The Celtics' Best From Beyond the Border

This week, Maine Red Claws head coach Austin Ainge will be taking part in his second Basketball Without Borders event when he heads down to Mexico City from Aug. 6-9. Ainge will be assisting with the NBA Cares mentoring program, but will the young skipper stumble upon the next Eduardo Najera?

Basketball Without Borders, consisting of the top youth players 19 and under from Asia, Latin America and Africa, as selected by the NBA, FIBA and participating federations, will train under NBA players and coaches and compete against their peers. The sessions will be held in Beijing and Johannesburg, South Africa, along with Mexico City.

"Basketball without Borders helps us to grow the game of basketball and bring attention to important social issues that affect communities around the world," Kathleen Behrens, the NBA's executive vice president of social responsibility and player programs told NBA.com. "We know that by teaching the values of the game -- teamwork, sportsmanship, hard work and healthy living -- our current and former players and coaches can also make a lasting impact on communities in need."

Ainge, the son of Celtics president Danny Ainge, was named the first head coach in the history of the Red Claws, who are one of the newest clubs to join the NBA Development League. With Ainge heading south of the border, one has to wonder how foreign-born players have fared wearing the storied green uniform.

Here is an attempt to list the top five foreign-born players in Celtics history:

5. Wally Szczerbiak: Despite playing in just 64 games for the Celtics, Wally edges out both Jiri Welsch and Michael Olowokandi for the fifth slot. Szczerbiak averaged 17.5 points and 3.2 assists per game in 32 games in the 2005-06 season and 15 points per game in 32 contests the next year. Szczerbiak was born in Madrid before moving to Long Island, N.Y., as a child.

4. Vitaly Potapenko: "The Ukraine Train" was shipped to Boston from Cleveland for Andrew DeClerq and a first-round pick in 1999. V averaged 9.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his first full year with the C's in the 1999-2000 season -- his only campaign as a full-time starter.

3. Dominique Wilkins: Nique, also known as "The Human Highlight Film," is the most decorated foreign-born Celtics player, but he only lasted one year in the Hub. The Paris native played in 77 games for the C's in the 1994-95 season, averaging 17.8 points, 5.2 boards and 2.2 assists en route to an All-Star nod. Wilkins played in nine career All-Star games and finished in the top 10 in scoring nine times, finishing first in 1986 with 30.3 PPG.

2. Rick Fox: The Celtics' first-round pick out of North Carolina (by way of Canada) in the 1991 draft lasted six seasons with Boston. Arguably the best year of his C's career was his last one, when he averaged a career-high 15.4 points to go with 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in the 1996-97 season. Fox averaged 10.7 points in 444 career games for the C's from 1991-1997.

1. Dino Radja: The 40th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft turned out to be a steal for the C's, who opted for the 6-foot-11, 26-year-old Croatian forward. Radja played just four seasons for the Celtics, but they were ever-lasting for C's fans, who watched Radja, along with Dee Brown, attempt to carry a team that won just 115 of 328 games (.351 winning percentage). Radja earned second-team All-NBA Rookie honors in the 1993-94 season by putting up 15.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. That year happened to break the franchise's 14-year playoff streak as the C's went just 32-50, their lowest win total since 1978-79. Radja would play 224 career games for the Celtics and average 16.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting .497 from the floor in 3,052 career attempts. 

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