Boston Celtics Top Draft Picks, Year by Year

Year	#	Pick	School	WS
1947	3	Bulbs Ehlers	Purdue	3
1948	3	George Hauptfuhrer	Harvard U	N/A
1949	4	Tony Lavelli	Yale	4.7
1950	1	Chuck Share	Bowling Green	40.9
1951	7	Ernie Barrett	Kansas State	0.8
1952	6	Bob Stauffer	Missouri	N/A
1953	5	Frank Ramsey	Kentucky	49.2
1954	5	Togo Palazzi	Holy Cross	6.5
1955	3	Jim Loscutoff	Oregon	3.4
1956	T	Tom Heinsohn	Holy Cross	60
1957	8	Sam Jones	NC Central	92.3
1958	7	Bennie Swain	Texas Southern	1.9
1959	6	John Richter	NC State	0.4
1960	8	Tom Sanders	NYU	56.5
1961	9	Gary Phillips	Houston	2.3
1962	7	John Havlicek	Ohio State	131.7
1963	8	Bill Green	Colorado State	N/A
1964	7	Mel Counts	Oregon State	27.7
1965	8	Ollie Johnson	San Francisco	N/A
1966	8	Jim Barnett	Oregon	33.2
1967	11	Mal Graham	NYU	0.8
1968	12	Don Chaney	Houston	35.5
1969	9	Jo Jo White	Kansas	54
1970	4	Dave Cowens	Florida State	86.3
1971	10	Clarence Glover	Western Kentucky	0.3
1972	10	Paul Westphal	USC	67.7
1973	17	Steve Downing	Indiana	-0.2
1974	17	Glenn McDonald	Cal State Long Beach	1.1
1975	17	Tom Boswell	South Carolina	15.2
1976	16	Norm Cook	Kansas	-0.1
1977	12	Cedric Maxwell	UNC Charlotte	78.8
1978	6	Larry Bird	Indiana State U	145.8
1979	53	Wayne Kreklow	Drake U	-0.3
1980	3	Kevin McHale	Minnesota	113
1981	23	Charles Bradley	Wyoming	0.3
1982	23	Darren Tillis	Cleveland State U	0.9
1983	21	Greg Kite	BYU	5.6
1984	24	Michael Young	Houston	1.1
1985	20	Sam Vincent	Michigan State	10.9
1986	2	Len Bias	Maryland	N/A
1987	22	Reggie Lewis	Northeastern U	38.9
1988	24	Brian Shaw	UC Santa Barbara	23.8
1989	13	Michael Smith	BYU	1.4
1990	19	Dee Brown	Jacksonville U	33.4
1991	24	Rick Fox	UNC	44.7
1992	21	John Barry	Georgia Tech	37.2
1993	19	Acie Earl	Iowa	0.3
1994	9	Eric Montross	UNC	8.5
1995	14	Eric Williams	Providence	23.2
1996	6	Antoine Walker	Kentucky	38.1
1997	3	Chauncey Billups	Colorado	120.8
1998	10	Paul Pierce	Kansas	150
1999	55	Kris Clack	Texas	N/A
2000	11	Jerome Moiso	UCLA	2.1
2001	10	Joe Johnson	Arkansas	82.8
2002	50	Darius Songalia	Wake Forest	15.9
2003	16	Troy Bell	Boston C	-0.2
2004	15	Al Jefferson	High School	71
2005	18	Gerald Green	High School	18.4
2006	7	Randy Foye	Villanova	23.5
2007	5	Jeff Green	Georgetown	41.6
2008	30	J.R. Giddens	New Mexico	0.1
2009	58	Lester Hudson	U of Tennessee at Martin	0.2
2010	19	Avery Bradley	Texas	16.2
2011	25	MarShon Brooks	Providence	3.3
2012	21	Jared Sullinger	Ohio State	15.3
2013	16	Lucas Nogueira	Brazil	6
2014	6	Marcus Smart	Oklahoma State	20.3
2015	16	Terry Rozier	Louisville	12.9
2016	3	Jaylen Brown	California	13.5
2017	3	Jayson Tatum	Duke	18.3
2018	27	Robert Williams	Texas A&M	2.6
2019	14	Romeo Langford	Indiana	0.2

Revisiting NBA Finals MVPs, 1957-1969

The first NBA Finals MVP award went to Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1969. West was a great player, one of the best of his generation and probably a top ten all time guard. He had a great series against the Celtics, putting up an absurd 37.9 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 49% from the field and 83.9% at the line. The thing is, his team lost the series in seven games. Since then, a player from the losing team has never won a Finals MVP. That made me wonder, if the award went to someone from the winning team, who would that be? I then wondered who might’ve won it all the years before there was a Finals MVP. After all, the Celtics had won ten titles before the first one was awarded. To determine who the winners should’ve been(in my opinion), I looked at every player who played for a championship team who averaged at least thirty minutes per game in the series and compared their stats. For that reason, I only looked at the Finals starting in 1957, because most earlier series didn’t have surviving statistics on minutes per game.

1957: Tom Heinsohn, age 22, power forward, Boston Celtics

1957 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	20.7	6.7	9.1	31.8	83.1
Tom Heinsohn	24	12.6	2.1	40.4	70.8
Bill Russell	13.3	22.9	3.3	35.6	48.8
Bill Sharman	21.9	3.7	3	37.3	95.9

Tommy Heinsohn had a great year in 1956-57, winning Rookie of the Year, making the All Star game, and winning an NBA championship. Had he won Finals MVP, he probably would’ve been the only player in NBA history to do all four in one season. Magic Johnson won a title and Finals MVP as a rookie in 1980, but Rookie of the Year went to Larry Bird. I went with Tommy for ‘57 because he led the team in scoring on relatively good efficiency and put up impressive rebounding numbers. Russell was as usual way ahead of everybody in rebounding, but wasn’t lighting it up in other areas. Cousy’s points and assists are impressive, but his field goal percentage was downright bad.

1958: Bob Pettit, age 25, power forward, St. Louis Hawks

1958 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Cliff Hagan	25.2	9.7	3.5	44.2	86.8
Slater Martin	12.2	4.5	3.3	31.9	65.9
Jack McMahon	8.3	3.3	4.2	42	53.3
Bob Pettit	29.3	17	2.2	42.3	75.9

Big Bob Pettit was dominant in the only Finals victory in the history of the Hawks franchise, be it in St. Louis or elsewhere. His scoring and rebounding led the team, and his shooting wasn’t bad either by the standards of the day. Cliff Hagan was impressive as well, but only had Pettit decisively beat in free throw shooting, which I consider the least important category.

1959: Tom Heinsohn, age 24, power forward, Boston Celtics

1959 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	16.8	8	12.8	30.8	61.3
Tom Heinsohn	24.3	8.8	3	47.5	80.8
Frank Ramsey	22.5	5.8	2.5	47.1	86.7
Bill Russell	9.3	29.5	5.3	31.6	44.8

I have Heinsohn again for 1959, as he led the Celtics in points and field goal percentage and averaged nearly nine rebounds. Frank Ramsey’s stats were close though, but he only has Tommy beat in free throw percentage.

1960: Bill Russell, age 26, center, Boston Celtics

1960 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	14.4	3.7	10	31.1	82.6
Tom Heinsohn	22.4	9.7	2.1	42.3	61
Frank Ramsey	18.4	7.3	1	48	81.6
Bill Russell	16.7	24.9	3	47.1	68.5

1960 was a tough one, but I decided to go with Bill Russell for the first of six times. He was way ahead of everyone in rebounding, but also put up nearly 17 points on pretty good shooting and averaged more assists than Heinsohn or Ramsey. Russell’s free throw shooting still wasn’t great, but it was much improved compared to 1957 and ‘59. Heinsohn would probably just edge out Ramsey as my second choice, and both had a strong series.

1961: Bill Russell, age 27, center, Boston Celtics

1961 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	19.8	5	10.6	36	81.4
Frank Ramsey	15.2	5	2	39.7	81.5
Bill Russell	17.6	28.8	4.4	42.9	44.9

I had to break my own rule a little to make this one more interesting. The Celtics only played two guys for an average of thirty or more minutes this series, those being Russell and Cousy, and Ramsey only played 29.6 minutes. I went with Russell again for this year due to his rebounding, having the best shooting of the three, and the fact that he only averaged 2.2 points less than Cousy, who would’ve been my second choice.

1962: Bill Russell, age 28, center, Boston Celtics

1962 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	16.6	3.7	9.3	38.5	61.1
Tom Heinsohn	19.3	6.1	2.4	38.6	77.1
Sam Jones	22.1	6	3	50.7	73.1
Bill Russell	22.9	27	5.7	54.3	74.2
Tom Sanders	12.7	6.6	1.6	50.7	93.8

1962 was a real no-doubter for Russell, as he led the team in points, rebounds and shooting and was pretty good from the line as well. His nearly six assists were also impressive for a big man, especially in that era. Sam Jones was their second best player, but it wasn’t that close.

1963: Bill Russell, age 29, center, Boston Celtics

1963 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Bob Cousy	12.2	2.7	8.5	33.3	78.6
Tom Heinsohn	23.3	9.2	1.3	41.2	74.4
Sam Jones	24.7	7.3	3.2	45.2	87.2
Bill Russell	20	26	5.3	46.7	69.2
Tom Sanders	13.5	9.7	1.3	48.6	68.4

I gave Russell his fourth straight for ‘63, although you could make a case for Sam Jones, as well. Jones averaged 4.7 more points and was the much better free throw shooter, but Russell’s higher rebounding, assist, and field goal percentage numbers outweigh that for me.

1964: Sam Jones, age 30, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1964 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Tom Heinsohn	15	8.8	2.2	35.4	77.3
K.C. Jones	6.4	2.6	6.6	34.3	57.1
Sam Jones	21.2	4.4	2.8	55.6	70.3
Bill Russell	11.2	25.2	5	38.6	48
Tom Sanders	10.2	6.2	0.2	38.8	72.2

This year I handed it over to the sometimes overlooked and underrated Sam Jones, who not only outscored Russell by ten points a game, but shot the ball extremely well from the field and was much better at the line. Russell is certainly my second choice, but Jones’ high and efficient scoring outweighs Russell’s rebounding and passing for me this time.

1965: Bill Russell, age 31, center, Boston Celtics

1965 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
John Havlicek	18.2	5.6	2.2	39.1	86.4
K.C. Jones	11.4	2.6	6.6	46	78.6
Sam Jones	27.8	4.8	2.6	47	87.9
Bill Russell	17.8	25	5.8	70.2	57.5
Tom Sanders	13.8	8.8	2	39.1	68.2

This was another of Russell’s best finals, and his 70.2% from the field is an absolute outlier. His rebounding was superb as always, his scoring was up from the year before, and he averaged 0.8 assists less than the leader, K.C. Jones. Sam Jones would’ve been my second choice, and his 27.8 points is very impressive, as is his free throw shooting.

1966: Bill Russell, 32, center, Boston Celtics

1966 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
John Havlicek	23	10	4	42.7	89.2
K.C. Jones	7.3	3.1	4.4	37.7	72.2
Sam Jones	22.9	6.4	3.3	40.6	88.9
Bill Russell	23.6	24.3	3.7	53.8	74
Tom Sanders	14.7	6.4	1.9	48.8	84

1966 might’ve been the best of all of Russell’s twelve Finals appearances. He put up basically 24, 24 and 4 on good shooting, both from the field and at the line. It was a strong showing for John Havlicek as well, but nobody was even close to eclipsing Russell’s impact in this one.

