Retired Numbers:
(00) Robert Parish, (1) Walter Brown, (2) Arnold "Red" Auerbach, (3) Dennis Johnson, (6) Bill Russell, (10) Jo Jo White, (14) Bob Cousy, (15) Tom Heinsohn, (16) Tom "Satch" Sanders, (17) John Havlicek, (18) Dave Cowens, (19) Don Nelson, (21) Bill Sharman, (22) Ed Macauley, (23) Frank Ramsey, (24) Sam Jones(25) K.C. Jones, (32) Kevin McHale, (33) Larry Bird, (35) Reggie Lewis, (Loscy)* Jim Loscutoff, (Microphone) Johnny Most *-Loscutoff's jersey was retired, but number 18 was kept active for Dave Cowens
The Most Successful Franchise In Professional Sports
History
Quite simply, the Boston Celtics are "the Franchise," Celtics Green is "the
Color," and the winking leprechaun that serves as the team's logo
symbolizes five decades of NBA tradition. A charter member of the
Basketball Association of America (which evolved into the NBA),
Boston flies more title banners from the rafters of its home arena
than any other franchise.
Although the Celtics have known some tough years, no other
professional sports franchise can match the team for its record of
success. Certainly no other team has ever dominated a league the
way Boston did from 1957 to 1969, when the club won 11 NBA
Championships. For those 13 years, the team was "the Dynasty."
The Celtics came into being on June 6, 1946. On that
day 11 men (all of whom owned either professional hockey teams,
large arenas in major cities, or both) met to discuss the formation
of a new professional basketball league. They christened the new
league the Basketball Association of America and modeled its
season-which featured a 60-game schedule and a series of
playoffs-after the National Hockey League's. The game itself was
based on college basketball, but with the contests lengthened to 48
minutes rather than the 40 played in college.
A driving force behind the BAA was Celtics owner Walter Brown,
who ran the Boston Garden and was part of the NHL's Boston Bruins
organization. Brown hired John "Honey" Russell as his first coach,
and the Celtics' maiden home game was played on November 5, 1946.
The contest began an hour behind schedule because Boston's Chuck
Connors (later the star of television's The Rifleman) splintered a
wooden backboard with a practice dunk before the game. Boston lost
to the Chicago Stags, 57-55, but the 4,329 fans in attendance not
only got to see the Celtics' first-ever home game but also
witnessed the first broken backboard in professional basketball
history.
The franchise struggled for respectability during its
first four years. The inaugural 1946-47 campaign yielded a 22-38
record and a last-place tie with the Toronto Huskies in the BAA's
Eastern Division. Connie Simmons, a 6-8 center, led the Celtics in
scoring with 10.3 points per game.
The team fared slightly better the following year, managing to
make the playoffs with a 20-28 record. Appearing in their first
postseason contest, the Celtics lost Game 1 to the Chicago Stags,
but they came back to beat the Stags, 81-77, on March 31, 1948, to
claim the franchise's first-ever playoff win. Their playoff hopes
were short-lived, however, as the Stags eliminated the Celtics two
nights later.
For the 1948-49 campaign Brown hired a new coach, Alvin "Doggie"
Julian, who had guided Holy Cross to an NCAA Championship the year
before. But the results were pretty much the same. Boston's roster
was populated with little-remembered players such as Gene Stump,
Dutch Garfinkel, and Hank Beenders, just 3 of the 18 cagers who
wore Celtics Green that season. The club finished out of the
playoffs with a 25-35 mark.
The BAA merged with the rival National Basketball League prior
to the 1949-50 season. The new league, christened the National
Basketball Association, fielded 17 teams. Julian was back at
Boston's helm for a second year, and the Celtics once again
finished out of the playoffs with a 22-46 record that earned them
the last-place spot in the Eastern Division.
1950-51: Celtics Become A Contender Almost Overnight
In 1950 a series of offseason events completely
transformed the Celtics. The NBA underwent a reorganization that
reduced the league to 11 teams, with the best players from the six
disbanded franchises distributed among the remaining teams. Boston
hit the jackpot not once but twice. When the St. Louis Bombers
folded, the New York Knicks tried to buy the franchise for $50,000
in order to acquire promising young center Ed Macauley. The league
blocked the sale, however, and awarded Macauley to Boston in an
effort to strengthen one of the weakest franchises in the circuit.
The second key acquisition was even more fortuitous. When the
Chicago Stags called it quits, the franchise's players were
distributed in a dispersal draft. Boston, New York, and
Philadelphia were allowed to choose between a trio of guards:
veterans Max Zaslofsky and Andy Phillip, and rookie Bob Cousy. None
of the teams wanted the rookie, so the three names were thrown into
a hat. Boston drew Cousy.
There were other new faces on the team as well. Red Auerbach,
who had led the Washington Capitols to the BAA Finals two years
earlier, took over as head coach. On April 25, 1950, the Boston
Celtics drafted Duquesne star Charles Cooper, the first black
player ever selected by an NBA team and one of three
African-Americans to enter the league that year. (Nat "Sweetwater"
Clifton went to the Knicks, and Earl Lloyd joined the
Capitols.)
Auerbach had serious doubts about Cousy, but the 6-1 Holy Cross
graduate instantly established himself as a star. No one had ever
seen anything like the behind-the-back dribbling and no-look passes
that Cousy brought to the game. In his 1950-51 debut season he
averaged 15.6 points and finished fourth in the league in assists
with 4.9 per game. Teammate Ed Macauley added 20.4 points and 9.1
rebounds per game, while Cooper contributed 9.3 points and 8.5
rebounds per contest.
Auerbach encouraged the Celtics to play an up-tempo,
fast-breaking game. The team led the league in assists in 1950-51
and ranked near the top in points per game. A 39-30 record was the
franchise's first above the .500 mark. But Boston was upset by New
York in the first round of the playoffs as the Knicks swept the
best-of-three series by an average of 14 points per game.
The Celtics made an important addition to their roster
during the offseason by acquiring sharp-shooting guard Bill
Sharman. Boston improved to 39-27 in the 1951-52 campaign, just one
game behind the first-place Syracuse Nationals in the Eastern
Division. Bob Cousy raised his numbers to 21.7 points and 6.7
assists per game, third and second in the NBA, respectively. The
postseason began with a rematch of the previous season's
Celtics-Knicks series. The teams split the first two games before
New York eliminated Boston with an overtime win in Game 3.
The 1952-53 season saw Boston, Syracuse, and New York battle for
the top spot in the Eastern Division. The Nats and the Knicks ended
the season tied with 47 wins, while the Celtics trailed by a single
victory. Behind Cousy, Macauley, and Sharman, Boston employed a
high-powered offense that paced the NBA in both points and assists.
However, the team was weak on defense, ranking near the bottom of
the circuit in points allowed.
Boston beat the Nationals in Game 1 of the Eastern Division
Semifinals. Game 2 was a four-overtime classic. Cousy scored 50
points, 30 of them from the foul line (the two teams combined for
107 fouls in the game), and the Celtics pulled out a 111-105
victory to claim the first playoff series win in franchise history.
The division finals pitted the Celtics against the Knicks, and once
again New York ended Boston's season, this time in four games.
Boston's 1953-54 season followed the same pattern as the year
before. The Celtics, Knicks, and Nationals fought it out for the
Eastern Division title, and the Knicks came out on top by a narrow
margin. Boston led the league in points per game, with Cousy,
Macauley, and Sharman all finishing among the NBA's top scorers.
