The Boston Celtics today promoted Rich Gotham to team president, a job last held by Arnold ‘‘Red’’ Auerbach until his death in October. Gotham assumes the post immediately.
The move is a symbolic departure for the Celtics, whose last two presidents have been basketball legends. Both Auerbach, who won nine National Basketball Association titles, and Rick Pitino were former Celtics head coaches and considered basketball legends. Gotham never played or coached the game on a professional level.
A former technology industry executive, Gotham was named the Celtics’ chief operating officer last summer. He has been credited for implementing a sophisticated system for analyzing data on the team’s fans and attendance patterns to help sell more tickets, even in the midst of one of the team’s worst seasons ever.
The use of such data, called analytics, has been replicated throughout the NBA.
(By Keith Reid, Globe staff)
