James “Jim” Loscutoff Jr. was born on February 4, 1930, and he has the only non-number retired jersey in the rafters at TD Garden.
The player would end up being Hall of Fame center Dave Cowens. This No. 18 went on to make both the NBA 50th and 75th-anniversary teams. Cowens’ No. 18 was raised to the rafters fewer than four years later. The LOSCY is directly above Cowens’ No. 18 in the rafters, so it worked out very well for the tandem of No. 18’s.
Loscutoff was with the Celtics for almost every one of their early championships in franchise history. From 1957 to 1969, the Celtics had quite possibly the best run in NBA history. Red Auerbach and Bill Russell led Boston to 11 titles. Loscutoff’s basketball career ended after the 1964 Finals, which was the sixth of eight consecutive championships for the Celtics.
Jim Loscutoff – His Early Days of Basketball
Loscutoff played high school basketball at Palo Alto High School, and he played very well there. After graduating in 1948, Loscutoff went to Grant Technical College for two years in Sacramento, California. His next step before the NBA was the University of Oregon. Loscutoff’s final season with the Oregon Ducks was highlighted by his 19.6 points per game and 17.2 rebounds per game. Loscutoff led the team in both categories. He also has the school record for the most rebounds in a single game when he had 32.
Meanwhile, in the NBA, the Boston Celtics had yet to win a championship and were in need of defense, so on April 13, 1955, the Celtics drafted Jim Loscutoff in the first round of the NBA draft. Red Auerbach knew that Loscy would provide defensive prowess. After the territorial picks went to the Lakers and Warriors, the Celtics head coach selected him with the third pick of the first round in the 1955 NBA Draft. He would be a part of many championship teams in Boston.
Jim Loscutoff – Boston Celtics
Loscy’s best season came in 1956-57 when he averaged a double-double as the Celtics went on to win the championship for the first time in franchise history. During Loscutoff’s rookie season, he set the Celtics record for the most rebounds in a game with 26, which remained the record until Bill Russell came around. Let us take a look into Loscy’s Celtics career.
Jim Loscutoff – Loscy’s Rebounding Brilliance
Loscutoff’s defense and rebounding were impressive right out of the gate in his NBA career. He finished in the top 15 in rebounding for the 1955-56 season and in the top 10 in 1956-57. He grabbed a career-best 10.4 boards per contest in 1956-67, his second NBA season. Also in the 1956 and 1957 postseasons, Loscy contributed with 8.7 rebounds per game.
His defense and rebounding contributed a lot to the early championship teams, as the Celtics became a dynasty. Let us take a look at Boston’s first title in 1957.
Jim Loscutoff – 1957 NBA Championship Team
During the 1956-57 season, Bill Russell (14.7 points and 19.6 rebounds) and Jim Loscutoff (10.6 points and 10.4 rebounds per game) were the only Celtics to average double-doubles for the season. Boston’s defense could not be stopped that season, as Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Tom “Tommy” Heinsohn, and Jim Loscutoff all ranked in the top five in defensive win shares that season.
After sweeping the Syracuse Nationals in the Eastern Division Finals, the Celtics won their first championship in franchise history in 1957 after a seven-game NBA Finals against the St. Louis Hawks. Loscutoff was responsible for making the final two free throws of the Game 7 victory in the 1957 Finals. He made both of his free throws to win the game, 125–123, in double overtime.
Jim Loscutoff – 1959 NBA Championship Team
Unfortunately, a near career-ending knee injury happened early in the 1957-58 season. After playing just five games, Loscutoff missed the remainder of the season. Red Auerbach was the key to his recovery though. After the season, Auerbach knew how to handle Loscy and his future years in the NBA. Auerbach prepared the perfect plan for Loscutoff in terms of his recovery, and the legendary Celtics coach, who has been immortalized with the No. 2 in the rafters, helped Loscutoff play 66 regular-season games in 1958-59.
Jim Loscutoff came back from the knee injury and again was one of the best defensive players in the league. His defensive win shares ranked in the top 20. He was a defensive marvel, along with several of his teammates, six of which ranked in the top 20 as well.
The Eastern Division Finals this time around went to seven games, but the Celtics were so strong a team and played very well in the NBA Finals. The Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers, and Loscy contributed 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Bill Russell was the leader in playoff rebounds, Bob Cousy was the assist leader, and Frank Ramsey was the win-shares leader.
