Gar Heard
Encyclopedia
Garfield "Gar" Heard, is a retired American professional basketball
player and coach. He played collegiately at the University of Oklahoma
and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
in the third round of the 1970 NBA Draft
. He had an 11-year NBA career for four different teams (the Sonics, the Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers
, the Chicago Bulls
, and the Phoenix Suns
). Heard is best known for a buzzer beater
he made to send Game 5 of the 1976
Phoenix
-Boston
championship series into a third overtime. This feat is commonly known as "The Shot," or "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," in reference to Ralph Waldo Emerson
's poem "Concord Hymn," which was written about the Battle of Lexington
.
on February 14, 2009.
were traded from the Chicago Bulls
to the Buffalo Braves
for John Hummer
, a 1974 NBA Draft
2nd round pick and a 1975 NBA Draft
2nd round pick. Heard went on to rank in the top ten in rebound
s and blocked shots that season. The deal was part of the resume that earned Buffalo Braves
General Manager Eddie Donovan
the NBA Executive of the Year Award
. Heard once played 86 games in an NBA season, which is 82 games long, when he was traded in the middle of the 1975-76 NBA season
from Buffalo to the Phoenix Suns
.
had given Boston a one-point advantage with a running one-handed shot. The Celtics' timekeeper then ran the clock out instead of stopping it after a made basket, per league rules. The Boston Garden
crowd erupted, believing the game was over, and the Celtics themselves actually went back to their locker room. Legend has it that Havlicek had actually taken the tape off his ankles by this stage. But the Suns correctly pointed that there was still time left, though the officials only placed one second back on the clock instead of two. (Celtics fans had stormed the court after the time was erroneously allowed to expire, and one particularly boisterous fan attacked referee Richie Powers
after it was announced that the game was not over yet.) Paul Westphal
then intentionally took a technical foul
by calling a timeout when the Suns had no more timeouts to use. It gave the Celtics a free throw, which Jo Jo White
converted to give Boston a two-point edge, but the timeout also allowed Phoenix to inbound from mid-court instead of from under their own basket. When play resumed, Heard caught the inbound pass and fired a very high-arcing turnaround jump shot from at least 20 feet away. It swished through, sending the game into a third overtime. However, Boston eventually won the game and the Finals, four games to two. Heard had scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Game 5.
A revision to Rule 12-A, Section I, in regards to excessive timeouts, resulted in the elimination of the advancement of the ball following an excessive timeout. The rule has since been changed to award the ball to the team shooting the free throw.
from 1993 to 1994 and the Washington Wizards
from 1999 to 2000. His overall coaching record is 23-74. During the 2004–2005 season
, Heard was an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons
; he coached several games that season when Larry Brown
was out due to a medical condition.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player and coach. He played collegiately at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
and was selected by the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
in the third round of the 1970 NBA Draft
1970 NBA Draft
The 1970 NBA Draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on March 23, 1970 before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
. He had an 11-year NBA career for four different teams (the Sonics, the Buffalo Braves/San Diego Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
, the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
, and the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
). Heard is best known for a buzzer beater
Buzzer beater
In basketball, a buzzer beater is a shot taken just before the game clock of a period expires, when the buzzer sounds. The term is normally reserved for baskets that win or tie the game, but also refers to shots that beat an end-of-quarter or halftime buzzer...
he made to send Game 5 of the 1976
1976 NBA Finals
The 1976 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round for the 1975-76 NBA season.-Background:The Phoenix Suns finished the season with 42 wins and 40 losses, but beat the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the playoffs and went on to play the Boston Celtics in the NBA...
Phoenix
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
-Boston
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
championship series into a third overtime. This feat is commonly known as "The Shot," or "The Shot Heard 'Round the World," in reference to Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
's poem "Concord Hymn," which was written about the Battle of Lexington
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
.
College career
Heard set an Oklahoma school record with 21 double-doubles for a season by a Sooner in 27 games during 1969-70. It was finally broken by Blake GriffinBlake Griffin
Blake Austin Griffin is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association . Griffin had a renowned high school career at Oklahoma Christian School, winning state titles each of his four years under his father, Tommy Griffin, who was the...
on February 14, 2009.
Professional career
Prior to the 1973–74 NBA season, Heard and Kevin KunnertKevin Kunnert
Kevin Robert Kunnert is a retired American basketball player in the NBA. A 7'0" and 230 lb center-forward, was drafted out of the University of Iowa by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1973 NBA Draft...
were traded from the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
to the Buffalo Braves
Buffalo Braves
The Buffalo Braves were a team in the National Basketball Association. They later moved to San Diego, California to become the San Diego Clippers then subsequently the Los Angeles Clippers....
for John Hummer
John Hummer
John Hummer is a venture capitalist and retired professional basketball player who was an original member of the Buffalo Braves after starring for the Princeton Tigers men's basketball team...