1967: Wilt Chamberlain, 30, center, Philadelphia 76ers

1967 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Wilt Chamberlain	17.7	28.5	6.8	56	30.6
Billy Cunningham	19.7	5.7	3	44.9	53.7
Hal Greer	26	8	6.2	39.9	82.6
Luke Jackson	9.2	12.5	1.8	36.8	61.9
Wali Jones	20.2	3.5	5.3	45.5	75
Chet Walker	23.3	8.8	3.3	45.1	77.4

This year was a change of pace, as finally a team besides the Celtics won it all. This is an easy choice, as Wilt led the team in rebounding, assists and field goal percentage, even if four of his teammates had more points. Wilt still scored plenty and very efficiently, and his teams always did better when he didn’t try to do everything. For my second choice, I’d probably go with Chet Walker.

1968: John Havlicek, 28, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1968 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
John Havlicek	27.3	8.7	6.7	42.1	88.5
Bailey Howell	21	7.5	1.2	56.7	72.7
Sam Jones	17.5	3.2	2.8	43.6	85
Bill Russell	17.3	21.8	5.7	43	60
Larry Siegfried	15.5	3	4	41.3	84.4

This was a tough choice, but I went with Havlicek. There’s a case to be made for Russell with his insane rebounding and strong passing and scoring, but I think Havlicek edges him out. He averaged ten more points, one more assist, shot much better at the line, had a nearly equal field goal percentage and rebounded better than anyone but Russell. Bailey Howell had a nice series as well.

1969: John Havlicek, 29, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1969 Finals	PTS	TRB	AST	FG%	FT%
Em Bryant	11	5	2.7	40.3	88.2
John Havlicek	28.3	11	4.4	45.7	84.7
Sam Jones	18.7	3.6	2.3	47.1	82.6
Bill Russell	9.1	21.1	5.1	39.7	58.3

This was an easier decision in Havlicek’s favor. He was way ahead in points, not to mention the double digit rebounding, and he shot the ball pretty well, too. Russell’s rebounding was great as always, but his shooting and scoring were too low to consider giving him the award. Either Russell or Jones would be my second choice among the Celtics. So what about the real winner, Jerry West? Personally, I don’t have a huge problem with him getting it. It was the first ever Finals MVP, and the precedent hadn’t been set that it would always go to a player from the winning team, and statistically, West was the best player in that series. Still, it is slightly irritating to me that in any other year, one of the Celtics (probably John Havlicek) would’ve gotten the award and had it to add to their legacy.

A timeline of pro sports in Boston.

Still a work in progress.

The 1870s

April 22nd, 1876: The Boston Red Caps play their first game in the newly formed National League at South End Grounds. The team had played in the old National Association from 1871 to 1875, when they were known as the Boston Red Stockings.
September 29th, 1877: The Red Caps win the National League Championship.
September 30th, 1878: The Red Caps win the National League Championship.

The 1880s

May 1st, 1883: The Red Caps play their first game as the Beaneaters.
September 29th, 1883: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.

The 1890s

April 23rd, 1890: Kid Nichols plays his first game for the Beaneaters.
April 8th, 1891: The Boston Reds play their first game in the American Association.
October 3rd, 1891: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship
October 5th, 1891: The Reds win the American Association Championship. The Reds fold following the season after the league goes out of business.
October 24th, 1892: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship vs. the Cleveland Spiders five games to none, with one game ending in a tie.
September 30th, 1893: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.
October 17th, 1897: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.
October 15th, 1898: The Beaneaters win the National League Championship.

The 1900s

March 19th, 1901: Cy Young signs with the Boston Americans.
April 26th, 1901: The Boston Americans play their first game in the new American League.
December 1901: The Beaneaters trade Kid Nichols to the Western League’s Kansas City team.
October 13th, 1903: The Americans win the World Series vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates, five games to three.
October 10th, 1904: The Americans win the American League Pennant. Had there been a World Series that year, They would’ve faced the New York Giants, but the team’s ownership refused to play as they still saw the American League as a minor league, and already considered themselves baseball’s champions.
April 12th, 1907: The Beaneaters play their first game as the Doves.
April 14th, 1908: The Americans play their first game as the Red Sox.
February 13th, 1909: The Red Sox trade Cy Young to the Cleveland Indians.
April 16th, 1909: Harry Hooper plays his first Major League game in a 3-2 road loss to the Washington Senators.

The 1910s

April 12th, 1911: The Doves play their first game as the Rustlers.
April 20th, 1912: The Red Sox play their first game at Fenway Park, beating the New York Highlanders (now Yankees) 7-6 in 11 innings.
October 16th, 1912: The Red Sox win the World Series win the World Series vs. the New York Giants four games to three, with one game ending in a tie.
July 11th, 1914: Babe Ruth plays his first Major League game, pitching seven innings for the Red Sox in a 4-3 win vs. the Cleveland Indians.
October 13th, 1914: The Braves win the World Series vs. the Philadelphia Athletics in five games.
October 13th, 1915: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. The end of the series also marks Tris Speaker’s last game with the team.
October 12th, 1916: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Brooklyn Robins in five games.
September 11th, 1918: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Chicago Cubs in six games.
September 27th, 1919: Babe Ruth plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Senators.
December 26th, 1919: Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells Babe Ruth’s contract to the New York Yankees for $100,000. Ruth goes onto win four World Series in New York on top of the three he won in Boston.

The 1920s

September 28th, 1920: Harry Hooper plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 7-6 home loss to the Washington Senators.
March 21st, 1921: Harry Hooper is traded to the Chicago White Sox.
December 1st, 1924: The Boston Bruins play their first game in the NHL, defeating the Montreal Maroons 1-0. The game is played at their first home, Boston Arena, now known as Matthews Arena.
November 16th, 1926: Eddie Shore makes his NHL debut in a 4-1 home win vs. the Montreal Canadiens.
April 13th, 1927: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Ottawa Senators two games to none, with two games ending in ties.
November 15th, 1927: Dit Clapper makes his NHL debut in a 1-1 tie at home vs. the Chicago Blackhawks.
November 15th, 1928: Tiny Thompson makes his NHL debut in a 1-0 road win vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates.
November 28th, 1928: The Bruins play their first game at the new Boston Garden, losing to the Montreal Canadiens, 1-0.
March 29th, 1929: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the New York Rangers four goals to one in a two game series.

The 1930s

April 3rd, 1930: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens, two games to none.
October 2nd, 1932: The Boston Braves play their first NFL game at Braves Field. They lose 14-0 to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
September 17th, 1933: The Braves (NFL) play their first game as the Redskins.
December 12th, 1933: The Red Sox acquire Lefty Grove in a trade with the Philadelphia Athletics.
April 15th, 1936: The Braves play their first game as the Bees.
December 13th, 1936: The Redskins lose the NFL Championship to the Green Bay Packers, 21-6. It turns out to be their last game as the Boston Redskins, and they re-locate to Washington, DC the following year.
April 20th, 1937: Bobby Doerr makes his Major Leauge debut in an 11-5 road win vs. the Philadelphia Athletics.
November 3rd, 1938: Frank Brimsek plays his first NHL game in a 3-2 road win vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs.
November 27th, 1938: Tiny Thompson plays his last game with the Bruins in an 8-2 home win vs. the New York Americans. He’s traded the following day to the Detroit Red Wings.
April 5th, 1939: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games.
April 20th, 1939: Ted Williams plays his first game for the Red Sox in a 2-0 road loss to the New York Yankees.
December 5th, 1939: Eddie Shore plays his last game as a Bruin in a 2-1 home win vs. the New York Americans. Shore is traded to the Americans on the following January 25th.

The 1940s

April 15th, 1941: The Bees play their first game after changing their name back to the Braves.
April 4th, 1941: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the Detroit Red Wings in four games.
April 19th, 1942: Warren Spahn plays his first Major League game for the Braves in a 5-2 home loss to the New York Giants. Spahn doesn’t play regularly for the Braves until 1946 due to his World War II military service.
September 28th, 1941: Ted Williams goes 2 for 3 in a 7-1 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics. Despite the loss, Williams ends the season with a batting average of .406. He’s the last hitter to finish the season with an average of over .400 to this day. The game was also Lefty Grove’s last in the Majors.
April 8th, 1943: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Detroit Red Wings in four games.
September 26th, 1944: The Boston Yanks play their first game in the NFL, losing 28-7 at home to the Philadelphia Eagles.
April 9th, 1946: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in four games.
November 2nd, 1946: The Boston Celtics play their first game in the new BAA, losing 59-53 to the Providence Steamrollers.
October 15th, 1946: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
January 12th, 1947: Dit Clapper plays his last NHL game in a 5-1 road loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
October 4th, 1948: After tying for the best record in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, The Red Sox lose a one game playoff to Cleveland 8-3. Had the Red Sox won, they would’ve played a subway series against the Braves.
October 11th, 1948: The Braves lose the World Series to the Cleveland Indians in six games.
December 5th, 1948: The Yanks play their last game in Boston before re-locating to become the New York Bulldogs the following season.
March 30th, 1949: Frank Brimsek plays his last game as a Bruin in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in game five of the Stanley Cup semifinals. He’s traded to the Chicago Blackhawks the following September 8th.
October 2nd, 1949: The Red Sox lose the last game of the season to the New York Yankees 5-3 on the road, clinching the AL Pennant for New York. Had the Red Sox won even one of the two games in that series, they would’ve gone to the World Series instead of the Yankees.

The 1950s

November 1st, 1950: Bob Cousy and Ed Macauley play their first Celtics game (which is Cousy’s first NBA game) in a 107-84 road loss to the Fort Wayne Pistons.
September 7th, 1951: Bobby Doerr plays his last Major League game in an 8-5 road win vs. the Philadelphia Athletics.
November 4th, 1951: Bill Sharman makes his Celtics debut in a 97-65 home win vs. the Indianapolis Olympians.
September 21st, 1952: The Braves play their last game at Braves Field, losing 8-2 to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
September 28th, 1952: The Braves play their last game before re-locating to Milwaukee the following season. They begin playing in their current home of Atlanta in 1966.
April 16th, 1953: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in four games.
March 21st, 1956: Ed Macauley plays his last game with the Celtics as they’re eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the Syracuse Nationals at home, 102-97.
December 22nd, 1956: Bill Russell plays his first game for the Celtics in a 95-93 home win vs. the St. Louis Hawks.
April 13th, 1957: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the St. Louis Hawks in seven games.
April 16th, 1957: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in five games.
September 29th, 1957: Ted Williams finishes the season with a .388 batting average at the age of 39.
October 12th, 1957: John Bucyk plays his first game with the Bruins in a 3-1 home win vs. the Chicago Blackhawks.
October 22nd, 1957: Sam Jones plays his first NBA game in a 115-90 win vs. the Atlanta Hawks.
April 12th, 1958: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the St. Louis Hawks in six games.
April 20th, 1958: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
April 9th, 1959: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Minneapolis Lakers in five games.
July 21st, 1959: Pumpsie Green becomes the first black player to play for the Red Sox in a 2-1 road loss to the Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox are the last team in the majors to field a black player.