Cousy also led the circuit with 7.2 assists per game. The club was
still weak defensively, however, and after surviving a round-robin
tournament in the first round of the playoffs, Boston fell to
Syracuse in the Eastern Division Finals.
During the offseason the Celtics picked up Frank
Ramsey, a 6-3 rookie from Kentucky who could play either guard or
forward. Coach Red Auerbach pioneered the sixth-man role the
following year by bringing Ramsey off the bench to provide instant
offense.
In 1954-55 the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to
average more than 100 points. The club made more field goals, sank
more free throws, and handed out more assists than any other team
in the league, but Boston also allowed opponents a record number of
points, giving up 101.5 per game. The result was a 36-36 record and
an early exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Syracuse
Nationals.
The Celtics' defensive woes continued during the 1955-56 season.
The team added rookie forward Jim Loscutoff, who provided some
much-needed muscle and toughness, but Boston was still an
offensively impressive and defensively suspect squad. Bob Cousy, Ed
Macauley, and Bill Sharman were all top-10 scorers, and the team
once again led the league in both points scored and points allowed.
Boston put together a 39-33 season, then fell in the first round of
the playoffs to Syracuse for the second straight year.
After six years of watching his team post decent regular-season
records before bowing out of the playoffs in the early rounds,
Auerbach decided that what he needed was a big man in the middle
who could provide the team with defense and rebounding. The ideal
player came into the 1956 Draft in the form of 6-10 Bill Russell, a
defensive standout who had carried the University of San Francisco
to consecutive unbeaten seasons.
Before the 1956 NBA Draft began, Boston made Tom
Heinsohn of Holy Cross a territorial pick. The territorial system
allowed a team to lay automatic claim to a local college player in
exchange for giving up its first-round draft position. Yet even
though the Celtics had forfeited their first-round pick, Auerbach
still had his sights set on Russell. He got his man when Boston
dealt Macauley and rookie Cliff Hagan to the St. Louis Hawks in
exchange for Russell, whom the Hawks had drafted at No. 2 (behind
Sihugo Green).
In the second round Auerbach drafted K. C. Jones. Although Jones
couldn't join the Celtics for two years because of military
service, Auerbach had assembled all the pieces for what was to
become the most dominating franchise in the history of American
professional sports.
Because Russell was busy helping the U.S. Olympic Team to a gold
medal in Melbourne, Australia, he didn't join the Celtics until
late December. Auerbach added some veterans to the club, including
34-year-old guard Andy Phillip, 32-year-old center Arnie Risen, and
30-year-old forward Jack Nichols. The team was already 16-8 when
Russell played his first NBA game on December 22, 1956.
Russell instantly revolutionized the game. His ability to block
shots or snare rebounds and then make quick outlet passes to Bob
Cousy triggered the Celtics' fast break and turned Boston into an
unstoppable force. With a solid rookie season from Heinsohn (who
averaged 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds) and additional help on the
boards from Loscutoff (10.4 rpg), plus an enviable backcourt tandem
of Cousy and Bill Sharman (both of whom averaged better than 20
points), Boston became the best team in the league virtually
overnight. At season's end, Cousy was named the NBA's Most Valuable
Player, and Heinsohn won the league's Rookie of the Year Award.
The Celtics reached the 1957 Playoffs with a
league-best 44-28 record. They advanced through the early rounds to
face the St. Louis Hawks in the 1957 NBA Finals. Boston was heavily
favored, but the Hawks pulled off an upset in Game 1 with a 125-123
double-overtime win. The Celtics evened the series the following
night, and then the two teams split a pair of games in St. Louis.
After four games the series was tied at two apiece.
Boston won Game 5, 124-109, and was poised to take the
championship in Game 6 two nights later. But Hawks forward Cliff
Hagan tipped in a Bob Pettit miss at the buzzer to give St. Louis a
96-94 win, forcing a seventh and deciding game.
Game 7 ranks among the most memorable NBA games ever played. The
afternoon contest, the first to be seen by a large national
television audience, was a closely played affair. The Celtics had
the upper hand throughout most of the game, but the Hawks kept
battling back. Pettit sank a pair of free throws in the closing
seconds to send the game into overtime. Boston led by two points
late in the first extra period, but St. Louis forced another
overtime when the Hawks scored with just a few ticks left on the
clock. Jim Loscutoff sank a free throw in the final moments of the
second overtime to put the Celtics up by two points, and when
Pettit's buzzer-beater caromed off the rim, the Celtics had a
125-123 win and the franchise's first championship.
Boston tore through the league during the 1957-58 season. With
Bill Russell patrolling the middle, the guards were free to take
risks defensively, and the result was a team that offered breakneck
offense fueled by tenacious trapping defense. Boston posted the
best record in the league for the second year in a row, with Bob
Cousy the NBA's leading assists man and Russell the league's top
rebounder. Russell was named NBA Most Valuable Player, the first of
five such honors he would receive in his illustrious career. The
1958 NBA Finals was a rematch between Boston and St. Louis. As in
the previous year, the series was tied after four games. Russell
had suffered an ankle injury in Game 3, but when the Hawks pulled
out a two-point win in Game 5 he was forced to make an appearance
in Game 6, even though the sore ankle left him with very little
mobility. The injury rendered Russell ineffective, and the Hawks'
Bob Pettit poured in 50 points to give St. Louis a 110-109 victory
and the championship.
1958-59: Celtics Get Another Jones And Another Title
Boston only got better when the next season rolled
around. K. C. Jones joined the team after a two-year stint in the
Army, and second-year player Sam Jones was blossoming into a solid
contributor. The Celtics posted a 52-20 mark in 1958-59 and led the
NBA in field goals made, rebounds, assists, and points per game.
Cousy paced the circuit in assists (6.8 apg), and Russell led the
league in rebounds (23.0 rpg).
Boston faced a surprisingly troublesome Syracuse team in the
Eastern Division Finals. The Nationals' roster included veteran
players George Yardley, Dolph Schayes, and Larry Costello, plus a
promising young guard in Hal Greer. The series went the distance
before the Celtics prevailed in Game 7, 130-125.
Instead of the anticipated renewal of the St. Louis-Boston
rivalry in the NBA Finals, the Celtics faced the upstart
Minneapolis Lakers, a young team riding on the heroics of rookie
star Elgin Baylor. The Lakers were no match for the Celtics,
however, and Boston swept the series to reclaim the
championship.
1959-62: Wilt Arrives, But Celtics Prove That Five Stars Are
Better Than One
The Celtics' success continued in the following season.
Each of the five starters-Frank Ramsey, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell,
Bill Sharman, and Bob Cousy-averaged better than 15 points, and
Auerbach had a bench that included Sam Jones, K. C. Jones, and Gene
Conley, who was an All-Star pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies
in the offseason. The 1959-60 Celtics reeled off a 17-game winning
streak on their way to winning the division title by 10 games.
The Eastern Division Finals featured a matchup between rookie
sensation Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors and Russell
of the Celtics. Chamberlain had turned the league upside down,
averaging 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds during the regular season
and claiming the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. But even a
superstar wasn't enough to defeat the formidable Celtics, as Boston
prevailed in six games.
Boston's victory set up a Hawks-Celtics Finals for the third
time in four years. The 1960 matchup saw the two teams split the
first four games once again. Boston whipped St. Louis by 25 points
in Game 5, but the Hawks responded with a three-point win in Game
6. In the seventh and deciding game at Boston Garden the Celtics
pulled out all the stops-Russell snared 35 rebounds, and Boston
repeated as champions by virtue of a 122-103 victory.
The club marched to another Eastern Division crown in the
1960-61 season. The roster was basically the same, although Bill
Sharman saw a little less time when Sam Jones moved into the
starting lineup and K. C. Jones took over as the Celtics' sixth
man. The results were almost identical to the season before, as the
team chalked up 57 wins.
That year's playoff run proved to be the Celtics' easiest to
date-Boston lost only two games on the way to a third straight
championship. Facing St. Louis in the Finals yet again, the Celtics
dashed any hopes of a Hawks upset by winning the first two games by
an average of 21 points. The Hawks staved off a sweep with a win in
Game 3, but that was all they would get-Boston took the next two
games to win the series. In postseason honors, Russell claimed his
second NBA Most Valuable Player Award.
When the 1961-62 season got underway there was a new
professional circuit, the American Basketball League. Bill Sharman
ended his career with the Celtics to become head coach of the new
league's Los Angeles franchise. Otherwise, it was business as usual
for "the Team in Green." Bob Cousy averaged 15.7 points and 7.8
assists, while Russell pulled down 23.6 rebounds per game and
became the league's first repeat MVP. Second-year player Thomas
"Satch" Sanders snared 9.5 rebounds per contest at one forward
position, while Tom Heinsohn matched Sanders's rebounding numbers
and added 22.1 points per game at the other. Frank Ramsey
contributed 15.3 points per contest off the bench. The Celtics
became the first team in NBA history to win 60 games in a season.
They finished with their sixth consecutive Eastern Division title,
besting Philadelphia by 11 games.
If the previous year's playoffs had been a cakewalk, the 1962
postseason was like running a gauntlet for the Celtics. Wilt
Chamberlain had averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds for the
Philadelphia Warriors that year, and he gave the Celtics all they
could handle in the Eastern Division Finals. With the series tied
at three games apiece, the teams battled it out in a closely played
Game 7. Sam Jones hit a basket with two seconds remaining and the
Celtics held on to win, 109-107.
Boston faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Elgin
Baylor had powered Los Angeles to a 54-26 record during the regular
season, and after he scored 61 points in Game 5 the Lakers led the
series, three games to two. But the Celtics weren't ready to give
up the throne, beating the Lakers, 119-105, in Game 6. In Game 7,
after the fourth period ended with the game tied at 100, Boston
pulled ahead in overtime to beat Los Angeles, 110-107. The Celtics
had now won a record four straight championships and five in the
previous six seasons.
As the 1962-63 campaign began, Bob Cousy, at age 34,
announced that the season would be his last. It was clear that
Boston was ready for the future, however, when rookie John Havlicek
joined the Celtics as the team's first-round draft pick. Boston
also added 33-year-old Clyde Lovellette, an experienced center who
could provide solid backup for Bill Russell. The season went
according to form. Boston posted a 58-22 mark and won the Eastern
Division by 10 games, and Russell won his third straight MVP Award.
The Cincinnati Royals gave the Celtics a bit of a scare in the
division finals, thanks to the brilliant play of Oscar Robertson.
After surviving a seven-game matchup with the Royals, Boston moved
on to the NBA Finals and dispatched the Lakers in six
games.
The big question for the Celtics as the 1963-64
campaign rolled around was how the loss of Cousy would affect the
team. For years aficionados of the game had debated whether it was
Cousy or Russell who provided the foundation for the Celtics'
dynasty. Russell answered the question by leading the club to a
59-win season.
Yet as important as Russell's contributions were, Boston
prospered by virtue of a total team effort. The guard tandem of Sam
Jones and K. C. Jones offered the perfect balance of scoring and
defense, while Tom Heinsohn and Satch Sanders anchored the forward
positions. The team's highest scorer didn't even start-Havlicek
came off the bench to average 19.9 points. Boston waltzed through
postseason play to a sixth straight championship, ousting the
Cincinnati Royals in five games and then defeating Wilt Chamberlain
and the San Francisco Warriors in the title series.
Owner Walter Brown passed away before the 1964-65 season. Brown,
one of the founding fathers of modern professional basketball, had
owned the Celtics since starting the team in 1946. The club
dedicated its season to him and kicked it off with 11 straight
victories. Overall, Boston won 62 games and ended the regular
season with a 14-game cushion over second-place Cincinnati.
Boston faced the Philadelphia 76ers (formerly the Syracuse
Nationals) in the opening round of the playoffs. Philadelphia had
established itself as a contender with the acquisition of Wilt
Chamberlain from San Francisco midway through the season. The teams
traded victories, with Boston winning Games 1, 3, and 5 and
Philadelphia claiming Games 2, 4, and 6.
Holding a seven-point lead with 2:00 left in Game 7, Boston
appeared to have the contest in hand, but then Chamberlain scored
six quick points to pull the 76ers within one at 110-109. With five
seconds left, Russell inbounded the ball with a pass that hit a
wire supporting the basket, and possession went to Philadelphia.
But when the Sixers' Hal Greer threw the ball in to Chet Walker,
John Havlicek stepped in and snatched the pass, inciting announcer
Johnny Most's legendary shouts of "Havlicek stole the ball!
Havlicek stole the ball!"
By comparison, Boston's NBA Finals matchup with Los Angeles
seemed anticlimactic. The Lakers were playing without the injured
Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West by himself was no match for the
Celtics. Boston won Game 1 by 32 points and Game 5 by 34. In
between, the Celtics lost only once as they earned their seventh
consecutive championship. Red Auerbach was named NBA Coach of the
Year.
The following season marked the beginning of a
transitional period for the Celtics. Tom Heinsohn retired before
the 1965-66 campaign, and three of the team's five starters-Sam
Jones, K. C. Jones, and Bill Russell-were more than 30 years old
and nearing retirement. Midway through the year Auerbach announced
that it would be his final campaign as the team's head coach. (The
following season he assumed the post of general manager for the
club.)
After a season-long battle for the Eastern Division crown, the
Philadelphia 76ers won 18 of their final 21 games. They posted a
55-25 record to edge the Celtics by a single game, ending Boston's
10-year reign as the top team in the East.
The second-place finish meant that the Celtics had to get past
Cincinnati in the first round of the playoffs in order to face the
76ers in the Eastern Division Finals. Boston lost two of the first
three games to the Royals, then took the final two to advance.
Seasoned by the tough five-game series, the Celtics sliced right
through the 76ers in the second round, losing only one game.
The 1966 NBA Finals once again pitted Los Angeles against
Boston. After the Lakers' surprise overtime victory in Game 1,
Auerbach announced that the team would be coached the following
year by none other than Bill Russell, a move that inspired the club
to win the next three games. Los Angeles managed to extend the
series with a victory in Game 6, but the Celtics finished off the
Lakers in Game 7, 95-93. Auerbach stepped down as coach with an
unprecedented record of eight consecutive championships.
Auerbach's retirement as coach coincided with the
emergence of the 76ers as the powerhouse of the NBA. The 1966-67
Philadelphia club steamrolled through the league behind Wilt
Chamberlain, Hal Greer, Chet Walker, and Billy Cunningham, at one
point posting a 45-4 record en route to a season mark of 68-13.
Boston actually improved under player-coach Russell. General
Manager Auerbach added a pair of veterans in Bailey Howell and
Wayne Embry. Russell piloted the team to 60 wins, good for a
second-place finish behind Philadelphia. After ousting the New York
Knicks in the division semifinals, the Celtics earned a shot at the
76ers in the Eastern Division Finals. Philadelphia won the first
three games and then smashed the Celtics in Game 5 to take the
series. That defeat ended the most impressive championship streak
in American sports history. It was the first time in 10 seasons
that the Celtics had failed to reach the NBA Finals, and it ended a
string of eight straight NBA titles.
The Celtics' dynasty seemed to be on the wane. The club took the
floor at the start of the 1967-68 season with an aging lineup. K.
C. Jones had retired during the offseason, but Russell rallied the
team. After the Celtics posted a 54-28 record during the regular
season to finish eight games behind the 76ers, the two teams
squared off in the Eastern Division Finals for the fourth straight
season.
Heavily favored Philadelphia jumped out to lead the series after
four games, but Boston rallied to take the next two contests. Game
7 was a thriller. The Celtics were holding a two-point lead with
less than a minute to play when Russell took over the game-sinking
a free throw, blocking a shot, grabbing a rebound, and then dishing
out an assist to secure the victory. Once again the Celtics were on
their way to the championship round, in which they beat the Los
Angeles Lakers in six games. Boston had captured its ninth title in
10 years.
As the 1968-69 season began the Celtics seemed to have lost
their spark. Sam Jones was now 35 years old, Russell 34. The team
won 48 games, its lowest win total since the 1956-57 campaign when
it played a 72-game schedule. Once again, however, Boston turned on
the magic during the playoffs, making short work of the 76ers in
the division semifinals and then outlasting the Knicks in the
Eastern Division Finals.
Boston moved on to face Los Angeles in the NBA Finals. It was
the sixth time in eight years that the two teams had butted heads
for the right to wear the crown, and the Celtics had yet to lose.
But the Lakers, featuring Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin
Baylor, entered the series as the favorites and took the first two
games. Boston won Game 3 and then eked out a win in Game 4 when Sam
Jones hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Celtics an 89-88
victory. The teams split the next two contests. In Game 7, played
at The Forum in Los Angeles, the Celtics built a 17-point
fourth-quarter lead, then held off a Lakers rally to win the
championship by two points, 108-106.
The following season the inevitable finally occurred:
Bill Russell retired after having won 11 championships in 13 years.
Sam Jones's retirement was a loss to the team as well. Although the
Celtics had a promising youngster in rookie guard Jo Jo White, a
journeyman fourth-year 7-footer named Henry Finkel didn't exactly
fill the gap that Russell left in the middle. The 1969-70 Celtics,
under new head coach Tom Heinsohn, went 34-48 and finished out of
the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. The dynasty was
officially dead.
The Celtics made wholesale changes before the 1970-71 campaign.
Their new center was 6-9 rookie Dave Cowens. John Havlicek and
nine-year veteran Don Nelson occupied the forward positions, and
Don Chaney and Jo Jo White, a pair of 24-year-olds, provided both
defense and scoring at the guard positions. The Celtics improved to
44-38 but finished out of the playoffs for the second year in a
row. Cowens shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Portland's
Geoff Petrie, marking the only time two players have tied for the
award.
It didn't take the Celtics long to return to contention.
Fielding the same lineup for the 1971-72 season, they climbed all
the way back to the top spot in the Atlantic Division with a 56-26
record. Havlicek was now Boston's undisputed star. He finished
third in the league in scoring (27.5 ppg) and fifth in assists (7.5
apg). Cowens snared 15.2 rebounds per game to rank fifth in the
NBA. But the team was not yet ready to make a convincing playoff
run-Boston survived a six-game conference semifinal series against
Atlanta, then fell to the New York Knicks in the conference
finals.
The 1972-73 Celtics put together a remarkable regular season.
The only change on the court was the addition of Paul Silas, a
solid rebounder who came to Boston from the Phoenix Suns. Havlicek
had another fine year (23.8 ppg), but Cowens emerged as the engine
that drove the team, earning NBA Most Valuable Player honors by
averaging 20.5 points and 16.2 rebounds.
The team looked much like the Celtics of legend-a fast-breaking
club that could outrun, outrebound, and outpass any opponent.
Boston finished the regular season with a 68-14 record, just one
victory shy of the NBA's all-time win mark. Still, the club wasn't
quite championship caliber. The 1973 Playoffs were a repeat of the
previous postseason, as Boston got by Atlanta in the conference
semifinals before losing to the Knicks in the next round.
It had taken only a couple of years for the Celtics to become a
balanced, seasoned team, and they were hungry for a championship.
The lineup stayed the same for the 1973-74 campaign-John Havlicek,
Paul Silas, and Dave Cowens up front, Don Chaney and Jo Jo White in
the backcourt. Don Nelson and Paul Westphal provided support off
the bench. After placing first in the Atlantic Division with a
56-26 record, Boston eliminated the young Buffalo Braves and then
got past the Knicks easily in an Eastern Conference Finals
matchup.
The NBA Finals saw the Celtics face off against Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar and the Milwaukee Bucks. It was one of the greatest
Finals in NBA history. The teams split the first four games, and
after the Celtics won Game 5 in Milwaukee they headed back to
Boston leading three games to two, with a chance to claim the title
on their home court. But the Bucks won Game 6 when Abdul-Jabbar
nestled in a hook shot with three seconds left in the game's second
overtime, and the series returned to Milwaukee. Cowens was the hero
in Game 7, scoring 28 points as the Celtics brought the title back
to Boston for the first time in five years.
The Celtics used the same formula in the 1974-75 season to claim
another Atlantic Division crown. With an emphasis on team balance,
Boston continued to win without a giant in the middle. The team
showed its depth by playing well even after losing Cowens to a
broken foot halfway through the season. When he returned the club
cruised to a 60-22 record. In the playoffs, however, Boston was
ousted by the Washington Bullets (who had also posted a 60-22 mark)
in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics lost Don Chaney to the American Basketball
Association before the 1975-76 season. To fill the gap in the
backcourt they traded Paul Westphal to Phoenix for Charlie Scott,
who had averaged more than 20 points in each of the previous three
seasons. Despite an uncharacteristically weak bench, the Celtics
finished in first place in their division with a 54-28 record,
second best in the league. Boston earned a shot at another NBA
title by defeating Buffalo and then the Cleveland Cavaliers in the
playoffs.
Boston's opponents in the NBA Finals were the Phoenix Suns, who
had posted a 42-40 regular-season record. The Team in Green was the
oddsmakers' choice in the contest. The Celtics took the first two
games at Boston Garden, but the Suns came right back to win Games 3
and 4 on their home court. Game 5 ranks among the all-time
thrillers in NBA history. The Suns trailed by five points with less
than a minute left on the clock, but Westphal made up the deficit
almost single-handedly, sending the game into a first overtime
period, which ended in a tie.
John Havlicek's basket with two seconds remaining in double
overtime gave the Celtics a one-point lead, which Boston stretched
to two points after sinking a technical foul shot. Then the Suns'
Garfield Heard hit a last-second basket to send the contest into a
third overtime. The longest game in NBA Finals history finally
ended, after three extra periods, with the Celtics winning,
128-126. Two days later Boston captured yet another NBA
championship, the 13th in franchise history.
After owning the top spot in the Atlantic Division for
five years running, the Celtics entered a short period of decline
with the 1976-77 season. John Havlicek, at age 36, was slowing
down. Bad luck also played a role, as Charlie Scott missed almost
half the season with a broken arm and Dave Cowens took a two-month
leave of absence for personal reasons. Boston had an entirely new
frontcourt in Sidney Wicks (acquired from the Portland Trail
Blazers) and Curtis Rowe (who came from the Detroit Pistons in a
three-way trade that sent Paul Silas to the Denver Nuggets); both
players struggled with the new system.
The Celtics finished in second place with a 44-38 record. After
bouncing San Antonio with a two-game sweep in a first-round series,
Boston was eliminated by the Philadelphia 76ers in a seven-game
conference semifinal matchup.
The 1977-78 campaign was a total failure. After an 11-23 start
Head Coach Tom Heinsohn was replaced by former Celtics player Satch
Sanders. Partway through the season Boston sent Charlie Scott to
Los Angeles for Don Chaney and Kermit Washington (who had spent 60
days on the suspended list after seriously injuring the Houston
Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich in an early-season fight). Adding to the
team's woes, Jo Jo White missed 36 games with a broken foot.
Ultimately, Boston won only 32 games, the team's lowest total since
the 1949-50 season.
Prior to the 1978-79 campaign the Celtics were involved
in an unusual deal that saw owner Irv Levin, a California
businessman who was very unpopular in Boston, trade franchises with
John Y. Brown, owner of the struggling Buffalo Braves. Levin was
anxious to own a club that played in his home state, and the NBA
let him take the Braves to San Diego, where they became the
Clippers.
The deal included a complicated seven-player trade in which
Boston acquired Nate Archibald, Billy Knight, Marvin Barnes, and
two future draft choices and San Diego received Freeman Williams
(who was the Celtics' first-round selection in the 1978 NBA Draft),
backup center Kevin Kunnert, and power forwards Kermit Washington
and Sidney Wicks. Most importantly, Boston retained the draft
rights to Larry Bird, although he didn't join the Celtics until the
following year.
For all the wheeling and dealing, the Celtics had a dreadful
season. John Havlicek had retired, and the Celtics won only 2 of
their first 14 games, prompting the dismissal of Coach Sanders.
Dave Cowens was named player-coach but he couldn't do much to
improve the team, and the Celtics finished in the Atlantic Division
cellar with a 29-53 record.
Boston went from worst to first the following season.
The catalyst for the turnaround was Bird. Red Auerbach had waited
patiently while Bird returned to Indiana State for the 1978-79
season to lead the Sycamores to the NCAA title game, which they
lost to Michigan State and Earvin "Magic" Johnson. When Bird and
Johnson entered the league together for the 1979-80 season (Johnson
with the Los Angeles Lakers), it marked the beginning of an era of
unprecedented popularity for the NBA.
Although Johnson came away with an NBA championship in his first
pro season, Bird earned NBA Rookie of the Year honors after putting
up stellar first-year numbers: 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.5
assists per game. Out of the ashes of the previous two seasons, the
Celtics emerged with a solid core of players. Third-year veteran
Cedric Maxwell teamed up with Bird in the frontcourt, and Cowens
continued to patrol the middle. The guards were Chris Ford, who had
come to the Celtics the season before from Detroit, and Nate "Tiny"
Archibald, who shook off injuries that had slowed him the previous
three years to finish second in the league in assists with 8.4 per
game.
After winning only 29 games the season before, the Celtics
roared back in 1979-80 to post a 61-21 record. The 32-game
improvement was a league record (later surpassed by San Antonio in
1989-90), and new coach Bill Fitch was named NBA Coach of the Year.
Back in the playoffs after a two-year hiatus, Boston swept Houston
in the conference semifinals before losing to Philadelphia in the
Eastern Conference Finals.
The prelude to the 1980-81 season brought big changes
for the franchise. The Celtics owned the No. 1 pick in the 1980 NBA
Draft, which they sent with the No. 13 pick to the Golden State
Warriors for Robert Parish and the No. 3 selection. Boston then
used the No. 3 pick to select Kevin McHale. Later, in training
camp, Dave Cowens stunned the club by announcing his retirement.
Even without Cowens, however, the Celtics had all the pieces in
place: Bird, Maxwell, and Parish up front; Ford and Archibald at
the guard positions; and a deep bench that included McHale, Gerald
Henderson, Rick Robey, and M. L. Carr. Boston and Philadelphia
battled all season for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, and
the Celtics' win over the 76ers on the final day gave them the
title with a 62-20 record.
The two teams faced off in the Eastern Conference Finals. Behind
Julius Erving, Philadelphia took the lead after four games, but
Boston evened the series with back-to-back two-point wins in Games
5 and 6. Bird nailed a jump shot late in Game 7 to give the Celtics
a 91-90 victory and a trip to the Finals.
Boston faced an upstart Houston squad in the Finals. The
Rockets, who had finished the regular season with a 40-42 record,
had somehow emerged victorious from the Western Conference. Behind
center Moses Malone, Houston put up a surprisingly tough fight, but
the Celtics came away with yet another championship banner.
By Boston's standards, the next two seasons were
disappointing. The Celtics won 63 games during the 1981-82 season,
but they lost the chance to repeat as champions when they were
eliminated by the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The next
year saw them slip to second place in the Atlantic Division behind
Philadelphia and then stumble out of the playoffs at the hands of
the Milwaukee Bucks, who swept the Celtics in the Eastern
Conference Semifinals.
The team's playoff failures and growing dissension among the
players cost Bill Fitch his coaching job. Red Auerbach brought in
K. C. Jones to stabilize the club for the 1983-84 season. Jones
left the frontcourt of Larry Bird, Cedric Maxwell, and Robert
Parish intact, but he remade the backcourt, bringing over Dennis
Johnson from Phoenix and moving Gerald Henderson into the starting
lineup. Kevin McHale provided instant offense off the bench.
The Celtics won 62 games during the regular season. Bird won the
first of three consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, and
McHale won the first of two straight NBA Sixth Man Awards. With the
first-round bye privilege eliminated from the playoffs, Boston
downed Washington, New York, and Milwaukee to earn the right to
play the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 NBA Finals.
Los Angeles rolled into the Finals with an 11-3 postseason
record and beat Boston handily in Game 1. A last-second steal and
layup by Gerald Henderson put the Celtics into overtime in the next
contest, and they came away with a 124-121 victory. After a
drubbing in Game 3, Boston eked out yet another overtime win in
Game 4 to even the series at two games apiece. The teams then
traded wins in Games 5 and 6. The Celtics had never lost a seventh
game in the NBA Finals, and Los Angeles was unable to break the
string. Boston triumphed in Game 7, 111-102.
K. C. Jones did some tinkering with his powerful team
during the offseason, sending Gerald Henderson to the Seattle
SuperSonics and installing Danny Ainge in the starting lineup. Bird
continued to get better, raising his scoring average to 28.7 points
and winning a second straight MVP Award. McHale contributed 19.8
points per game and won the Sixth Man Award, also for the second
consecutive year. The entire 1984-85 regular season seemed to be a
prelude to a rematch of the previous year's Finals, as Boston
powered its way to 63 wins and Los Angeles notched 62 victories.
Neither team was challenged in the first three rounds of the
playoffs.