, a 1974 NBA Draft
1974 NBA Draft
The 1974 NBA Draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on May 28, 1974 before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
2nd round pick and a 1975 NBA Draft
1975 NBA Draft
The 1975 NBA Draft was the 29th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on May 29, 1975 before the 1975–76 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
2nd round pick. Heard went on to rank in the top ten in rebound
Rebound (basketball)
A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
s and blocked shots that season. The deal was part of the resume that earned Buffalo Braves
Buffalo Braves
The Buffalo Braves were a team in the National Basketball Association. They later moved to San Diego, California to become the San Diego Clippers then subsequently the Los Angeles Clippers....
General Manager Eddie Donovan
Eddie Donovan
Eddie Donovan was a professional basketball coach and executive.He coached the New York Knickerbockers from 1961 through 1965, and was the coach on the opposing sideline when Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain had his record-setting 100-point game in Hershey, Pennsylvania on March 2,...
the NBA Executive of the Year Award
NBA Executive of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general managers. Before 2009, the Executive of the Year is presented annually by Sporting News, although it is officially recognized by the NBA. Since then,...
. Heard once played 86 games in an NBA season, which is 82 games long, when he was traded in the middle of the 1975-76 NBA season
1975-76 NBA season
The 1975–76 NBA season was the 30th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...
from Buffalo to the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
.
The Shot
With two seconds remaining in double overtime, John HavlicekJohn Havlicek
John J. "Hondo" Havlicek is a retired American professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA titles, half of them coming in his first four seasons....
had given Boston a one-point advantage with a running one-handed shot. The Celtics' timekeeper then ran the clock out instead of stopping it after a made basket, per league rules. The Boston Garden
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
crowd erupted, believing the game was over, and the Celtics themselves actually went back to their locker room. Legend has it that Havlicek had actually taken the tape off his ankles by this stage. But the Suns correctly pointed that there was still time left, though the officials only placed one second back on the clock instead of two. (Celtics fans had stormed the court after the time was erroneously allowed to expire, and one particularly boisterous fan attacked referee Richie Powers
Richie Powers
Richard F. "Richie" Powers was a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association from 1956 to 1979. He worked 25 NBA Finals games, including the triple-overtime Game 5 contest in the 1976 NBA Finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Boston Celtics, considered "The Greatest...
after it was announced that the game was not over yet.) Paul Westphal
Paul Westphal
Paul Westphal is a retired American basketball player and current head coach of the National Basketball Association's Sacramento Kings. Westphal has had a storied career in the NBA, both as a player and as a coach. As a player, he won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in the 1974 NBA...
then intentionally took a technical foul
Technical foul
In basketball, a technical foul is any infraction of the rules penalized as a foul which does not involve physical contact during the course of play between players on the court, or is a foul by a non-player. The most common technical foul is for unsportsmanlike conduct...
by calling a timeout when the Suns had no more timeouts to use. It gave the Celtics a free throw, which Jo Jo White
Jo Jo White
Joseph Henry "Jo Jo" White is an American former professional basketball player.-Life and career:White was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of a minister...
converted to give Boston a two-point edge, but the timeout also allowed Phoenix to inbound from mid-court instead of from under their own basket. When play resumed, Heard caught the inbound pass and fired a very high-arcing turnaround jump shot from at least 20 feet away. It swished through, sending the game into a third overtime. However, Boston eventually won the game and the Finals, four games to two. Heard had scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Game 5.
A revision to Rule 12-A, Section I, in regards to excessive timeouts, resulted in the elimination of the advancement of the ball following an excessive timeout. The rule has since been changed to award the ball to the team shooting the free throw.
Coaching
In addition to his playing career, Heard served as head coach of the Dallas MavericksDallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
from 1993 to 1994 and the Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
from 1999 to 2000. His overall coaching record is 23-74. During the 2004–2005 season
2004-05 NBA season
The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season of the National Basketball Association . It began on November 2, 2004 and ended June 23, 2005. The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs defeating defending champion Detroit Pistons 4–3 in the NBA Finals....
, Heard was an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
; he coached several games that season when Larry Brown
Larry Brown (basketball)
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" Brown is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats....
was out due to a medical condition.
External links
- Gar Heard (as player). - BasketballReference.com
- Gar Heard (as coach). - BasketballReference.com