Boston Celtics while shooting baskets at Brandeis University during the offseason. The Celtics honored his memory by retiring his number 35. With Kevin McHale having retired after the Celtics' playoff loss to the Hornets, Boston's original Big 3 era came to an end in 1994 upon Robert Parish's signing with Charlotte. The team collapsed, finishing out of the playoffs with a 32–50 mark. In 1994, the Celtics hired former player and legendary towel-waving cheerleader M. L. Carr as the team's new vice president of basketball operations. Working alongside general manager Jan Volk, Carr selected University of North Carolina star Eric Montross with
Boston Celtics the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America merger. However, the Blackhawks could not field a truly competitive team until they moved to St. Louis as the St. Louis Hawks after a four-year stopover at Milwaukee. The two teams have faced each other eleven times in the NBA Playoffs, four times in the NBA Finals, with the Celtics winning ten of twelve series against the Hawks, including three out of four NBA Finals. While the Hawks have only defeated the Celtics twice out of eleven series in the NBA Playoffs, they still often managed to make their series