From the big screen to Beantown.
This is the conclusion of our interview series (check Part 1 and Part 2) with Walter McCarty, where we explore his eight-year career with the Boston Celtics and how he became one of the franchise’s all-time fan favorites. Plus, we catch up with McCarty to see where life has taken him since his playing days.
In the summer of 1997, Spike Lee set out to bring the story of Jesus Shuttlesworth to life, a high school basketball phenom from Coney Island, played by Ray Allen, who faces the biggest decision of his young career: choosing which path he is going to go following graduation. As he weighs his options, which include the millions of dollars in front of him to declare for the NBA draft, he also must navigate through life with the emotional toll of his mother’s death, his father’s incarceration, and the relentless swarm of opportunists eager to profit from his future success.
To enhance the authenticity of the basketball scenes, Lee cast several NBA players who could convincingly portray high school athletes, including Walter McCarty.
“During my rookie season, every time I saw Spike Lee in the lay-up lines I would mess around with him ‘Spike put me in a movie’. I would yell every time I saw him, ‘Spike, when are you going to put me in a movie?’ I would say that every time I saw him in a joking manner.”
All jokes aside, McCarty vividly recalls receiving a call from his agent during the summer of 1997, informing him that Spike Lee wanted him to audition for his latest project. “I actually read for Jesus Shuttlesworth’s part.” McCarty recalled, “Spike had gotten everybody an acting coach. I remember (my acting coach) getting me into character by making it a point to remind me that I couldn’t stand my father. She made it imperative for me to remain in character and remind me that I hated his guts.”
As McCarty arrived for his audition at Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule studio he noticed a black limo sitting outside but didn’t pay much more attention to it.
“I walked into the studio, and my acting coach calls me into the room and points me in the direction to sit down next to this random guy wearing sunglasses, a baseball hat and dreadlocks. We just start talking and shooting the shit, and after about five minutes I realize it’s Denzel Washington. He was in there fully incognito with dreads, sunglasses, and we’re talking basketball.” McCarty laughed, “My acting coach comes out from around the corner screaming at the top of her lungs ‘Get away from him! You hate him. You can’t stand him. He killed your mother.’ But she is screaming so loud, and I am feeling so embarrassed. I’m thinking to myself like, holy shit! And I look at him, he just laughs and says don’t worry, I understand.’”
McCarty’s audition impressed enough to earn him the role of Mance Littles, the starting big man for the Lincoln High Railsplitters, a powerhouse program ranked as the best team in the nation, led by the best player in the nation, Jesus Shuttlesworth. As Travis Best’s character Sip Rodgers put it best, nobody was f***** with them.
After filming wrapped, it was time for McCarty and the Knicks to get back to work and prepare for the 1997-98 season in Charleston, South Carolina. Working through training camp, and the entire preseason McCarty was amped to begin his sophomore year for the Knicks and making a bigger impact.
As the team was set to play their final preseason game against Boston, McCarty remembers receiving a phone call from Jeff Van Gundy in his hotel room an hour prior to boarding the team bus for the final preseason game. “I answered the phone, which I never do unless it was someone from the Knicks calling… and it was Jeff Van Gundy. He sounded upset and disappointed and said to me that he was sorry, and he really enjoyed coaching me, but the team made a trade today with the Boston Celtics.”
Shocked by the news, McCarty walked into his hotel room as a Knick and walked out as a Celtic as he made his way to the Boston Garden for the game. “I never went back to New York. I had my friends pack my stuff, and I stayed there.”
The trade was bittersweet for McCarty. While he loved New York, it reunited him with his former Kentucky teammate and close friend, Antoine Walker, as well as his college coach, Rick Pitino. “It was just like being back in college”, McCarty recalled. “We had a lot of special moments.” The move also gave McCarty the chance to join a younger team and take on a larger role as an immediate starter.
Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
With a new team and a new role as the starting small forward, McCarty saw his playing time increase significantly, appearing in all 82 games, more than double his rookie total, while starting 64. He averaged a career-high 9.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 28.5 minutes per contest.
McCarty quickly felt at home in Boston and became an instant fan favorite at the Garden, including with legendary Celtics play-by-play announcer Tommy Heinsohn. Heinsohn developed a signature catchphrase filled with affection for McCarty, famously declaring, “I love Waltahh!” after every big play in the trenches that he made for the Celtics.
“Playing for an organization that is one of the best organizations ever. I truly loved being there.”
McCarty went on to enjoy an eight-year career with the Celtics, appearing in a total of 494 games for the C’s, and to this day remains one of the Celtic’s all-time fan-favorite players.
As the Celtics went into a mini rebuild mode in 2004, McCarty approached Celtics GM Danny Ainge about his desire to finish out his career with a winning team. “I always told myself that I wanted to play ten years, and then I am done.” After their conversation, Ainge made it a priority to grant McCarty’s wish, ultimately finding a suitor in the Phoenix Suns, where he joined forces with Steve Nash, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion.
“They were fun guys, and good guys to be around. McCarty said. “Similar to the Knicks situation, I thought we should have made it to the Finals.” The Suns put together a dominant regular season, finishing with a 62-20 record and securing the top spot in the Pacific Division. However, their championship aspirations suffered a devastating blow when Joe Johnson sustained a freak injury, falling hard on a layup attempt and breaking his nose. “He was our Tony Parker stopper… but once he got hurt it took our scoring and our best defender off the court… once that happened, Joe was not the same Joe, and it just hurt us.”
Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
In his final NBA season, McCarty joined the Los Angeles Clippers alongside Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, and Sam Cassell. However, his campaign was derailed by a freak injury suffered in practice, requiring 20 stitches to his thumb. As a result, McCarty was limited to just 36 games in his final year.
When McCarty retired in 2006, he fulfilled his goal of playing 10 seasons in the NBA. Though he had the opportunity to continue his career, he chose to stay true to his plan and pursue other passions, including singing, color commentating, and coaching.
McCarty’s career came full circle when he received a call from his former college and Celtics head coach Rick Pitino who offered him a coaching opportunity at Louisville. That conversation set him on a new path, one that has flourished for 15 years, including eight seasons as an assistant in the NBA with the Pacers and Celtics.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, McCarty took his coaching talents overseas, landing a role with Ostioneros de Guaymas. After his 2022 stint with Guaymas, he was offered the head coaching position for Rayos de Hermosillo in 2023, where he immediately made an impact, guiding the team to the CIBACOPA Finals. “I love teaching, coaching, and developing. I don’t think you get to do that in the NBA… there just isn’t any development anymore with the coaching staff.”
In December 2024, McCarty solidified his legacy as a head coach on the international stage, by leading Rayos de Hermosillo to a championship victory. His strategic prowess and leadership didn’t go unnoticed, as he was honored with the Coach of the Year award.
Today, Walter McCarty is diligently preparing for the upcoming season as Head Coach of Ostioneros de Guaymas, the very team where his overseas coaching career initially began as he seeks to add another championship to his coaching resume’.
Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images