Havlicek blocked the ball! Auburn VB star carries family legacy

AUBURN, Ala. – To Auburn volleyball standout Grace Havilicek, her grandparents – affectionately known as “Captain” and “Mimi” – were always a big deal, a steady, loving presence in the lives of their seven grandchildren.

It took a few years for Grace to figure out that Captain – NBA legend John Havlicek – was also a big deal to millions of Boston Celtics fans. 

“It was hard to know that because to me, he was always just Captain,” she said. “He was always just my grandfather. I really started to understand when kids in my grade would ask me for autographs from him for their birthday.

“I would go home and say, ‘Captain, my friend wants a signature for their birthday,’ and he was always generous to do it.”

Grace, an aspiring member of the Celtics’ broadcast team, accompanied her grandparents from their home in Florida to Boston in April 2015 for the 50th anniversary of one of the NBA’s iconic moments: Havlicek’s steal of an inbounds pass in the final seconds of Game 7 of the 1965 Eastern Division Finals, launching the Celtics toward their seventh consecutive NBA championship. 

Six decades later, play-by-play announcer Johnny Most’s “Havlicek stole the ball!” exclamation remains perhaps the NBA’s signature radio call.

“That’s when I officially realized this is a pretty big deal,” Grace said. “We got to go on the court. Everybody cheered and I was in shock. I’d never experienced anything like this before. It was such an honor to do that with him and my family.”

Back home in Florida, Captain and Mimi lived 15 minutes away from Grace and her family. The basketball hall of famer was her fishing buddy. Summers meant family vacations in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

“He held a tournament in Martha’s Vineyard every year,” she said. “Hanging out, those are the best memories I have.”

Watching movies, listening to his stories. Captain – “because he’s the captain of our family,” says Grace – never pushed his grandchildren to play sports, but when they did, he was always there.

“When I was little, my grandparents never missed a game,” she said. “I don’t think in my whole time going to my cousins’ games, my brother and sister’s games, they’ve missed one of ours. They made it a point that family’s the most important, so they’ve never missed one of our games.”

Grace was 14 when her grandfather passed away in 2019. 

“In middle school, the last game he went to of mine, we won the basketball championship,” she said. “That was really cool for him to be there and for us to experience that together.”

Two years later, Grace committed to play for Auburn head coach Brent Crouch, arriving on the Plains in 2024. After starting six matches as a freshman, the 6-foot-3 middle blocker became a full-time starter as a sophomore last season.

The reigning SEC defensive player of the week, Havlicek racked up 20 blocks to help Auburn go 4-0 last week.

“I definitely want to grow on that exponentially,” she said. “There’s a lot to prove this year. The goal is to make the NCAA Tournament. I really want us to push forward and make the NCAA Tournament and be the best teammate I can while I also killing the ball and blocking the ball when I need to.”

For someone who grew up treasuring her family, Grace has found another family in Auburn.

“It feels perfect,” she said. “To know at 16 that this is the place I chose and for me to love it at 20 is incredible because the girls here, I’ve found sisters for life.

“The coaching staff, they’ve been my biggest mentors the past couple years. Knowing I can go anywhere in the world and have an Auburn logo and hear War Eagle is so cool. 

“This program has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. To come into this place and feel so wanted by the coaches and the girls on the team; everything is so nice.”

It’s been nearly a half century since John Havlicek, the Celtics’ all-time scoring leader and 13-time All-Star,   played his last game on the famed parquet floor of Boston Garden, retiring with eight NBA championships. His legend endures.

“I’ve had people randomly come up to me and say, ‘I played your grandpa in 2K the other day,’ and I’m like, I don’t know what that means but that’s really cool,” said Grace, who recently received in the mail a vintage magazine that featured her grandfather.

“It was the cover of a Sport magazine and I was like, ‘Wow,’” she said. “It’s so cool to go fully into depth of how much of an impact he made.”

That impact started at home in Jupiter, Florida.

“He was a grandpa who played basketball and was a great success,” she said, “but he was more humble and generous than I think anybody knows.”

Carrying on a family tradition with each block, kill and ace, Havlicek wears No. 17, a lasting tribute to the special bond between Grace and her Captain.

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer