John Havlicek (born April 8, 1940 in Martins Ferry, Ohio) is a former American basketball player, thought to be one of the best NBA players in history, especially in defense. He was inducted as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984. He played for the Boston Celtics his entire pro career and won eight NBA titles with them.

Even though Havlicek is considered one of the best players in NBA history, he was mostly overlooked as a college player because he was on the same team as Jerry Lucas at Ohio State University. That team also had future coaching legend Bobby Knight as a sub. Together, they won the 1960 NCAA basketball title.

Havlicek as a young pro revolutionized the "sixth man" role. Also, he is immortalized in Celtics announcer Johnny Most's exclamation, "Havlicek steals it. Over to Sam Jones. Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball!".