The Boston-Los Angeles matchup in the NBA Finals marked the
ninth time that the two teams had squared off in the championship
round. In each of the eight previous encounters the Celtics had
come away winners. After a 148-114 victory in Game 1-a contest
tagged "the Memorial Day Massacre"-Boston looked like a sure bet to
chalk up a ninth triumph. But Los Angeles fought back behind the
awesome play of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and took four of the next five
games to finally wrest the crown away from the Celtics.
1985-86: Bird Soars To Third MVP Award; Celtics Sail To NBA
Title
If there was any doubt that Larry Bird deserved to be
ranked among the greatest players in basketball history, he
dispelled it with a masterful 1985-86 season. Bird did everything
that year, finishing fourth in the league in points (25.8 ppg),
seventh in rebounds (9.8 rpg), and ninth in steals (2.02 per game).
He led the league in free throw percentage (.896) and finished
fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.423). He also led his
team in assists with 6.8 per game. Bird's stellar numbers earned
him a third consecutive MVP Award. Only two other players had
claimed Most Valuable Player honors three years running: Bill
Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
Bird wasn't the only Boston player to have a good year. Kevin
McHale averaged 21.3 points, and the Celtics got a good performance
out of Bill Walton, newly acquired from the Clippers, who
resurrected an injury-plagued career by appearing in 80 games and
contributing 7.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Walton earned
the NBA Sixth Man Award at season's end. Boston rode roughshod over
the league, then lost only one game in the first three rounds of
the playoffs. Los Angeles had been stunned by Houston in the
Western Conference Finals, so the Celtics found themselves facing
the Rockets in the 1986 NBA Finals. Despite Houston's "Twin
Towers," Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, Boston took the series
in six games. It was the club's 16th NBA title.
Boston owned the No. 2 pick in the 1986 NBA Draft and
took forward Len Bias, a promising young player from Maryland. Two
days later Bias died from a cocaine overdose. The selection of Bias
had been designed to rejuvenate an aging Celtics lineup. Injuries
to key bench players forced Coach K. C. Jones to rely almost
exclusively on his starters in 1986-87. By the time the playoffs
rolled around, the wear and tear was beginning to take its toll.
Larry Bird, however, provided one of the greatest moments in
playoff history in the conference finals against Detroit. The
Pistons had a one-point lead and possession of the ball with five
seconds left in the pivotal Game 5 at Boston Garden. Bird stole an
inbounds pass from Isiah Thomas and fed Dennis Johnson for a layup
and a shocking victory. Detroit won Game 6, but the Celtics
prevailed in Game 7, 117-114, to advance.
After surviving their duel with the Pistons, Boston faced the
Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals for the third time in four
seasons. The Lakers' "Showtime" offense was firing on all
cylinders, however, and Los Angeles took the series in six
games.
The Celtics team that took the floor for the 1987-88 season was
not a youthful squad. Only Danny Ainge was younger than 30; Robert
Parish was already 34, and Dennis Johnson was 33. Age didn't seem
to slow the team much during the regular season, however. Larry
Bird just missed breaking the 30-point barrier by scoring 29.9
points per game. Kevin McHale kicked in 22.6 points per game, and
Johnson handed out 7.8 assists per contest. Boston's 57-25 record
gave the team a 19-game margin of victory over Washington and New
York in the Atlantic Division, but the Celtics were no match for a
strong young Detroit Pistons team in the Eastern Conference Finals,
and they bowed out after a hard-fought six-game series.
A period of decline had set in, and Coach K. C. Jones
gave way to Jimmy Rodgers before the 1988-89 campaign. The Celtics'
slim hopes of a good season slipped away when, after only six
games, Bird opted for surgery to remove painful bone spurs from his
feet. The Celtics had averaged 61 wins a season in his nine years
with the team; they fell to 42 victories without their star and
were swept in the first round of the playoffs by Detroit. The one
bright spot for Boston was the emergence of second-year forward
Reggie Lewis. In his rookie year he had averaged just 4.5 points in
8.3 minutes per game, but in his second season Lewis filled in
admirably for the missing Bird, scoring 18.5 points per contest.
Bird was back and healthy for the 1989-90 season, but the
Celtics lost guard Brian Shaw, who left the team to play in Italy.
At age 36 Robert Parish continued to perform at a high level,
averaging 15.7 points and 10.1 rebounds. The club showed a 10-game
improvement over the previous season, finishing second to
Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division with a 52-30 record. Facing
the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs, Boston
jumped out to a two-games-to-none lead after running up 157 points
in Game 2. But the Celtics couldn't keep up with New York and
Patrick Ewing, and the Knicks eliminated them with three straight
victories.
Chris Ford took over the coaching reins prior to the 1990-91
season. He installed a running offense that was triggered by the
return of Shaw, who, together with Reggie Lewis, gave the Celtics a
pair of athletic young speedsters in the backcourt. The team had
rookie guard Dee Brown coming off the bench as well. Boston zoomed
out to a 29-5 record but struggled through the second half of the
season when Larry Bird developed back problems. The slump carried
over into the playoffs, in which Indiana and Chuck Person took
Boston to the limit in the first round. The Celtics advanced, but
they fell to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference
Semifinals.
Ford somehow coaxed a first-place finish out of his 1991-92
team. It was an improbable feat, as Bird, Brown, and Kevin McHale
all missed a considerable number of games because of injuries.
Lewis emerged as the team's leader, averaging 20.8 points and
driving the Celtics to 15 wins in the season's final 16 games.
Boston and New York finished with identical 51-31 records, but the
Celtics owned the tie-breaking advantage and claimed the division
title.
The Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the
postseason but were bounced by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the
conference semifinals. Bird managed to play in only four playoff
games.
After playing for the United States Dream Team at the
1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, Larry Bird finally
succumbed to his back problems and retired just before the 1992-93
season. One of the greatest careers in NBA history had come to a
close. In his 13 seasons, Bird had scored 21,791 points and had
earned three Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA championships,
12 All-Star selections, nine All-NBA First Team selections, and the
NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
More importantly, Bird had fanned the flames of a cross-country
rivalry between the Lakers and the Celtics that boosted the NBA's
popularity. The three NBA Finals battles between Bird's Celtics and
Magic Johnson's Lakers will be remembered as among the greatest
championship series ever played. Bird's all-around talents, clutch
play, and ability to inspire the players around him were considered
by many to be unsurpassed in NBA history.
1992-93: Disappointment On The Court, Tragedy Off Of It
Prior to the 1992-93 season the Celtics picked up
Xavier McDaniel as a free agent from New York. But with Bird gone,
Robert Parish nearly 40 years old, and 35-year-old Kevin McHale
playing on sore ankles, it looked like a long season for the club.
The team started slowly, dropping 8 of its first 10 games. A loss
in the final contest of 1992 gave the Celtics a 12-17 record. After
the new year, however, they played inspired basketball, going 36-17
the rest of the way to finish with a 48-34 record, a remarkable
performance given the circumstances.
The playoffs, however, were a disappointment. The Celtics faced
the Charlotte Hornets, the second of the four recent expansion
teams to make the playoffs, and the Hornets eliminated Boston in
four games. In Game 1 of the series Reggie Lewis collapsed on the
court. He was later diagnosed with arrhythmia (an irregular
heartbeat), a condition that brought tragic results in the
offseason. On July 27, 1993, while shooting baskets at Brandeis
University in Boston, the 27-year-old Lewis collapsed again. He was
found by paramedics in complete cardiac arrest and died shortly
thereafter.