The 1960s

April 9th, 1960: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the St. Louis Hawks in seven games.
September 9th, 1960: The Boston Patriots play their first game in the AFL, losing to the Denver Broncos 13-10 at home.
September 28th, 1960: Ted Williams plays his last Major League game in a 5-4 home win against the Baltimore Orioles. In his last at bat, Williams hits a solo home run.
April 11th, 1961: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the St. Louis Hawks in five games. The deciding game is also Bill Sharman’s last in the NBA.
April 11th, 1961: Carl Yastrzemski plays his first Major League game in a 5-2 home loss to the Kansas City Athletics.
April 18th, 1962: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
October 20th, 1962: John Havlicek plays his first NBA game in a 149-116 home win vs. the New York Knicks.
April 24th, 1963: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Game six is also Bob Cousy’s last as a Celtic and his last NBA game until briefly coming out of retirement for the Cincinnati Royals in 1969-70.
September 21st, 1963: Rico Petrocelli plays his first Major League game in a 13-4 home loss to the Minnesota Twins. He doesn’t begin playing for the Red Sox regularly until 1965.
January 5th, 1964: The Patriots lose the AFL Championship to the San Diego Chargers, 51-10.
April 26th 1964: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the San Francisco Warriors in five games.
April 25th, 1965: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
October 31st, 1965: Don Nelson plays his first game with the Celtics in a 105-100 home win vs. the Baltimore Bullets.
April 28th, 1966: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
October 19th, 1966: Bobby Orr plays his first NHL game in a 6-2 home win vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
October 11th, 1967: Phil Esposito plays his first game as a Bruin in a 4-4 tie at home vs. the Detroit Red Wings.
October 12th, 1967: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
May 2nd, 1968: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
May 5th, 1969: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. Bill Russell and Sam Jones retire following the series.
September 18th, 1969: Carlton Fisk plays his first Major League game in a 6-4 home loss to the Baltimore Orioles. He doesn’t begin playing for the Red Sox regularly though until 1972.

The 1970s

May 10th, 1970: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the St. Louis Blues in four games.
October 13th, 1970: Dave Cowens plays his first NBA game in a 114-107 road loss to the New York Knicks.
May 17th, 1971: Luis Tiant signs with the Red Sox.
September 19th, 1971: The Patriots play their first game as the New England Patriots. It’s also their first game at the new Foxboro Stadium, and they win 20-6 vs. the Oakland Raiders.
May 11th, 1972: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the New York Rangers in six games.
September 16th, 1972: Dwight Evans plays his first Major League game in a 10-0 home win vs. the Cleveland Indians.
May 19th, 1974: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
May 12th, 1974: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games.
August 19th, 1974: Jim Rice makes his Major League debut in a 6-1 home win vs. the Chicago White Sox.
October 22nd, 1975: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in seven games
November 5th, 1975: Phil Esposito plays his last game with the Bruins in a 4-0 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Two days later, he’s traded to the New York Rangers.
November 26th, 1975: Bobby Orr plays his last game for the Bruins in a 6-4 road win vs. the New York Rangers. He’s sidelined with knee injuries for the remainder of the season.
June 6th, 1976: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Phoenix Suns in six games. The clincher is also Don Nelson’s last NBA game.
June 24th, 1976: Bobby Orr signs with the Chicago Blackhawks.
September 14th, 1976: Rico Petrocelli plays his last Major League game in a 3-2 road loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
May 14th, 1977: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in four games.
April 9th, 1978: John Bucyk plays his last NHL game in a 5-2 home loss to the New York Islanders.
April 9th, 1978: John Havlicek plays his last NBA game in a 131-114 win vs. the Buffalo Braves.
May 25th, 1978: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Montreal Canadiens in six games.
October 1st, 1978: Luis Tiant pitches his last game for the Red Sox in a 5-0 home win vs. the Toronto Blue Jays.
October 2nd, 1978: After the Red Sox and Yankees tie for the lead in the American League’s Eastern Division, they play a one game playoff to break the tie at Fenway Park. The Yankees win the game 5-4 and and go on to win the World Series.
November 8th, 1978: Bobby Orr, now with the Chicago Blackhawks, announces his retirement from hockey.
November 13th, 1978: Luis Tiant signs with the New York Yankees.
May 10th, 1979: The Bruins take a too many men penalty with two and a half minutes left in game seven of the semifinals vs. the Canadiens in Montreal. The Habs tie the game on the power play and win in overtime. Had the Bruins held the lead, they would’ve advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals.
October 11th, 1979: Ray Bourque makes his NHL debut in 4-0 home win vs. the Winnipeg Jets.
October 12th, 1979: Larry Bird plays his first NBA game in a 114-106 home win vs. the Houston Rockets.
December 23rd, 1979: During a Bruins-Rangers game in New York, a fan assaults Bruins player Stan Jonathan and takes a hockey stick from the Bruins bench. This leads to most of the team climbing into the stands to fight with the fans. Three Bruins are suspended between six and eight games.

The 1980s

April 27th, 1980: Dave Cowens plays his last game as a Celtic as they’re eliminated from the Conference Finals by the Philadelphia 76ers at home in game five, 105-94. Cowens would return to play one more season in ’82-83 for the Milwaukee Bucks.
October 5th, 1980: Carlton Fisk plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 4-1 road loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
October 10th, 1980: Kevin McHale and Robert Parish play their first game with the Celtics (it’s McHale’s first in the NBA) in a 130-103 home win vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers.
March 18th, 1981: Carlton Fisk signs with the Chicago White Sox.
May 14th, 1981: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Houston Rockets in six games.
April 10th, 1982: Wade Boggs plays his first Major League game in a 5-3 road loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
October 2nd, 1983: Carl Yastrzemski plays his last game for the Red Sox in a 3-1 home win vs. the Cleveland Indians.
March 21st, 1984: NESN (the New England Sports Network) is launched.
May 15th, 1984: Roger Clemens plays in his first Major League game in a 7-5 road loss to the Cleveland Indians.
June 12th, 1984: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
June 9th, 1985: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
January 26th, 1986: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the Chicago Bears, 46-10.
June 8th, 1986: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Houston Rockets in six games.
June 19th, 1986: Two days after he’s drafted second overall by the Boston Celtics, University of Maryland star Len Bias dies of a cocaine overdose at the age of 22.
October 25th, 1986: The Red Sox lose game six of the World Series to the Mets in New York, allowing them to tie the series. The Red Sox had taken a two run lead into the bottom of the tenth and had the Mets down to their last out when they started to rally.
October 27th, 1986: The Red Sox lose the World Series to the New York Mets in seven games
June 14th, 1987: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
May 26th, 1988: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Edmonton Oilers in four games.
August 3rd, 1989: Jim Rice plays in his final Major League game in a 4-2 home loss to the Cleveland Indians.

The 1990s

May 24th, 1990: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.
October 4th, 1992: Wade Boggs plays his last game for the Red Sox in an 8-2 home win vs. the New York Yankees.
October 10th, 1990: Dwight Evans plays his last game with the Red Sox as they lose game four of the ALCS to the Oakland Athletics 3-1 in Oakland. He plays for the Baltimore Orioles the next season before retiring.
May 17th, 1992: Larry Bird plays his last NBA game as the Celtics are eliminated three games to one by the Cavaliers in Cleveland, 122-104.
December 15th, 1992: Wade Boggs signs with the New York Yankees.
May 5th, 1993: Kevin McHale plays his last NBA game as the Celtics are eliminated from the first round of the playoffs three games to one by the Hornets in Charlotte, 104-103.
July 27th, 1993: Celtics star Reggie Lewis goes into cardiac arrest and dies due to a congenital heart defect at the age of 27.
April 24th, 1994: Robert Parish plays his last game as a Celtics in a 117-91 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He signs with the Charlotte Hornets on August 4th.
May 5th, 1995: The Celtics play their last game at Boston Garden. They lose 95-92 to the Orlando Magic, eliminating them from the first round of the playoffs
May 14th, 1995: The Bruins play their last game at the Boston Garden, losing 3-2 to the eventual champion New Jersey Devils, eliminating them from the first round of the playoffs. It’s the last time a professional sporting even is hosted by the Garden.
October 7th, 1995: The Bruins play their first game at the new Fleet Center, tying the New York Islanders 4-4.
November 3rd, 1995: The Celtics play their first game at the Fleet Center, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 101-100.
August 31st, 1996: Nomar Garciaparra plays his first Major League game in an 8-0 road loss to the Oakland Athletics.
September 28th, 1996: Roger Clemens pitches his last game for the Red Sox in a 4-2 home loss to the New York Yankees.
December 13th, 1996: Roger Clemens signs with the Toronto Blue Jays.
January 26th, 1997: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers, 35-21.
April 13th, 1997: The Bruins finish the season with just 61 points and fail to make the playoffs for the first time since 1967.
April 1st, 1998: Pedro Martinez makes his Red Sox debut in a 2-0 road win vs. the Oakland Athletics.
February 5th, 1999: Paul Pierce plays an NBA game in a 103-92 home loss to the Toronto Raptors.

The 2000s

March 4th, 2000: Ray Bourque plays his last game with the Bruins in a 3-0 home loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Two days later, he’s traded to the Colorado Avalanche so he’d have a chance at winning a Stanley Cup.
September 3rd, 2000: Bill Belichick coaches his first game with the Patriots in a 21-16 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
November 23rd, 2000: Tom Brady plays his first NFL game in a 34-9 road loss to the Detroit Lions. Brady doesn’t play regularly until the 2001 season.
June 9th, 2001: Ray Bourque wins the Stanley Cup in his Final NHL game as a member of the Colorado Avalanche. They win the series in seven games vs. the New Jersey Devils.
January 19th, 2002: The Patriots play their last game at Foxboro Stadium, beating the Oakland Raiders 16-13 in the Divisional playoffs.
February 3rd, 2002: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the St. Louis Rams, 20-17.
September 9th, 2002: The Patriots play their first game at the new Gillette Stadium, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-14.
October 19th, 2002: Tim Thomas plays his first NHL game in a 4-3 road win vs. the Edmonton Oilers.
April 1st, 2003: David Ortiz plays his first game with the Red Sox in a 9-8 road win vs. the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
October 8th, 2003: Patrice Bergeron plays his first NHL game as the Bruins tie the New Jersey Devils 3-3 at home.
October 16th, 2003: The Red Sox lose game seven of the ALCS to the New York Yankees 6-5 in 11 innings. The Red Sox took a 5-2 lead into the bottom of the 8th, but the Yankees tied it after manager Grady Little agreed to leave Pedro Martinez in the game.
February 1st, 2004: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Carolina Panthers, 32-29.
July 28th, 2004: Nomar Garciaparra plays his last game with the Red Sox in a 4-1 road loss to the Baltimore Orioles. On the 31st, Garciaparra is traded to the Chicago Cubs as part of a four team deal.
October 20th, 2004: The Red Sox win the ALCS vs. the New York Yankees in seven games after being down three games to none. They become the first Major League team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a playoff series. The Red Sox win 10-3 in New York in game seven.
October 26th, 2004: Pedro Martinez pitches his last game with the Red Sox as they take game three of the World Series from the Cardinals in St. Louis by a score of 4-1. He signs with the New York Mets on December 17th.
October 27th, 2004: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the St. Louis Cardinals in four games. It’s their first championship since 1918.
February 6th, 2005: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21.
July 1st, 2005: The Fleet Center is re-named the TD Banknorth Garden.
August 22nd, 2006: Dustin Pedroia makes his Major League debut in a 4-3 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
October 6th, 2006: Zdeno Chara plays his first game with the Bruins in an 8-3 road loss to the Florida Panthers.
October 28th, 2007: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Colorado Rockies in four games.
November 20th, 2007: Tuukka Rask plays his first NHL game in a 4-2 road win vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs. He doesn’t play regularly for the Bruins until 2009-10.
February 3rd, 2008: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, 17-14.
June 17th, 2008: The Celtics win the NBA Finals vs. the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
July 2009: The TD Banknorth Garden is re-named simply TD Garden.

