After BYU
- A two-sport star while at BYU, Ainge was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays (MLB) and the Boston Celtics (NBA)
- Played four seasons with Toronto while playing basketball at BYU
- Played on two NBA championship teams at Boston, 1984 and 86
- Played in six NBA finals for three different teams
- Played on four teams in 14-year career (Boston, Sacramento, Portland and Phoenix)
- Finished career with 1,002 three-pointers, at the time was one of only three players to hit 1,000 three-pointers
- Played in 193 career playoff games, second all-time to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- After retiring Ainge became coach of the Phoenix Suns a position he held until 1999, when he resigned to spend more time with his family
- Served as an analyst on NBA broadcasts for Turner Broadcast Television
- Served as Executive Director of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics where he helped assemble the 2008 NBA Champions
- His son Austin played on BYU's basketball team
BYU Highlights
- Led the Cougars in scoring each of his four years, finishing with a career average of 20.9 ppg
- Upon leaving BYU Ainge was the holder of many team, WAC and NCAA records; among them are consecutive games scoring in double figures, NCAA (112)
- Among top 20 career points leaders (WAC)
- Most field goals attempted (1,875, WAC)
- Most career field goals made (987, WAC)
- Most career personal fouls (383, WAC)
- Most career WAC points scored (1,118)
- Most career WAC field goals attempted (857)
- Most career WAC field goals made (440)
- Most season WAC field goals made (157)
Personal
- Born on St. Patricks Day in Eugene, Oregon
- Older brother Doug played 12 games for the Cougars in 1973-74 before transferring to Linfield College (Oregon)
- Has two older brothers and a younger sister
- Signed a multi-year professional baseball contract to play with the Toronto Blue Jays prior to coming to BYU
- Played with the Blue Jays major league team, and the AAA farm club, the Syracuse Chiefs
- Had one homer which broke the scoreboard on impact in 1978
- In 1979 he was moved up to the majors where he ended the season prior to returning to BYU with a .237 average in 87 games
- From May through June his average hovered around .300
- He had 73 hits and 19 RBIs three of which were game winners, seven doubles, a triple and two homers
- In 1980 he split time between Syracuse where he hit .245 and 38 games with Toronto where he batted .243
- He was a member of the Topps Bubblegum all-rookie team
- He married Michelle Toolson in March of 1979
- B.S. in communications from BYU
Before BYU
- Named to All-American teams by Scholastic and Parade magazines in basketball, baseball and football
- Was All-American in basketball also by AP and Coach and Athlete
- For two years in a row was named District AAA MVP while playing for North Eugene High
- At the Florida National Junior AAU tourney, Ainge was named to the all-tournament team, which included Albert King (Maryland) and Kelly Tripuka (Notre Dame)
- For North Eugene High in basketball, Ainge averaged 24.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists
- In Oregon State-Metro series, Ainge was MVP both nights for State
- In football he was All-State as a wide receiver his junior year and was All-State on defense his senior year
- In all, Ainge was an all-stater two years in a row in football, basketball and baseball as selected by the Oregon Journal and Eugene Register Guard
- Led the Highlander basketball team to two straight titles with a combined 52-1 record
- He swished the longest field goal ever at McArthur Court (Oregons home court), an 85-footer in the 1977 state playoffs
- In 1978 he was honored by being named the Bill Hayward Prep athlete of the year in Oregon
- Lettered nine times in three sports
- Prep basketball coach was Barney Holland, (Oregon)
Post BYU Honors and Societies
- Inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1991
- Inducted into the GTE Academic All-America Hall of Fame in May 2000
Stats
Year GP FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. Rbds Avg. PF-D Pts. Avg. A S1977-78 30 243-473 51 146-169 86 173 5.8 113-9 632 21.1 158 601978-79 27 206-376 55 86-112 77 102 3.8 87-3 498 18.4 122 461979-80 29 229-430 53 97-124 78 114 3.9 91-4 555 19.1 132 431980-81 32 309-596 52 164-199 82 152 4.8 102-3 782 24.4 127 46Totals 118 987-1875 53 493-605 81 541 4.6 393-19 2467 20.9 539 195