Reggie Lewis's death and the retirement of Kevin McHale
led to the Celtics' worst season since 1978-79, the year before
Larry Bird's debut in the NBA. The 1993-94 Celtics finished 32-50
and out of the playoffs.
Rookie Dino Radja offered some promise. The 6-11 forward from
Croatia ranked second on the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and earned
a berth on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. He became the sixth
rookie in Celtics history to amass 1,000 points, joining Bird, Bob
Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Dave Cowens, and John Havlicek. Dee Brown led
Boston with 15.5 points per game, and Sherman Douglas ranked
seventh in the league in assists with 8.8 per game.
The offseason brought the end of an era when Robert Parish left
the team to sign with the Charlotte Hornets as a free agent. Parish
was the last remaining member of the Celtics' 1986 championship
team. Boston did some maneuvering of its own, naming former Celtics
player M. L. Carr as general manager and signing free agents
Dominique Wilkins and Pervis Ellison prior to the 1994-95
season.
In their final season at Boston Garden, the Celtics
went on a season-ending tear to grab the eighth and final playoff
spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston eventually lost to the
Orlando Magic in four games in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite making it into the postseason, Boston finished the regular
season at 35-47 and 22 games out of first place.
The 1994-95 campaign may have been the year that Boston's young
backcourt came of age. Sherman Douglas missed 17 games with an
injury but played well in the season's second half, finishing with
averages of 14.7 points and 6.9 assists per game. Guard Dee Brown
put up career numbers, averaging 15.6 points while playing more
minutes than any Celtics teammate.
First-round draft choice Eric Montross acquitted himself well,
earning a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. The ninth overall
selection in the 1994 NBA Draft, Montross started at center and
averaged 10.0 points and 7.3 rebounds for the season. He shot .534
from the floor to rank 13th in the league and tops among first-year
players. The Celtics also received big performances from forwards
Dominique Wilkins (17.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and Dino Radja (17.2 ppg, 8.7
rpg). Wilkins, who came into the season with a career average of
26.5 points per game, posted his lowest scoring numbers to
date.
At season's end the Celtics relieved Chris Ford of his coaching
duties. In five years at the helm, Ford had compiled a 222-188
record.
The Celtics started 1995-96 with a new coach (former
player M.L. Carr) and a new home (the brand new FleetCenter). On
the court, though, it was pretty much the same old story as the
Celtics compiled their third straight losing season. It marked the
first time since 1946-50 that the Celtics had suffered as many as
three consecutive losing seasons.
They did have some highlights on the way to a 33-49 season. In
December, the Celtics reeled off six straight wins, and on April 4,
Boston overcame a 19-point deficit to upset the Magic in Orlando,
100-98. That snapped the Magic's string of 51 straight wins at home
against Eastern Conference opponents.
Individual highlights included an NBA record by guard Dana
Barros, who sank at least one three-point field goal in 89 straight
games before the New York Knicks stopped him on January 12. Dino
Radja was the most prolific Celtic, averaging 19.7 points and 9.8
rebounds per contest before his season was cut short by an ankle
sprain on February 28 vs. Charlotte.
Guard David Wesley picked up the late-season scoring slack,
averaging 18.1 points in March and leading Boston to an 8-8 record,
its first .500 month of the season. Eric Williams, showed promise
in his rookie season, averaging 10.7 ppg and earning a berth in the
Rookie Game at All-Star Weekend.
1996-97: C's Endure Painful Year; Then Land Pitino
The 1996-97 Boston Celtics made history in their 50th
NBA season, but they will not boast of the 471 games missed to
injury, the most in the 11 years that statistic has been kept.
Literally and figuratively, it was a painful year for the Celtics,
who hobbled to a franchise-worst 15-67 record.
Rookie Antoine Walker and forward Eric Williams were bright
spots during a season in which five other key players (Frank
Brickowski, Dee Brown, Dana Barros, Dino Radja and Greg Minor) were
each limited to fewer than 30 games with injuries.
Walker's scoring average of 17.5 ppg was third among all NBA
rookies. He became only the seventh Celtics rookie to score 1,000
points. Williams, meanwhile, averaged 15 ppg and continued to show
promise at forward. Rick Fox and David Wesley finished among the
top 10 in steals, and Fox set a team single season steals record
with 167, surpassing the 166 snared by Larry Bird during the
1995-96 season.
Fox and Wesley were among 10 free agents who left the Celtics
after the season. That was not the most sweeping change within the
organization. That occurred when Rick Pitino was installed as the
Celtics' head coach and president. Pitino, who led the University
of Kentucky to a national championship in 1995, was called on by
the Celtics to restore the franchise to the dominance it had
enjoyed for many of its first 50 years in the NBA.
With the luxury of the third and sixth overall picks in the 1997
draft, Pitino tabbed point guard Chauncey Billups and forward Ron
Mercer (who played for Pitino at Kentucky) to lead the team into
the new era. M.L. Carr, who endured two rebuilding seasons behind
the bench, moved to the front office to become the Director of
Corporate Development.
When Rick Pitino became head coach and president of the
Boston Celtics in 1997, he made a promise to the storied franchise
and its many fans to work even harder than Coach (Red) Auerbach to
bring back this organization to the championship level.
If year one was any indication, the Celtics are clearly on the
right track. Boston made an emphatic statement with a 92-85 victory
over the defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls on opening day, and
finished the season at 36-46, a21-game improvement over the
previous season.
The Celtics' opening day roster was the youngest and least
experienced in the NBA this season, but didn't play like it. The
Celtics led the NBA in forced turnovers (20.56 pg) and also ranked
first in steals per game (12.0 spg). Like their charismatic coach,
the Celtics had a strong work ethic and bounced back from several
losing steaks throughout the year. Their enthusiasm was evident in
Antoine Walker, the team's young star.
The 21-year-old was Boston's leading scorer and rebounder with
22.4 ppg (5th in the NBA) and 10.2 rpg (7th), He scored 49 points
at Washington on January 7, tying the record for most points scored
by a Celtic in the 1990's, and was the first Celtic to participate
in the All-Star Game since 1992.
Rookie Ron Mercer (who like Walker and forward Walter McCarty
played for Pitino at Kentucky) had a strong first season and proved
he can both score and defend in the NBA. He ranked second on the
team in scoring at 15.3 ppg and had his biggest game against
Houston on March 19 with career highs in points (31) and steals
(6).
In February, Pitino delivered a first-rate point guard to
complement the skills of his young forwards. In a seven-player
trade with the Toronto Raptors, Boston sent guards Chauncey Billups
and Dee Brown, forward John Thomas and center Roy Rogers to Toronto
in exchange for veteran playmaker Kenny Anderson, forward Popeye
Jones and center Zan Tabak. Though slowed by injury, Anderson led
the Celtics to an 8-8 record in his 16 games with Boston.
Even the team's luck got an overhaul. One year after losing the
Tim Duncan sweepstakes in the 1997 Draft, the Celtics nabbed
highly-touted Paul Pierce with the 10th pick in the 1998 Draft.
Pierce, a projected top three pick, somehow fell into Boston's lap,
giving fans cause for continued optimism in 1998-99.
When Paul Pierce was still available at the 10th pick
of the 1998 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics did a double-take--and
then jumped all over the junior from Kansas.
Pierce burst from the gates and was named Rookie of the Month in
February, the first month of the lockout-shortened season. He
didn't slow down, averaging 16.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.71
steals for the year.