The 2010s

June 17th, 2010: The Celtics lose the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.
June 15th, 2011: The Bruins win the Stanley Cup vs. the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.
February 5th, 2012: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the New York Giants, 21-17.
April 25th, 2012: Tim Thomas plays his last game with the Bruins as they lose game seven of the first round of the playoffs 2-1 to the Capitals in Washington. He sits out the following season and is traded to the New York Islanders on February 7th, 2013.
May 3rd, 2013: Paul Pierce plays his final game with the Celtics as they lose the sixth game of the first round of the playoffs to the New York Knicks, 88-80.
June 24th, 2013: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
October 30th, 2013: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the St. Louis Cardinals in six games.
Mookie Betts plays in his first Major League game in an 8-5 road win vs. the New York Yankees.
February 1st, 2015: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24.
October 10th, 2016: David Ortiz plays his last Major League game as the Red Sox are eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Indians, who win the game 4-3.
February 5th, 2017: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28.
February 4th, 2018: The Patriots lose the Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles, 41-33.
October 28th, 2018: The Red Sox win the World Series vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
February 3rd, 2019: The Patriots win the Super Bowl vs. the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3.
June 12th, 2019: The Bruins lose the Stanley Cup to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.

Boston Celtics Championship teams ranked

This is a simple list ordered by each team’s total winning percentage. I made it to give myself some context about how great these teams were relative to each other, who the best players were on those teams, who coached them, who they had to beat to get that banner, and how good their opposition was.

#17: 1968-69
Regular Season: 48-34 (.585)
Playoffs: 12-6 (.667)
Total: 60-40 (.600)
Longest streak: 7 games
Coach: Bill Russell

Award Winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, 2^nd Team All-Defense, All Star
Bill Russell: 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Tom Sanders: 2^nd Team All-Defense

Leaders;
Points: John Havlicek (21.6), Bailey Howell (19.7), Sam Jones (16.3)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (19.3), Bailey Howell (8.8), John Havlicek (7)
Assists: John Havlicek (5.4), Bill Russell (4.9), Larry Siegfried (4.7)
Win shares: Bailey Howell (11.3), Bill Russell (10.9), Don Nelson (7.5)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-27 (4-1)
New York Knicks: 54-28 (4-2)
Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27 (4-3)

#16: 1956-57
Regular season: 44-28 (.611)
Playoffs: 7-3 (.700)
Total: 51-31 (.622)
Longest streak: 10 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: League MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star, All Star MVP
Tom Heinsohn: Rookie of the Year, All Star
Bill Sharman: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Bill Sharman (21.1), Bob Cousy (20.6), Tom Heinsohn (16.2)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (19.6), Jim Loscutoff (10.4), Tom Heinsohn (9.8)
Assists: Bob Cousy (7.5), Bill Sharman (3.5), Andy Phillip (2.5)
Win shares: Bill Sharman (10.4), Bob Cousy (8.8), Tom Heinsohn (7.1)

Playoff opponents;
Syracuse Nationals: 38-34 (3-0)
St. Louis Hawks: 34-38 (4-3)

#15: 1967-68
Regular season: 54-28 (.675)
Playoffs: 12-7 (.632)
Total: 66-35 (.653)
Longest streak: 7 games
Coach: Bill Russell

Award winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star

Leaders:
Points: Sam Jones (21.3), John Havlicek (20.7), Bailey Howell (19.8)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (18.6), Bailey Howell (9.8), John Havlicek (6.7)
Assists: John Havlicek (4.7), Larry Siegfried (4.7), Bill Russell (4.6)
Win Shares: Bailey Howell (10.1), Bill Russell (8.2), Sam Jones (7.7)

Playoff opponents;
Detroit Pistons: 40-42 (4-2)
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 52-30 (4-2)

#14: 1975-76
Regular Season: 54-28 (.659)
Playoffs: 12-6 (.667)
Total: 66-34 (.660)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: Tom Heinsohn

Award winners;
Dave Cowens: 2^nd Team All-NBA, 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Paul Silas: 1^st Team All-Defense
Jo Jo White: Finals MVP, All Star

Leaders;
Points: Dave Cowens (19), Jo Jo White (18.9), Charlie Scott (17.6)
Rebounds: Dave Cowens (16), Paul Silas (12.7), Charlie Scott (4.4)
Assists: Jo Jo White (5.4), Dave Cowens (4.2), Charlie Scott (4.2)
Steals: Jo Jo White (1.3), Charlie Scott (1.3), John Havlicek (1.3)
Blocks: Dave Cowens (0.9), John Havlicek (0.4), Paul Silas (0.4)
Win Shares: Dave Cowens (10.7), Jo Jo White (7.4), John Havlicek (7.4)

Playoff opponents;
Buffalo Braves: 46-36 (4-2)
Cleveland Cavaliers: 49-33 (4-2)
Phoenix Suns: 42-40 (4-2)

#13: 1965-66
Regular season: 54-26 (.675)
Playoffs: 11-6 (.647)
Total: 65-32 (.670)
Longest streak: 6 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Sam Jones (23.5), John Havlicek (18.8), Larry Siegfried (13.7)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (22.8), Tom Sanders (7.1), Mel Counts (6.4)
Assists: K.C. Jones (6.3), Bill Russell (4.8), Sam Jones (3.2)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (11.7), Sam Jones (10), K.C. Jones (6.6)

Playoff opponents:
Cincinnati Royals: 45-35 (3-2)
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25 (4-1)
Los Angeles Lakers: 45-35 (4-3)

#12: 1973-74
Regular season: 56-26 (.683)
Playoffs: 12-6 (.667)
Total: 68-32 (.680)
Longest streak: 12 games
Coach: Tom Heinsohn

Award winners;
Don Chaney: 1^st Team All-Defense
Dave Cowens: All Star
John Havlicek: Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, 1st Team All-Defense, All Star
Jo Jo White: All Star
Tom Heinsohn: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: John Havlicek (22.6), Dave Cowens (19), Jo Jo White (18.1)
Rebounds: Dave Cowens (15.7), Paul Silas (11.2), John Havlicek (6.4)
Assists: John Havlicek (5.9), Jo Jo White (5.5), Dave Cowens (4.4)
Steals: John Havlicek (1.3), Jo Jo White (1.3), Dave Cowens (1.2)
Blocks: Dave Cowens (1.3), Don Chaney (0.8), John Havlicek (0.4)
Win Shares: John Havlicek (9.7), Dave Cowens (9.3), Paul Silas (7.3)

Playoff opponents;
Buffalo Braves: 42-40 (4-2)
New York Knicks: 49-33 (4-1)
Milwaukee Bucks: 59-23 (4-3)

#11: 1962-63
Regular season: 58-22 (.725)
Playoffs: 8-5 (.615)
Total: 66-27 (.710)
Longest streak: 6 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
John Havlicek: 1^st Team All-Rookie
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star, All Star MVP
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Sam Jones (19.7), Tom Heinsohn (18.9), Bill Russell (16.8)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23.6), Tom Heinsohn (7.5), Tom Sanders (7.2)
Assists: Bob Cousy (6.8), Bill Russell (4.5), K.C. Jones (4)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (13.5), Sam Jones (9.6), Tom Sanders (6.8)

Playoff opponents;
Cincinnati Royals: 42-38 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 53-27 (4-2)

#10: 1958-59
Regular season: 52-20 (.722)
Playoffs: 8-3 (.727)
Total: 60-23 (.723)
Longest streak: 11 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Sharman: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Bill Sharman (20.4), Bob Cousy (20), Tom Heinsohn (18.8)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23), Tom Heinsohn (9.7), Jim Loscutoff (7)
Assists: Bob Cousy (8.6), Bill Russell (3.2), Tom Heinsohn (2.5)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (12.9), Bob Cousy (8.7), Bill Sharman (7.6)

Playoff opponents;
Syracuse Nationals: 35-37 (4-3)
Minneapolis Lakers: 33-39 (4-0)

#9: 1961-62
Regular season: 60-20 (.750)
Playoffs: 8-6 (.571)
Total: 68-26 (.723)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Tom Heinsohn (22.1), Bill Russell (18.9), Sam Jones (18.4)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23.6), Tom Heinsohn (9.5), Tom Sanders (9.5)
Assists: Bob Cousy (7.8), Bill Russell (4.5), K.C. Jones (4.3)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (15.5), Sam Jones (9.6), Tom Heinsohn (9.3)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 54-26 (4-3)

#8: 1960-61
Regular season: 57-22 (.722)
Playoffs: 8-2 (.800)
Total: 65-24 (.730)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star

Leaders;
Points: Tom Heinsohn (21.3), Bob Cousy (18.1), Bill Russell (16.9)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (23.9), Tom Heinsohn (9.9), Gene Conley (7.3)
Assists: Bob Cousy (7.7), Bill Russell (3.4), K.C. Jones (3.2)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (13), Sam Jones (8.1), Bob Cousy (7.2)

Playoff opponents;
Syracuse Nationals: 34-41 (4-1)
St. Louis Hawks: 51-28 (4-1)

#7: 1983-84
Regular season: 62-20 (.756)
Playoffs: 15-8 (.652)
Total: 77-28 (.733)
Longest streak: 9 games
Coach: K.C. Jones

Award winners;
Larry Bird: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, 2^nd Team All-Defense, All Star
Dennis Johnson: 2^nd Team All-Defense
Kevin McHale: 6^th Man of the Year, All Star
Robert Parish: All Star
K.C. Jones: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Larry Bird (24.2), Robert Parish (19), Kevin McHale (18.4)
Rebounds: Robert Parish (10.7), Larry Bird (10.1), Kevin McHale (7.4)
Assists: Larry Bird (6.6), Dennis Johnson (4.2), Gerald Henderson (3.8)
Steals: Larry Bird (1.8), Gerald Henderson (1.5), Dennis Johnson (1.2)
Blocks: Robert Parish (1.5), Kevin McHale (1.5), Larry Bird (0.9)
Win Shares: Larry Bird (13.6), Robert Parish (10.5), Kevin McHale (10.5)

Playoff opponents;
Washington Bullets: 35-47 (3-1)
New York Knicks: 47-35 (4-3)
Milwaukee Bucks: 50-32 (4-1)
Los Angeles Lakers: 54-28 (4-3)

#6: 1963-64
Regular season: 59-21 (.738)
Playoffs: 8-2 (.800)
Total: 67-23 (.744)
Longest streak: 8 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
John Havlicek: 2^nd Team All-NBA
Tom Heinsohn: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Sam Jones: All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: John Havlicek (19.9), Sam Jones (19.4), Tom Heinsohn (16.5)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (24.7), Tom Sanders (8.3), Tom Heinsohn (6.1)
Assists: K.C. Jones (5.1), Bill Russell (4.7), John Havlicek (3)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (17.3), Sam Jones (8.9), John Havlicek (7.7)

