wooden Award winner stated that this is an innate quality, not something that can be learned. I also asked Ainge if he felt that a coach had to have played the game to succeed, citing the example of Scotty Bowman, the 9 time Stanley Cup winner as bench boss. He said that while it is not a necessity for a coach to have been a player at the elite level, he told me somewhat to my surprise, that Bowman may have been an even better coach than he already was, if he had played in the National Hockey League.