Pierce, a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie First Team,
teamed with Antoine Walker (18.7 ppg) and Ron Mercer (17.0 ppg) to
form a high-scoring trio. The Celtics, however, still had their
struggles and finished 19-31.
The Celtics landed a new starting center on March 11 when they
acquired Vitaly Potapenko from Cleveland for Andrew DeClerq and a
first-round pick. Potapenko averaged 10.8 points and 7.2 rebounds
in 33 games with Boston.
Celtics fans started to get a glimpse of the promise and leadership of their top two young stars, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce, as the dynamic duo finish the regular season 1-2 in seven of the team's statistical categories. Walker paced the team averaging 20.5 points per game, while Pierce was right on his heels averaging 19.5 points per game. Walker, along with veteran point guard Kenny Anderson, were the only two players to start and play in all 82 regular season games. The hard-working and durable Co-captain Walker was the lone Celtics player to log more than 3,000 minutes (3,003) during the season.
Boston became known for quick hands and opportunistic play as they led the NBA in steals per game (795), an average of 9.7 steals per contest. Pierce became the leader on the team in this department and he would conclude the season second-best in the league (152), an average of 2.08 per game.
The Celtics finished the campaign with a 35-47 record and a 5th place position in the Atlantic Division.
The Green and White took care of business on their FleetCenter home court as they posted a respectable home record of 26-15 (the most wins at home in a season at the FleetCenter), but struggled on the road compiling a 9-32 mark away from home. Boston captured nine of their last 13 games at home, which also qualified as their best home record since the 1992-93 team finished 28-13 at home.
2000-2001: The Two Twenty-something Stars Take Over; O'Brien Takes Over For Pitino
Led by two twenty-year old stars, Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce, they both finish the 2000-2001 season averaging over twenty+ points per game. What a way to start a new century, as Pierce leads the Green and White with a 25.3 points per game average (his career-best and 8th-best in the NBA) and Walker supported his teammate following up with an average of 23.4 points per contest (11th-best in the league). Pierce was also the lone Celtics player to start and play in all 82 games; however Walker started and played in every game he appeared (81). He missed his first game since 5/1/99 to attend a funeral, snapping a streak of 129 consecutive games played.
Pierce became the first Celtics player to score 2,000 points (2,071) since Larry Bird (2,275) completed the feat in the 1987-88 season. He also set a team record for free throws attempted in a season (738), eclipsing the mark set by Cedric Maxwell (716) in the 1978-79 campaign. For the month of March, Pierce received league-wide recognition being named the NBA Player of the Month, averaging 30.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.60 steals for the month.
Walker set the team record for three-point field goals made (221) and attempted (603) in a season, as well as leading the entire NBA in both categories. The Celtics co-captain was the only player in the league to finish in the top 20 in points (23.4), rebounds (8.9), assists (5.5) and steals (1.70) per game. He finished first on the team and ranked third in the NBA in minutes per game (41.9).
The dynamic duo of Pierce and Walker combined to average 48.7 points per game, second to only the Los Angeles Lakers tandem of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who combined to average 57.2 points per outing.
On January 8th, Jim O'Brien was named Interim Head Coach succeeding Rick Pitino (who had resigned). The record stood at 12-22 when O'Brien took the helm. but after he recorded his first NBA victory on January 10th, O'Brien led the Green and White to a .500 record over the last 48 games of the season. With this all-around success, O'Brien was named Head Coach on April 24th, making him just the 14th man to hold the prestigious title in team history.
2001-2002: Celtics post first 40-win season in a decade; Pierce and Walker Continue to Dominate
The Celtics, under the direction of Head Coach Jim O'Brien, posted the team's first 40-win season (49-33) since the 1991-92 campaign when Chris Ford lead the Green and White to 51-31 record. With a 22-19 road record, it marked the team's winningest road campaign since the 1989-90 season, a team that also won 22 games. The year also featured Boston making a strong return to the NBA Playoffs (first time since the 1994-95 season) and posting a 9-7 slate, before bowing to the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals. A key trade with the Phoenix Suns on February 20th, in which Boston received Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk in exchange for Randy Brown, Joe Johnson, Milt Palacio and a conditional 2002 first round draft pick, helped propel the Celtics season down the stretch drive.
As has been the case in the previous few seasons, the co-captains Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker led Boston. Pierce, the only player to start and appear in all 82 games, became the first Celtic in team history to finish as the league leader in total points scored (2,144). He also became the first Celtics player since Larry Bird to score 2,000 points in consecutive seasons (Bird tallied 2,000 points four straight years from 1985-88).
Walker, who started and appeared in 81 games (missed one game due to injury), finished the season as one of only four players in the NBA to average 20+ points (22.1), 7+ rebounds (8.0) and 5+ assists (5.0). For the second consecutive year, he led the league in three-pointers made (222) and attempted (645). Walker and Pierce were deservingly named the NBA's Eastern Conference Co-Players of the Month for January. Both players also represented Boston on the NBA's Eastern Conference All-Star Team.
This team also boasted two important traits. The Celtics ranked fifth in the league in fewest turnovers per game, less than 14 times per game. In fact, the Celtics finished with the fewest turnovers (1,114) of any Celtics team since 1973-74. The other fact was this team finished the year first in the NBA in steals per game (9.67).
2002-2003: New Ownership, Pierce and Walker Both Average 20+ Points Per Game For Third Straight Season and Team Returns To Post-Season Play
As the calendar made the turn from 2002 to 2003, the Boston Celtics franchise received new ownership. Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C., led by H. Irving Grousbeck, Wycliffe Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca, Robert Epstein and David Epstein, completed the purchase of the team from Paul Gaston on December 31, 2002. Gaston had owned the team since 1992. The new ownership became the first local owners since 1964, when Walter Brown owned the legendary organization until his death.
For the third consecutive season, co-captains Paul Pierce (25.9 points per game) and Antoine Walker (20.1 points per game) average more than 20 points per outing and led the team to their second straight 40+-win season (44-38). It marked the first time the Celtics have won 40 or more games in consecutive seasons in a decade (since 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons). Despite the scoring heroics of both players, playing time added up as Walker logged 3,235 minutes (41.5 per game-4th highest in the NBA) and Pierce played in 3,096 minutes (an average of 39.2 per game). Pierce became just the second Celtics player to record three straight 2,000-point seasons (2,048); Larry Bird recorded four straight from 1984-87. Pierce and Walker combined for 47.6% of the team's points in 2002-03 and both players were named the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of Week on two different occasions during the regular season. The co-captains were both named to the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team. Pierce ranked first in the NBA and broke the franchise record in free throws made and attempted, shooting 604-for-753 (80.2%) and he was a member of the United States 2002 World Championship team.
The Celtics ranked 4th in the NBA in steals per game with an average of 8.78 per contest, while they took care of the basketball, ranking 7th in turnovers per game (13.99 per game). The Celtics used the three-point line to their advantage as well, leading the NBA in three point field goals made and attempted, shooting 719-for-2, 155 (.33.4%). The 2002-03 Celtics now hold the NBA record for three's attempted in a season, as they surpassed the Dallas Mavericks 2,039 treys attempted in the 1995-96 season.
The Green and White were one of sixteen teams to make the NBA Playoffs. Boston defeated the Indiana Pacers in the First Round however were stopped, for the second consecutive year, by the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
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