Playoff opponents;
Cincinnati Royals: 55-25 (4-1)
San Francisco Warriors: 48-32 (4-1)

#5: 1980-81
Regular season: 62-20 (.756)
Playoffs: 12-5 (.706)
Total: 74-25 (.747)
Longest streak: 13 games
Coach: Bill Fitch

Award winners;
Tiny Archibald: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star, All Star MVP
Larry Bird: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Cedric Maxwell: Finals MVP
Kevin McHale: 1^st Team All-Rookie
Robert Parish: All Star

Leaders;
Points: Larry Bird (21.2), Robert Parish (18.9), Cedric Maxwell (15.2)
Rebounds: Larry Bird (10.9), Robert Parish (9.5), Cedric Maxwell (6.5)
Assists: Tiny Archibald (7.7), Larry Bird (5.5), Chris Ford (3.6)
Steals: Larry Bird (2), Chris Ford (1.2), Cedric Maxwell (1)
Blocks: Robert Parish (2.6), Kevin McHale (1.8), Larry Bird (0.8)
Win Shares: Cedric Maxwell (11), Robert Parish (10.9), Larry Bird (10.8)

Playoff opponents;
Chicago Bulls: 45-37 (4-0)
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20 (4-3)
Houston Rockets: 40-42 (4-2)

#4: 2007-08
Regular season: 66-16 (.805)
Playoffs: 16-10 (.615)
Total: 82-26 (.759)
Longest streak: 10 games
Coach: Doc Rivers

Award winners;
Ray Allen: All Star
Kevin Garnett: Defensive Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-NBA, 1^st Team All-Defense
Paul Pierce: Finals MVP, 3^rd Team All-NBA, All Star

Leaders;
Points: Paul Pierce (19.6), Kevin Garnett (18.8), Ray Allen (17.4)
Rebounds: Kevin Garnett (9.2), Kendrick Perkins (6.1), Paul Pierce (5.1)
Assists: Rajon Rondo (5.1), Paul Pierce (4.5), Kevin Garnett (3.4)
Steals: Rajon Rondo (1.7), Kevin Garnett (1.4), Paul Pierce (1.3)
Blocks: Kendrick Perkins (1.5), Kevin Garnett (1.3), Paul Pierce (1.5)
Win Shares: Kevin Garnett (12.9), Paul Pierce (12.4), Ray Allen (9.7)

Playoff opponents;
Atlanta Hawks: 37-45 (4-3)
Cleveland Cavaliers: 45-37 (4-3)
Detroit Pistons: 59-23 (4-2)
Los Angeles Lakers: 57-25 (4-2)

#3: 1964-65
Regular season: 62-18 (.775)
Playoffs: 8-4 (.667)
Total: 70-22 (.761)
Longest streak: 16 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Sam Jones: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: League MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: Coach of the Year, All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Sam Jones (25.9), John Havlicek (18.3), Bill Russell (14.1)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (24.1), Tom Sanders (8.3), Tom Heinsohn (6)
Assists: K.C. Jones (5.6), Bill Russell (5.3), Sam Jones (2.8)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (16.9), Sam Jones (12.8), Tom Sanders (7.5)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40 (4-3)
Los Angeles Lakers: 49-31 (4-1)

#2: 1959-60
Regular season: 59-16 (.787)
Playoffs: 8-5 (.613)
Total: 67-21 (.761)
Longest streak: 17 games
Coach: Red Auerbach

Award winners;
Bob Cousy: 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Russell: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Bill Sharman: 2^nd Team All-NBA, All Star
Red Auerbach: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Tom Heinsohn (21.7), Bob Cousy (19.4), Bill Sharman (19.3)
Rebounds: Bill Russell (24), Tom Heinsohn (10.6), Gene Conley (8.3)
Assists: Bob Cousy (9.5), Bill Russell (3.7), K.C. Jones (2.6)
Win Shares: Bill Russell (13.8), Bill Sharman (7.9), Bob Cousy (7.8)

Playoff opponents;
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26 (4-2)
St. Louis Hawks: 46-29 (4-3)

#1: 1985-86
Regular season: 67-15 (.817)
Playoffs: 15-3 (.833)
Total: 82-18 (.820)
Longest streak: 14 games
Coach: K.C. Jones

Award winners;
Larry Bird: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Dennis Johnson: 2^nd Team All-Defense
Kevin McHale: 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Robert Parish: All Star
Bill Walton: 6^th Man of the Year
K.C. Jones: All Star head coach

Leaders;
Points: Larry Bird (25.8), Kevin McHale (21.3), Robert Parish (16.1)
Rebounds: Larry Bird (9.8), Robert Parish (9.5), Kevin McHale (8.1)
Assists: Larry Bird (6.8), Dennis Johnson (5.8), Danny Ainge (5.1)
Steals: Larry Bird (2), Dennis Johnson (1.4), Danny Ainge (1.2)
Blocks: Kevin McHale (2), Robert Parish (1.4), Bill Walton (1.3)
Win Shares: Larry Bird (15.8), Kevin McHale (11), Robert Parish (9.2)

Playoff opponents
Chicago Bulls: 30-52 (3-0)
Atlanta Hawks: 50-32 (4-1)
Milwaukee Bucks: 57-25 (4-0)
Houston Rockets: 51-31 (4-2)

Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain: What Really Happened?

There’s two narratives I always hear about the eight times Bill Russell’s Celtics faced one of Wilt Chamberlain’s teams in the playoffs in the 1960s. Many people say that Russell, one of the greatest defensive players of all time, absolutely shut Wilt down and basically wiped the floor with him. Others claim that the first notion is all wrong, that Russell barely slowed Wilt down at all, and the only reason Chamberlain usually lost to the Celtics was that they were the better team. As you’ll see though, there were three occasions when the Celtics had a worse record that Wilt’s team but won anyway (1966, ’68 and ’69).

Bill Russell joined the Celtics in 1956 at age 22 and Wilt Chamberlain joined the Warriors in 1959 at age 23. Wilt reached the NBA at a relatively late age because he missed a year of school as a child due to health problems, and thus didn’t start college until age 19. Russell attended the University of San Francisco and won two NCAA Championships there in 1955 and ’56 and won a gold medal with Team USA at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Wilt went to the University of Kansas and led the Jayhawks to the National Championship game in 1957, but lost to the University of North Carolina. He decided not to return to school in ’58-59 for his senior year, instead playing for the Harlem Globetrotters before he was drafted by Philadelphia.

Both players had immediate success; Russell won his first of eleven NBA titles as a rookie in 1957 and won the first of five League MVPs in ’58. Wilt was MVP, Rookie of the Year and All Star MVP in 1960. He would win three more MVPs, but didn’t win his first championship until 1967. The two all time greats became good friends once Wilt joined the league, and Russ was very supportive of the younger star. They sometimes spent holidays together, and some thought the ultra-competitive Russell was actually buttering Wilt up so he’d take it easier on his Celtics. When asked if he saw Wilt as his greatest rival, Russell stated that he saw him as his greatest competitor, as he saw Wilt as his friend and not his rival.

The two had a falling out after the 1969 NBA Finals and Russell’s subsequent retirement. Chamberlain, now on the Lakers, sat on the bench during the closing minutes of game seven, and Russell publicly questioned why Wilt hadn’t been in the game, which the Celtics won by just two points. Bill may not have known it at the time, but Wilt went off the floor after hurting his foot, and later requested to be put back in. Lakers’ coach Butch van Breda Kolff refused, saying the team was playing better without him. Luckily the two reconciled years before Wilt’s death in 1999 at age 63.

1960

Boston Celtics: 59-16
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26
The Celtics beat The Warriors 4-2 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Divsion Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
74	42.5	7.5	46.7	3.2	61.2	24	3.7	2.8	18.2
6	42.8	9	44.6	2.7	76.2	27	2.8	4.3	20.7

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
72	46.4	14.8	46.1	8	58.2	27	2.3	2.1	37.6
6	45.5	12.3	50	5.8	49.3	27.5	2	2.2	30.5

As you can see, Wilt put up big numbers in the series against the Celtics, but his points were down by 7.1 a game, which represents an 18.9% decrease. Meanwhile, Russell’s scoring went up a bit.

1962

Boston Celtics: 60-20
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
76	45.2	7.6	45.7	3.8	59.5	23.6	4.5	2.7	18.9
7	47.7	8.4	39.9	5.1	70.6	25.9	4.3	4	22

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
80	48.5	20	50.6	10.4	61.3	25.7	2.4	1.5	50.4
7	48	12.6	46.8	8.4	64.8	26.9	2.9	2.3	33.6

Wilt’s 50.4 points a game in ’61-62 is a single season record that still stands, and there’s no shame in only averaging 33 points a game in a playoff series, but the drop of almost seventeen points a game represented a full third of his production.

1964

Boston Celtics: 59-21
San Francisco Warriors: 48-23
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-1 in the NBA Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	44.6	6	43.3	3	55	24.7	4.7	2.4	15
5	42.8	4.4	38.6	2.4	48	25.2	5	4	11.2

Wilt’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
80	46.1	15.1	52.4	6.8	53.1	22.3	5	2.3	36.9
5	46	12.4	51.7	4.4	41.5	27.5	2.4	2.4	29.2

Although this series was pretty one-sided in favor of the Celtics, neither player really excelled. Russell averaged just over 11 points on low efficiency and Wilt saw about a 20% drop in scoring and only improved in terms of rebounding.

1965

Boston Celtics: 62-18
Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals
Note: Wilt was traded to the 76ers from the Warriors mid-season and only played 35 games for Philadelphia that year.

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	44.4	5.5	43.8	3.1	57.3	24.1	5.3	2.6	14.1
7	48.6	6.6	44.7	2.4	47.2	25.3	6.7	4.1	15.6

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
73	45.2	14.6	51	5.6	46.4	22.9	3.4	2	34.7
7	48.7	11.6	55.5	7	57.6	31.4	3.3	2.9	30.1

A very good series for Wilt, but once again we see his points dropping while Russell’s increase slightly. His rebounding took a big jump, however.

1966

Boston Celtics: 54-26
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	43.4	5	41.5	2.9	55.1	22.8	4.8	2.8	12.9
5	N/A	5	42.4	4	57.1	26.2	5.6	3.2	14

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
79	47.3	13.6	54	6.3	51.3	24.6	5.2	2.2	33.5
5	N/A	11.2	50.9	5.6	41.2	30.2	3	2	28

This was another series where Wilt declined in most categories besides rebounding, while Russell increased his impact in most areas.

1967

Boston Celtics: 60-21
Philadelphia 76ers: 68-13
The 76ers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
81	40.7	4.9	45.4	3.5	61	21	5.8	3.2	13.3
5	45.6	3.8	35.8	3.8	67.9	23.4	6	3.6	11.4

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
81	45.5	9.7	68.3	4.8	44.1	24.2	7.8	1.8	24.1
5	47.8	8	55.6	5.6	51.9	32	10	2.8	21.6

This was the year Wilt and the Sixers finally got the best of Russell and the Celtics, who were trying for their ninth straight championship. Wilt had a great series, averaging a triple double, but his points were down and his field goal percentage took a big hit. Russell had good rebounding and assist numbers, but he only scored 11.4 points on poor efficiency.