Jim Loscutoff – 1960 NBA Championship Team
Unfortunately, the injury bug hit Loscy again. He suffered a slipped disc in his back and played just 28 games during the 1959-60 season. He missed the postseason run as well, as the Celtics went for their second consecutive championship.
In the playoffs, the Celtics won the Eastern Division Finals in six games and the NBA Finals — against the familiar St. Louis Hawks — in seven games. Maybe the Celtics would have won a little more easily if Loscutoff did not get injured, but that may be somewhat of an exaggeration. Boston was an impressive team and by far the best franchise in the NBA at this time.
Jim Loscutoff – 1961 NBA Championship Team
Loscutoff’s playing time began trailing off, but he still got into 76 games in 1960-61. The Celtics made it pretty easy in the postseason in 1961, as they went to just five games with both the Syracuse Nationals in the Eastern Division Finals and the St. Louis Hawks in the NBA Finals. Loscy averaged just 3.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the postseason, so he was more of a minor contributor for the rest of his NBA career. However, he would go on to play almost 80 games in the following regular season.
Jim Loscutoff – 1962 NBA Championship Team
In 1961-62, Loscutoff played a career-high 79 games during the regular season. In the 1962 playoffs, Loscy played in all the Celtics’ games and averaged 15.1 minutes per game, which was a slight increase from the previous season.
In Game 1 of the NBA Finals — a 14-point victory — Loscutoff scored 14 points, the most for him since his first career playoff game in 1956. Then, after a couple of losses, the Celtics came back in the series. They beat the Lakers in seven games, and in Game 7, Loscy contributed six points and eight rebounds in the 110-107 win to capture the 1962 championship.
Jim Loscutoff – 1963 NBA Championship Team
Even with his career close to coming to an end, Loscutoff was still part of the rotation. He played 63 games in 1962-63. However, he played just nine games during the 1963 playoffs. The Celtics went on to take down the Cincinnati Royals and Los Angeles Lakers en route to their fifth consecutive title.
Jim Loscutoff – 1964 NBA Championship Team
Remember, Loscy had six championships heading into his final NBA season, and then he won another one. Obviously, he was not the most valuable player, and he was not a key contributor every year, but he was there, and he stretched out a career that could have lasted on a few seasons. He played 53 games in 1963-64 but only played in one contest in the 1964 NBA playoffs. However, he was a part of the first seven title teams, as the Celtics defeated the Royals and San Francisco Warriors each in five games to win the 1964 championship.
Jim Loscutoff – Retirement from the Celtics
After finishing his basketball career in the NBA, Loscutoff coached Boston State College from 1964 to 1976. He had a very impressive record, as he coached the Boston State College Warriors to a 219–92 record. Mike Gorman, the Boston Celtics play-by-play television announcer, went to Boston State College, which actually closed its doors in 1982.
Jim Loscutoff – Net Worth
Jim Loscutoff was a professional basketball player who had a net worth estimated to be somewhere between $1 million and $6 million dollars. He played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1965, winning seven championships and becoming one of the most successful players in NBA history. His net worth was built through his success on the court and various business ventures after his retirement.
Is Jim Loscutoff in the Hall of Fame?
On April 8, 1977, the Celtics honored Loscutoff with the retirement of his name into the rafters. Boston defeated the New Orleans Jazz, 120-109, behind a game-high 28 points by Jo Jo White that evening. Then in 1980, he was also inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in its inaugural year.
Unfortunately, Loscutoff passed away in 2015 due to Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia. His legacy as a defensive stalwart will always be hanging in the rafters high above where the Celtics play. Everyone at TD Garden gets the opportunity to look up and see the LOSCY nickname above Dave Cowens’ No. 18. Jim “Loscy” Loscutoff, a seven-time champion.
What does Loscy mean in Boston Celtics?
His “jersey,” which has the five letters “LOSCY” representing his nickname, hangs for many to look up and question its origin. Loscutoff’s nickname is stretched diagonally from the top left to the bottom right of the patch, and it was retired in 1977. Loscutoff, also known as “Jungle Jim,” had asked that his jersey number not be retired so that a player could wear it in the future.
