Athletes - Kevin McHale

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	Athletes - Kevin McHale

Kevin Edward McHale (born December 19, 1957, in Hibbing, Minnesota) is a former NBA basketball power forward, who featured one of the deadliest arrays of post moves in NBA history. He is currently general manager of the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves team.

McHale grew up in an Irish/Croatian household in Hibbing, Minnesota and attended high school there. At Hibbing High School, McHale was part of the team that was runner-up the 1976 AA Minnesota State Championship, and was named the state's Mr. Basketball of 1976. He then played basketball at University of Minnesota from 1976-1980. While in college, McHale averaged 15.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, was named All-Big 10 (1979, 1980), and still ranks second all-time in points (1,704, 15.2 ppg) and rebounds (950, 8.5 rpg) at Minnesota. In 1995, to coincide with the U of M's 100th anniversary, he was selected as top player in the history of University of Minnesota men's basketball.

McHale starred with the Boston Celtics from 1980 to 1993. He was awarded Rookie of the Year honors in 1981. As a pro, McHale played the power forward position, and averaged 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He helped revolutionize the "sixth man" concept. The Sixth Man was a top level athlete who was able to come off of the bench, and play at the same high level that the starting lineup did. This meant that you had a star on the court at any time throughout the game. McHale won the NBA Sixth Man Award in 1984 and 1985, and was selected to the All-NBA First Team in 1987. He was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team seven times. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star between 1984 and 1991.

With the Celtics, McHale came to prominence while sharing the floor with fellow Hall of Famers Larry Bird, and Robert Parish. These three players are often considered the greatest frontcourt of all time. In fact, many Celtic fans consider the Celtics starting team of the mid-1980's - Center Robert Parish, Power forward Kevin McHale, Small forward Larry Bird, Point guard Dennis Johnson, and Shooting guard Danny Ainge - to be the finest starting five in the history of the game. The Celtics won the NBA Championship in 1981, 1984, and 1986. An illustration of the competition and high level of skill of these players is when, in 1985, McHale scored a Celtics record 56 points against the Atlanta Hawks. Two weeks later, small forward Larry Bird broke that record by scoring 60 points against those same Atlanta Hawks.

McHale was selected as a member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996-97).

His final seasons were plagued by foot problems, which grew progressively worse, eventually forcing him to give up his playing career. His number 32 jersey was retired in 1994. After often being in the shadow of his more famous teammate Larry Bird, at the retirement ceremony, Bird sat in the audience and applauded with the rest of the stadium, finally giving McHale a moment in the spotlight.

After his retirement, McHale joined the Minnesota Timberwolves as a television analyst and special assistant in 1993. In the summer of 1994, new Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor promoted him to assistant general manager. He continued to broadcast Timberwolves games and work as an executive until 1995, when he succeeded Jack McCloskey as vice president of basketball operations, a position he still holds. On February 12, 2005, the Timberwolves fired Coach Flip Saunders and announced that McHale would take over coaching duties for at least the rest of the 2004-2005 season. He compiled a decent 19-12 record, but has stated that he has no interest in coaching at the professional level again (instead hiring Dwane Casey).

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Athletes - Kevin McHale

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