1968

Boston Celtics: 54-28
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
78	37.9	4.7	42.5	3.2	53.7	18.6	4.6	3.1	12.5
7	46	5.3	44	3.1	59.5	23.9	4.1	3.9	13.7

Wilt’s regular season vs. Division Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
82	46.8	10	59.5	4.3	38	23.8	8.6	2	24.3
7	47.9	8.3	48.7	5.6	42.4	25.1	6.7	2	22.1

Not a big drop in points for Wilt in this one, but his field goal percentage took a big hit and his assists were down as well. As for Russell, his numbers were all up other than assists.

1969

Boston Celtics: 48-34
Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27
The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3 in the NBA Finals

Russell’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
77	42.7	3.6	43.3	2.6	52.6	19.3	4.9	3	9.9
7	48	3.6	39.7	2	58.3	21.1	5.1	4.1	9.1

Wilt’s regular season vs. NBA Finals

G	MP	FG	FG%	FT	FT%	TRB	AST	PF	PTS
81	45.3	7.9	58.3	4.7	44.6	21.1	4.5	1.8	20.5
7	47.3	4.1	50	3.4	37.5	25	3	3	11.7

Wilt had such a drop off in points in the Finals that I suspect that it had more to do with a change in strategy for LA or an injury than Boston’s defense, but I’m really not sure.

Stats don’t always tell the whole story, but my conclusion from these numbers is that by normal human standards, Wilt played amazing basketball in most of these series. By Wilt’s standards though, it’s clear that the Celtics’ defense, anchored by Russell, made a real impact on his ability to score, which with the exception of ’67, always gave the Celts a chance to win.

The Top 10 NBA Teams of All Time: #10, The 1987 Los Angeles Lakers

#10
The 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers
Regular Season: 65-17 (79.3)
Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)
Total: 80-20 (80)

Award Winners;
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: All Star
Michael Cooper: Defensive Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-Defense
Magic Johnson: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
James Worthy: All Star
Pat Riley: All Star head coach

The Lakers of the 1980s were one of the NBA’s great dynasties, up there with the Celtics of the ‘50s and ‘60s and Bulls of the ‘90s. They won NBA Championships in 1980 and ‘82 against the Philadelphia 76ers, in ‘85, ‘87 against the Boston Celtics and in ‘88 against the Detroit Pistons. They also reached the Finals in 1983, ‘84, ‘89 and ‘91, losing to the 76ers, Celtics, Pistons and Chicago Bulls respectively. As a Celtics fan, I have to mention that their nine Finals appearances in twelve years came at a time when the West was clearly the weaker conference. Still impressive, though. Former Lakers guard Pat Riley joined the team as an assistant coach in ’79-80. He was promoted to head coach early in the ‘81-82 season after Lakers head coach Paul Westhead was essentially pushed out by Magic Johnson. It was the beginning of a hugely successful career for Riley. The Lakers were blessed with two of the greatest players of all time Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was traded to the Lakers from the Bucks in 1975, and Magic Johnson, who was drafted number one overall by the team in 1979. Michael Cooper was drafted in ‘78, as was James Worthy in ‘83, Byron Scott in ‘84 and A.C. Green in ‘86. Despite their success throughout the decade, the Lakers always seemed to be adding more young talent.

In terms of wins and losses, the 1987 Lakers were the best of LA’s ’80s teams, winning 65 games in the regular season and going 15 and 3 in the playoffs. Between March 3^rd and April 16^th, they posted a record of 21-1, which included an 11 game winning streak. 27 year old point guard Magic Johnson was in his prime and led his team with 23.9 points, 12.2 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals on 52.2% shooting and shot 84.8% from the free throw line. 39 year old living legend center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still making valuable contributions, with 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 56.4% shooting. 25 year old forward James Worthy was another standout, with 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1 block on 53.9% shooting. The team was rounded out by Byron Scott, A.C. Green, and one of the best defensive players of the era, Michael Cooper. As great as these Lakers were, they had a pretty easy ride through the first three rounds of the playoffs. The next best team in the West, the 55 win Dallas Mavericks, led by Mark Aguirre, were eliminated in the first round and wouldn’t pose a threat to LA.

In the first round they met the 37-45 Denver Nuggets, led by Alex English and Fat Lever, and they would show no mercy. Game two was the closest, with LA winning by a mere twelve points. The third and deciding game was a 140-103 drubbing with seven Lakers scoring in double figures and Magic Johnson racking up 14 assists to go with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Byron Scott led the scoring with 25 points, plus 7 assists, a steal and a block.

In the semifinals, the Lakers faced the 42-40 Golden State Warriors, featuring NBA legends like Sleepy Floyd and Joe Barry Carroll (AKA Joe Barely Cares (AKA Just Barely Carroll)), who handed them their first loss of the playoffs. Game three was the biggest blowout, with LA winning 133-108. Magic put up a triple double of 20 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds plus two steals, and James Worthy had 28 points on 19 shots, along with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Golden State won game four, 129-121, with guard Sleepy Floyd (awesome name) putting up an insane 51 points on 26 shots, 10 assists and 4 steals. By then though it was too late, and the Lakers closed them out in five.

In the Conference Finals, LA faced yet more fish in a barrel in the form of the 39-43 Seattle SuperSonics and completed their second sweep of the playoffs. The Sonics were then led by Dale Ellis, Tom Chambers and Xavier McDaniel. The series ended much like the first round, with LA annihilating Seattle 130-102 in game four. Magic was great as usual in the closing game, putting up 21 points on 9 shots, 12 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. James Worthy was excellent as well, with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals.

In the NBA Finals the Lakers encountered their first real challenge, the 59 win Boston Celtics, with the two teams meeting in the Finals for the third time in four seasons. The Celtics had won their first meeting in 1984 in seven games with the Lakers getting their revenge in 1985 in six. The Celtics lacked the depth of their incredible 1986 season, but still had a formidable starting five of Robert Parish, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge. Along with injuries taking their toll, they suffered a terrible tragedy when Len Bias, the University of Maryland star they’d drafted second overall, died two days after the 1986 draft.

The Lakers won the first two games comfortably at the LA forum, blowing Boston out 141-122 in game two. Five Lakers scored at least 20 points that night, and Michael Cooper shot 6 for 7 from three and had 21 points, 9 assists and 3 steals. Magic had 22 points and an insane 20 assists, plus 5 rebounds and three steals. Byron Scott led the scoring with 24 points along with 5 rebounds and a steal. The next three games were played at the Boston Garden, and the Celtics won game three and nearly tied the series in game four, but Larry Bird missed a wide open three pointer at the buzzer, giving the Lakers a commanding 3-1 series lead. As he walked off the court, Bird shook his head at Pat Riley in disbelief that the Lakers had allowed him to get such a clean look. The Celtics won game five easily though, 123-108. All five of Boston’s starters scored over 20 points. Dennis Johnson had a great night with 25 points, 11 assists and a steal on 50% shooting. Larry Bird was his usual self with 23 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal, although he shot south of 40%. Despite the busted foot, Kevin McHale brought 22 points and 14 rebounds. Still, the Lakers needed just one more win to seal their fourth championship of the decade, and got it back in LA in game six by a score of 106-93. Old Man Kareem led the charge in the clincher with 32 points on 18 shots plus 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Magic Johnson won Finals MVP, averaging 26.2 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds and 2.3 steals on 56% shooting in the series.

The Lakers had one more title left in them, and they picked it up the next year after squeaking by the Bad Boy Pistons. Kareem Would finally retire in 1989 at age 42 after the Lakers were swept in the Finals at the hands of Detroit. The Lakers made one more Finals in ‘91, losing to Michael Jordan’s Bulls, before their run was ended by Magic Johnson’s HIV diagnosis. Cooper retired prior to that in 1990. Worthy, Green and Scott hung around until the mid ‘90s, but without Magic, the Showtime era was done and dusted. Luckily for LA, GM Jerry West got both Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant to the team in 1996. If Magic hadn’t had his illness, Larry Bird hadn’t had his back and foot issues and Len Bias hadn’t died, maybe we would’ve gotten two or three more Celtics-Lakers Finals. Oh well…

The Top 10 NBA Teams of All Time: #6, The 1986 Boston Celtics

#6
The 1985-86 Boston Celtics
Regular Season: 67-15 (81.7)
Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)
Total: 82-18 (82)

Award Winners;
Larry Bird: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Dennis Johnson: 2^nd Team All-Defense
Kevin McHale: 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Robert Parish: All Star
Bill Walton: Sixth Man of the Year
K.C. Jones: All Star head coach

The Celtics have won seventeen championships and once won eight in a row, so being the greatest Celtics team ever is saying a lot. Like the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship in 1987, this one didn’t come out of nowhere. The Celtics had already won it all in 1981 against the Houston Rockets and in ‘84 against the Lakers. They’d made the Finals in ‘85 and would make them again in ‘87, but lost to the Lakers both times. Like many Celtics teams that decade, the ‘86 squad had four Hall of Famers in the starting five, but it also had a fifth coming in off the bench.

The Celtics were a bad team for a couple years in the late ‘70s, winning just 26 games in ’78-79, before Larry Bird arrived in ‘79-80, making them contenders again. Bird was drafted sixth overall by Boston in 1978 but elected to play one more year of college ball at Indiana State. He led his small school all the way to the NCAA Championship game, but lost to Michigan State, who were led by Magic Johnson. Kevin McHale was drafted in 1980 and Robert Parish was traded to Boston from Golden State as part of that deal. Danny Ainge, who’d played baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays, came to Boston in ’81-82 and Scott Wedman was traded from Cleveland during ’82-83. Dennis Johnson was traded from Phoenix in 1983. The Sixth Man of the Year in ‘86, Bill Walton, was traded to Boston from the LA Clippers in exchange for forward Cedric Maxwell and a draft pick in 1985. Jerry Sichting was traded from Indiana shortly before the beginning of the season.

One thing that stood out about this team once assembled was how white it was. Eight of the twelve guys on the roster were white, including three of its starting five and all five members of the second unit, also called the Green Team for the green uniforms they wore in practice. That left Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson as the only black players in the regular rotation. This wouldn’t have been unusual twenty years earlier, but the NBA had been predominantly black since the ‘70s. Some people, including me, have speculated that this lineup might’ve been an attempt to appeal to the team’s mostly white fanbase. Greater Boston is pretty white as far as American urban areas go, and Boston has a reputation for hostility towards black people that sadly isn’t unearned. The Boston Red Sox were the last Major League team to employ a black player, in 1959, a dozen years after Jackie Robinson first took the field in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. When Bill Russell was living in suburban Boston, his house was broken into, racial slurs were written on his walls and someone even defecated in his bed. All this for a guy who brought the city eleven championships. There were also well-known and sometimes violent protests by mainly Irish-Americans in South Boston over school desegregation during the 1970s. For a city thought of as being liberal, progressive and well-educated, Boston has a noticeable amount racists.

On the other hand, lots of Northern cities, like New York and Chicago (where there was Ku Klux Klan activity during the ‘70s and ‘80s), have had serious racial issues, and it sometimes seems like Boston gets unfairly singled out as a hotbed of bigotry. Another angle is, as Bob Ryan put it, who wouldn’t want players like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Bill Walton on their team? Danny Ainge, Scott Wedman and Jerry Sichting were also quality players that most, if not all, NBA teams would’ve been happy to have. Also, the notion that the Celtics were a mostly white team throughout the ‘80s simply isn’t true. In six of those ten seasons, the Celtics were either majority black or had an equal number of black and white players. The Celtics also had a black head coach from 1983 to ‘88, K.C. Jones, who’d played on many of the Celtics dynasty teams of the ‘50s and ‘60s.

