5 players you forgot played for the Celtics

Inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2011 — what took so long? — Gilmore is one of the best centers that the ABA or NBA has ever seen. Though some of his most outlandish numbers came with the Kentucky Colonels prior to his NBA days, like his rookie campaign in which he averaged 23.8 points and 17.8 rebounds, he was a fantastic big man for both the Bulls and the Spurs throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Along with the five seasons he spent with Kentucky, he played in Chicago for seven years and in San Antonio for five.

It was beyond those stints when the Celtics finally came into play, who signed him as a free agent after the Bulls waived him due to ineffective play. Unfortunately for Boston, the A-Train was definitely past his prime at that point, averaging 3.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in the 47 games he spent with the Celtics. From there he played in Italy for a season before calling it quits.

The Human Highlight Reel was an All-Star in every season from 1985-86 to 1993-94. He averaged 28.1 points per game in that span with a scoring title and seven All-NBA selections. He was in the MVP discussion numerous times, including when he was runner-up to Larry Bird in the first year of that aforementioned streak of All-Star excellence.

That streak ended in the 1994-95 season, when Nique landed on the Celtics as a free agent. Though the legend played a big role, starting in 64 of the 77 contests he played and averaging 31.5 minutes per game, he saw his Player Efficiency Rating, Value Over Replacement Player and other metrics dip to the lowest points of his career. The stint in Boston only lasted a year, with his unhappiness reaching high enough levels to the point where he opted to play in Greece the following season.

Most likely remembered best by Celtics fans for his days as a rival along the East Coast for the Nets and Knicks, Marbury averaged 18.2 points and 7.3 assists against Boston in 32 games throughout his career. He had some great outings for both teams, including when he dropped 30 points and 10 assists in a 131-113 Nets win over the 2000 Celtics.

For the Celtics, however, he was much less of a force. Signing on as a free agent in 2009 days after being waived by the Knicks, Marbury served as a veteran backup point guard behind then-22-year-old Rajon Rondo, averaging 18 minutes per game across 23 appearances. His averages were underwhelming — just 3.8 points and 3.3 assists per game — and his playoff role was even smaller. That would ultimately be the final season of his illustrious NBA career, refusing the Celtics' offer of a one-year deal on the veteran's minimum for 2009-10 and instead opting to dominate overseas.

If you picture Jameer Nelson wearing anything other than an Orlando Magic jersey alongside Dwight Howard, we're on a completely different wavelength. I guess it's acceptable if a Denver Nuggets jersey momentarily comes to mind — he did spend 148 games there after his 651 Magic appearances.

But between those two lengthy stints were two incredibly brief ones. To start out the 2014-15 season, Nelson signed with the Dallas Mavericks. After only 23 games there as the regular starting point guard, though, he was dealt to Boston in a multi-player swap that included Rajon Rondo. How long did he last in Boston? Exactly six games, averaging 4.8 points and 5.5 assists in that quick stay. It was to Denver next, as the Celtics made a one-for-one deal to send him to the Nuggets in exchange for Nate Robinson.

Rivaling Nelson for the least memorable Celtics stint of the mid-2010s is Prince, who played in a whopping nine games — three more than Nelson! — for that same Celtics squad. His fantastic run with the Pistons was never met with All-Star honors or All-NBA recognition, and that's probably fair, but Prince was a reliable scorer, a proven winner and a four-time All-Defensive presence on the floor.

After a decade in Detroit, he went to the Grizzlies and ended up playing over 100 games there. He finished out his career with the Timberwolves and registered a full season with them. In the middle of those two runs, however, was the brief nine-game spell with the Celtics in which he averaged 8.4 points off the bench.

How'd he get there? A big three-team deal that featured assets including Jeff Green, Austin Rivers and the draft pick that would eventually become Aaron Nesmith. How'd he leave? In another three-team trade that sent him back to Detroit and landed one Isaiah Thomas in Boston.