Radja Joins Exclusive Company

International basketball star Dino Radja, who flirted with the idea of playing in the NBA for years, finally came to the United States for the 1993-94 season as a member of the Celtics. While the team was subpar, Radja wasn’t. He averaged 15.1 points per game – second best on the team – and made the NBA All-Rookie Team. Boston presented Radja with a commemorative basketball after he scored his 1,000th point on April 1, 1994. The Croatian became just the sixth Celtics rookie to reach that mark, joining Hall-of-Famers Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, John Havlicek and Tommy Heinsohn. Radja would play four seasons with the Celtics before returning to Europe, and later earned induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.