That brings me to the biggest reason I doubt there was any weird quasi-racist reasoning behind the racial makeup of the ‘80s Celtics: their personnel moves were still made by Red Auerbach, who’d been with the team since 1950. Red was responsible for drafting Chuck Cooper back in 1950, who was the first black player drafted by an NBA team and one of the first to join the league. Red generally employed more black players than most teams in the ‘50s and ‘60s and was the first coach to send an all-black starting five onto the court in 1964. In 1966, when he stepped down as head coach, he named Bill Russell as his successor, making him the first black head coach in any major North American professional sports league. Although the Celtics’ two best players in the ‘70s (Dave Cowens and John Havlicek) were white, Boston’s teams in that era were predominantly black. I really doubt that Red had a change of heart in the ‘80s and suddenly became a racist. Red making the team whiter not out of racism but to sell more tickets doesn’t make much sense either, as they had great attendance even in years like 1984, when four guys in the starting five were black, as were seven of the twelve players on the roster. Anyway, now that I’ve written over 600 words about race, I guess we can move on.

The Celtics were led throughout the ‘80s by Larry Bird, and 1986 was one of his best overall seasons. The 29 year old small forward was League MVP for the third straight year, averaging 25.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2 steals on 49.6/42.3/89.6 shooting. 28 year old power forward Kevin McHale became a full time starter that year, with 21.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2 blocks a game while shooting 57.4% from the field. 32 year old center Robert Parish was reliable as always, contributing 16.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks on 54.9% shooting. 31 year old point guard Dennis Johnson chipped in 15.6 points and 5.8 assists, and 33 year old center and sixth man Bill Walton averaged 7.6 points on career high 56.2% shooting, 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while playing 19.3 minutes a game. It was a rare healthy season for Walton, and the 80 games he played was also a career high. Danny Ainge rounded out the starting five and Scott Wedman and Jerry Sichting provided valuable services off the bench.

The league wasn’t ready for a team with that level of high end talent and depth, and the Celtics won 67 games and were practically invincible at home, going 40-1 at the Garden (and sometimes Hartford), and were undefeated there in the playoffs. They were 25-4 in their last 29 games, during which they posted a 14 game winning streak, their longest of the year, in March and April.

In the first round, the Celtics met the 30-52 Chicago Bulls, led by a young Michael Jordan and small forward Orlando Woolridge. Jordan, who’d recently turned 23, missed all but 18 games in the regular season after breaking his foot three games in. He showed no signs of rust however, dropping 49 points on the Celtics in game one. MJ going ham was not a problem though, as the C’s won easily, 123-104, with Bird, McHale, Johnson and Parish combining for 106 points and 30 rebounds. Game two was a high scoring double overtime barn burner, with a possessed Michael Jordan setting a new playoff record by scoring 63 points. He had six assists, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks to go with it, and shot 22 of 41 from the field and made 19 of 21 at the line. Dennis Johnson and Bill Walton fouled out of the game to add to the drama. Once again it wasn’t enough, and the Celtics gutted out a 135-131 win. Larry Bird led the Celtics with 36 points along with 12 rebounds and 8 assists, and Kevin McHale had 27 points, 15 rebounds and blocked 6 shots. He even made a basket while practically laying on his back on top of a Bulls player! It was a crazy game, just look up the highlights on Youtube. In game three, the series shifted to Chicago, where Jordan was comparatively quiet with only 19 points, although he had ten rebounds, nine assists, two steals and a block as well. Like the first game, Boston won easily, 122-104. Kevin McHale was the star that day, putting up 31 points on 15 shots along with five rebounds and a block.

After their sweep of Chicago, the Celtics faced the 50 win Atlanta Hawks, led by Dominique Wilkins. The Celtics won the first two games in Boston comfortably. Game three in Atlanta was closer at 111-107 but the Celtics got the 3-0 lead. The Hawks surprised Boston in game 4 in Atlanta, winning 106-94. Wilkins led all scorers with 37 points and the 5’6, 135 pound point guard Spud Webb put up 21 points and 12 assists. The Celtics were clearly done messing around by game five back in Boston and blew the Hawks out 132-99. In the third quarter, the Celtics completely terrorized the Hawks, outscoring them 36-6. Yes, you read that right. Atlanta’s coach Mike Fratello called timeout after pointless timeout, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. Again, just look this quarter up on Youtube. The score after three quarters was 102-61. Larry Bird led the charge with 36 points, ten rebounds and five assists, McHale had 25 points and 3 blocks, and Parish had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks.

In the Conference Finals, the Celtics took on the 57 win Milwaukee Bucks, led by Sidney Moncrief and Terry Cummings. Their coach was former Celtic Don Nelson, who’d won five championships in Boston in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Nelson made the mistake of saying he was a better, smarter coach than K.C. Jones before the series, which displeased Robert Parish in particular. Parish had his best game of the playoffs in game three, with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal on 12 of 21 shooting. Game one in Boston was yet another blowout, with the Celtics telling Don Nelson to shove it by a score of 128-96. Bird led the way with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, McHale had 17 points with 5 rebounds and 5 blocks, and Bill Walton scored an efficient 15 points with 9 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench. Things never got much better for Milwaukee and the series was another sweep for Boston. Danny Ainge had a great outing in game two, with 23 points on 12 shots, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

History repeated itself a bit in ‘86, as the Houston Rockets unexpectedly bumped off the Los Angeles Lakers in the Conference Finals and met the Celtics in the NBA Finals, just like in 1981. The one regret the players from the ‘86 Celtics have is that they didn’t meet the Lakers in the Finals and get their revenge for losing to LA the year before. The ‘86 Rockets were no pushovers, however. They were coached by Bill Fitch, who’d led the Celtics to a championship over Houston five years before and won 51 games in ’85-86. They’d beaten the Lakers in just five games in the Western Finals and were easily the toughest challenge the Celtics faced in the ‘86 playoffs. They were led by two young and very tall players, 23 year old 7’0 center Hakeem Olajuwon and 25 year old 7’4 power forward Ralph Sampson.

The Celtics won the first two games in Boston easily however, blowing out the Rockets 117-95 in game two. Larry Bird filled out the stat sheet with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks on 12 of 19 shooting. Kevin McHale had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks of his own. Dennis Johnson had a great game in game one, with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals on 50% shooting. The series shifted to Houston and the next two games could’ve gone either way, with Houston winning game three by two points and the Celtics winning game four by just three. The Rockets blew the Celtics out though in game five, 111-96. The 7’4 Ralph Sampson got into a physical altercation with 6’1 Jerry Sichting, leading to Sampson being thrown out of the game. Even though one of their best players was off the court, the Houston crowd was fired up by the scuffle and the Rockets came alive and won the game easily. Olajuwon played a great game, with 32 points, 14 rebounds, 8 (eight) blocks and 2 steals. The Celtics were severely pissed off by the embarrassment and took it out on each other in their next practice. K.C. Jones could tell they were ready to end the series and they did so in game six, 114-97. It was a fitting way to end an amazing season, and Larry Bird posted a 29 point triple double with 12 assists and 11 rebounds plus 3 steals and played great defense. Kevin McHale had 29 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Bird won his second Finals MVP, averaging 24 points, 9.7 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 2.7 steals on 48.2/36.8/93.9 shooting. McHale had a great series too, with 25.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks while shooting 57.3 from the field and 80.4 at the line.

The Celtics made the Finals again the next year and stayed relevant up through the early ‘90s. Still, age, injuries and two untimely deaths led to a steady decline. Two days after he was taken 2^nd overall by the Celtics in the ‘86 draft, University of Maryland star Len Bias died of a freak cocaine overdose. We’ll never know what he could’ve done in the NBA, but it’s been said that Bias could’ve been right up there with Michael Jordan and might’ve been the LeBron James of his era. Scott Wedman was forced to retire due to injuries after playing just six games in ‘86-87 season. Bill Walton suffered more tortuous foot injuries and played only the last ten games in ‘87 plus twelve in the playoffs, and at very limited minutes. He hoped to return for the ‘88 season, but never played again after the ‘87 Finals. Jerry Sichting was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988, as was Danny Ainge to the Sacramento Kings in ‘89. K.C. Jones stepped down after the ‘88 season and Dennis Johnson retired in 1990 at age 35. Larry Bird did the same in 1992, as did Kevin McHale in ‘93.

Bird’s back problems began in 1985 when he injured himself off the court, carrying gravel while working on his mother’s driveway back home in Indiana. He missed almost the entire ‘89 season due to foot surgery, then missed large portions of ‘91 and ‘92 as his back continued to deteriorate. He was still in all star form when he could play, but he knew when enough was enough. Kevin McHale broke his foot in March of ‘87 and continued to play on it all the way through the NBA Finals. ‘87 was McHale’s peak year, and he continued to play very well up through ‘91, but was never the same after playing on that foot for months when it should’ve been healing.

The Celtics drafted the excellent two-way shooting guard Reggie Lewis in 1987, and he made the All Star game in 1992, but Lewis died of a congenital heart defect during the 1993 off-season. The team seemed to go from the luckiest in the NBA to the most unfortunate. Robert Parish signed with the Charlotte Hornets in 1994 and was the last member of that ‘86 team to leave Boston. In 1996 he signed with the Chicago Bulls and won his fourth championship with them in 1997, after which he retired at age 43. Parish still holds the NBA record for games played at 1,611. The Celts would miss the playoffs in 1994 for the first time since 1979, and every year from 1996 to 2001, before Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker finally dragged them back into respectability.

The Celtics Retired Numbers Series pt 1: Ed Macauley

#22, Ed Macauley, “Easy Ed”, Center, 1950-1956

Born in St. Louis in 1928, Ed Macauley attended Saint Louis University from 1945 to ‘49, where he was First Team All-American in 1948 and ‘49 and Second Team in 1947.

He was drafted as a territorial pick by the St. Louis Bombers in 1949, but the team folded in 1950 and Macauley was picked up by the Boston Celtics. He became one the team’s best players of the 1950s, making First Team All-NBA in 1951, ‘52 and ‘53, and Second Team in ‘54. He was also an All-Star in seven straight years, from 1951 to ‘57, and led the league in field goal percentage in 1953 and ‘54. He scored a career high of 46 points in a March 1953 win against the Minneapolis Lakers.

In 1956, Macauley requested a trade to his hometown St. Louis Hawks so he could spend more time with his son who was ill at the time. This worked out well for the Celtics, as he was traded for the Hawks’ second overall pick, center Bill Russell. Macauley was an All-Star his first year back in St. Louis, which saw the Hawks making the NBA Finals, although they lost to Russell and the Celtics. The following year, The Hawks met the Celtics again in the finals and won.

Macauley only played 14 games in 1958-59 before becoming head coach of the Hawks part way through the year, a position he held through the ‘59-60 season. The Hawks made it back to the finals in 1960, but again lost to the Celtics.

