Jo Jo White

American basketball player who starred as point guard for the Boston Celtics, winning two NBA championships and Finals MVP in 1976 during his Hall of Fame caree

Joseph Henry White was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1946 and attended the University of Kansas. Boston Celtics selected him ninth overall in the 1969 NBA Draft. His 12-season career produced 17.2 points, 5.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game along with seven All-Star appearances. He won two NBA championships with the Celtics (1974, 1976) and was named Finals MVP in 1976 after averaging 21.7 points per game in the series — including 33 points in the celebrated triple-overtime Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns, widely considered one of the greatest games ever played. He was named to the All-NBA First Team twice. He won Olympic gold with the USA at Mexico City 1968. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015 — a recognition many felt was significantly overdue. His combination of scoring, playmaking and defensive reliability made him the perfect complement to the Celtics teams of the mid-1970s. His 488 consecutive games played between 1971 and 1978 reflected extraordinary durability. He was later diagnosed with ataxia, a degenerative neurological condition, and died in January 2018 aged 71.

Smooth ball-handling point guard with excellent court vision and clutch shooting

Hall of Fame point guard who led Celtics to two championships in 1970s

• NBA Champion 2x (1974, 1976)
• Finals MVP (1976)
• All-Star 7x
• All-NBA First Team 2x
• Hall of Fame (2015)
• Olympic Gold Medal (1968)