Ed Macauley currently sits at 19^th all time in points among Celtics players. His career highs include a 49% field goal percentage that led the league in 1953-54, and 20.4 points per game in ‘50-51. His number “22” was retired by the Celtics in 1963, and along with Reggie Lewis, Macauley is one of only two Celtics players to have their number retired without winning a championship in Boston. At the time, Macauley was already a Hall of Famer, having been inducted in 1960 at age 32, still the youngest person ever inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Ed Macauley died in November of 2011 at the age of 83.

The Celtics Retired Numbers Series pt 2: Bob Cousy

#14 Bob Cousy, “Cooz,” Point Guard, 1950-1963

Born in Manhattan in 1928 and raised in Queens, Bob Cousy attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts from 1946 to ‘50 where he was a star player, winning the NCAA Tournament in 1947. He made Third, Second and then First Team All American in 1948, ‘49 and ‘50, and his number “17” was retired by the school.

Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach had the chance to draft him in 1950, and faced much pressure to do so, but decided against it, as he was skeptical his skills would translate to the NBA. He was drafted instead by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (now the Atlanta Hawks) third overall, but the native New Yorker didn’t want to relocate to the Davenport, Iowa area and refused to report. He was picked up by the Chicago Stags, who folded before the ‘50-51 season began, and was acquired by the Celtics via dispersal draft soon after, much to the chagrin of team owner Walter Brown.

He made an immediate impact on the Celtics, who went 39 and 30 his rookie season (which was also Auerbach’s first as head coach), after going 22 and 46 and finishing at the bottom of the division the year before. With his flashy style of passing and dribbling he earned the nickname “Houdini of the Hardwood,” and was quickly considered one of the most entertaining players in the league as well as one of its best. The NBA was only four years old when his career began, and he helped put the new league on the map. Cousy was an All-Star his first year, an achievement he would repeat every season he played, an incredible thirteen times in a row, and was MVP of the All Star Game in 1954 and ‘57. He also served as the Celtics’ captain his entire playing career.

Cousy added to his basketball legacy by forming the NBA Players Association along with his agent, Joe Sharry, in 1954. The NBA was the first major North American professional sports league to be unionized, and Cousy served as the NBAPA’s first president until 1958, when he was replaced by teammate Tom Heinsohn.

Although the Celtics had some of the best offense in the league during the early and mid ‘50s, the era was dominated by center George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers. That changed with the Celtics’ acquisition of defensive powerhouse center Bill Russell in 1956. Cousy, Russell, and the Celtics won their first championship in 1957 against the St. Louis Hawks. Cousy would win five more with Boston, every year from 1959 until his retirement in ‘63; against the Minneapolis Lakers in ‘59, the Hawks again in ‘60 and ‘61, and the now Los Angeles Lakers in ‘62 and ‘63. The Celtics also made the finals in 1958, but lost to the Hawks.

Over the course of his career, Cousy made All-NBA First Team an incredible ten straight years, from 1952 to ‘61, All-NBA Second Team in 1962 and ‘63, and was League MVP in 1957. He also led the league in assists an amazing eight straight years, from 1953 to ‘60. His Number “14” was retired by the Celtics shortly after he retired in 1963.

He currently sits at number one all time among Celtics players in assists with 6,945, over 800 ahead of the man in second place, John Havlicek. He’s also number six in points and minutes played. His career highs include 9.5 assists per game in 1959-60 and 21.7 points per game in ‘51-52, and he scored a career high of fifty points in a playoff win against the Syracuse Nationals in March of ‘53.

Following his playing career, Cousy became head coach of Boston College from 1963 to ‘69, going 21 and 3 in ‘66-67 and making the Elite Eight. In 1969, Cousy became head coach of the Cincinnati Royals (now Sacramento Kings), who became the Kansas City Royals in 1972. He coached the team until part way through the ‘73-74 season, and even made a brief comeback as a player, appearing in seven games for the Royals in 1970; although his play after years of retirement was less than stellar, he succeeded in increasing ticket sales.

Following his pro coaching gig, Cousy served as the commissioner of the American Soccer League from 1974 to ‘79 and has appeared as a color commentator on Celtics broadcasts. Bob Cousy was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971, and was selected to the NBA’s 25^th, 35^th, and 50^th Anniversary All Time Teams, one of only four players be chosen for all three; among the others was Cousy’s old teammate, Bill Russell.

The Celtics Retired Numbers Series pt. 3: Bill Sharman

#21 Bill Sharman, “Bullseye Bill,” Shooting Guard, 1951-1961

Born in Abilene, Texas in 1926, Bill Sharman re-located to Porterville, California by the time he was in high school. Sharman joined the US Navy after graduating in 1944, with World War II still raging. After serving, he attended the University of Southern California from 1946 to ‘50. In 1950, Sharman was First Team All-Conference for the second straight year and First Team All-American, and his number “11” has been retired by USC.

Sharman was picked 17^th overall in the 1950 NBA draft by the Washington Capitols. That year also marked the beginning of Sharman’s minor league baseball career, which lasted until 1955. In the end, he only played one season in Washington as the Capitols folded after his rookie year. He was then signed by the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons, who traded him to the Boston Celtics prior to the 1951-52 season.

Sharman was one of the best shooters of his generation, both from the field and especially from the free throw line, earning him the nickname “Bullseye Bill.” He led the league a record seven times in free throw percentage, including a record five times in a row from 1953 to ‘57.

With players like Bill Russell and Jim Loscutoff shoring up the defense on a team that already had excellent offense, the Celtics and Sharman won their first title in 1957 against the St. Louis Hawks. Sharman would win three more with the Celtics before he was done, against the Minneapolis Lakers in 1959 and the Hawks again in ‘60 and ‘61. The Celtics made the finals in 1958 as well, but lost to the Hawks.

Along with four titles, Sharman was named First Team All-NBA four straight years from 1956 to ‘59, All-NBA Second Team in 1953, ‘55 and ‘60, and was an All-Star eight straight years, from 1953 to ‘60. He currently sits at 11^th all time among Celtics players in points. Among his career highs are an astronomical 93% free throw percentage (an NBA record until the 1970s) in 1958-59 and 22.3 points per game in ‘57-58. He scored a career high 44 points in a December 1957 win against the New York Knicks. His number “21” was retired by the Boston Celtics in 1966. Sharman was further honored by being named to 25^th and 50^thAnniversary NBA All-Time Teams, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976.

In 1966, Sharman came back to the NBA as the coach of the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors. In his first season with the team, he made it to the NBA Finals but lost to a great Philadelphia 76ers team. The following year, which was his last with the Warriors, Sharman coached the Western Conference All-Star Team. After Leaving San Francisco, He became head coach of the American Basketball Association (ABA)’s Los Angeles Stars, who became the Utah Stars in 1970. He won a championship with them in 1971, before returning to the NBA to coach the Los Angles Lakers, who then featured Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich.

His first season with LA was among the greatest in NBA history, with the Lakers going 69 and 13, winning a record 33 games in a row and winning their first NBA Championship since leaving Minneapolis, against the New York Knicks. Sharman did it alongside assistant coach and former Celtics teammate, KC Jones. He won a well deserved Coach of the Year award for his efforts. Sharman left the Lakers following the 1975-76 season. Bill Sharman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame yet again in 2004, this time as a coach. He died in October of 2013 one week after suffering a stroke at the age of 87.

1957: Tom Heinsohn, age 22, power forward, Boston Celtics

1958: Bob Pettit, age 25, power forward, St. Louis Hawks

1959: Tom Heinsohn, age 24, power forward, Boston Celtics

1960: Bill Russell, age 26, center, Boston Celtics

1961: Bill Russell, age 27, center, Boston Celtics

1962: Bill Russell, age 28, center, Boston Celtics

1963: Bill Russell, age 29, center, Boston Celtics

1964: Sam Jones, age 30, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1965: Bill Russell, age 31, center, Boston Celtics

1966: Bill Russell, 32, center, Boston Celtics

1967: Wilt Chamberlain, 30, center, Philadelphia 76ers

1968: John Havlicek, 28, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

1969: John Havlicek, 29, shooting guard, Boston Celtics

The 1870s

The 1880s

The 1890s

The 1900s

The 1910s

The 1920s

The 1930s

The 1940s

The 1950s

The 1960s

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

The 2000s

The 2010s

1960

Boston Celtics: 59-16Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26The Celtics beat The Warriors 4-2 in the Eastern Division Finals

1962

Boston Celtics: 60-20Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

1964

Boston Celtics: 59-21San Francisco Warriors: 48-23The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-1 in the NBA Finals

1965

Boston Celtics: 62-18Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division FinalsNote: Wilt was traded to the 76ers from the Warriors mid-season and only played 35 games for Philadelphia that year.

1966

Boston Celtics: 54-26Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

1967

Boston Celtics: 60-21Philadelphia 76ers: 68-13The 76ers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

1968

Boston Celtics: 54-28Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

1969

Boston Celtics: 48-34Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3 in the NBA Finals

#10The 1986-87 Los Angeles LakersRegular Season: 65-17 (79.3)Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)Total: 80-20 (80)

Award Winners;Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: All StarMichael Cooper: Defensive Player of the Year, 1st Team All-DefenseMagic Johnson: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1st Team All-NBA, All StarJames Worthy: All StarPat Riley: All Star head coach

#6The 1985-86 Boston CelticsRegular Season: 67-15 (81.7)Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)Total: 82-18 (82)

Award Winners;Larry Bird: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1st Team All-NBA, All StarDennis Johnson: 2nd Team All-DefenseKevin McHale: 1st Team All-Defense, All StarRobert Parish: All StarBill Walton: Sixth Man of the YearK.C. Jones: All Star head coach

#22, Ed Macauley, “Easy Ed”, Center, 1950-1956

#14 Bob Cousy, “Cooz,” Point Guard, 1950-1963

#21 Bill Sharman, “Bullseye Bill,” Shooting Guard, 1951-1961

Boston Celtics: 59-16
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-26
The Celtics beat The Warriors 4-2 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 60-20
Philadelphia Warriors: 49-31
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 59-21
San Francisco Warriors: 48-23
The Celtics beat the Warriors 4-1 in the NBA Finals

Boston Celtics: 62-18
Philadelphia 76ers: 40-40
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals
Note: Wilt was traded to the 76ers from the Warriors mid-season and only played 35 games for Philadelphia that year.

Boston Celtics: 54-26
Philadelphia 76ers: 55-25
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 60-21
Philadelphia 76ers: 68-13
The 76ers beat the Celtics 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 54-28
Philadelphia 76ers: 62-20
The Celtics beat the 76ers 4-3 in the Eastern Division Finals

Boston Celtics: 48-34
Los Angeles Lakers: 55-27
The Celtics beat the Lakers 4-3 in the NBA Finals

#10
The 1986-87 Los Angeles Lakers
Regular Season: 65-17 (79.3)
Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)
Total: 80-20 (80)

Award Winners;
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: All Star
Michael Cooper: Defensive Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-Defense
Magic Johnson: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
James Worthy: All Star
Pat Riley: All Star head coach

#6
The 1985-86 Boston Celtics
Regular Season: 67-15 (81.7)
Playoffs: 15-3 (83.3)
Total: 82-18 (82)

Award Winners;
Larry Bird: League MVP, Finals MVP, 1^st Team All-NBA, All Star
Dennis Johnson: 2^nd Team All-Defense
Kevin McHale: 1^st Team All-Defense, All Star
Robert Parish: All Star
Bill Walton: Sixth Man of the Year
K.C. Jones: All Star head coach