Boston Celtics

Overview

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the NBA's Eastern Conference. Established as a founding franchise of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the Celtics first took the court in 1946. Over the course of their long history, they built a reputation as one of the NBA's most successful teams, enjoying several historically dominant stretches. In 2024 they won their league-record eighteenth championship title. By that point the Celtics were also well established as one of the league’s most financially successful franchises, worth approximately $4.7 billion.

In addition to their on-court activities, the Celtics also maintain an active commitment to philanthropic endeavors. Much of the work the team does in this realm is performed through the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, a charitable organization supporting the Boston community through initiatives that benefit underserved children. Some of the Shamrock Foundation’s partners have included the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, Boston Children’s Hospital, Horizons for Homeless Children, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1946–47
• Home arena: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
• Owner: Boston Basketball Partners
• Team colors: Green, white, gold, black, brown

History

The history of the Boston Celtics began with the creation of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. An upstart professional basketball league formed by a group of business executives, the BAA was a forerunner to the NBA. At the time of its founding, the BAA consisted of eleven teams. The Boston-based club was called the Celtics in honor of the city’s large Irish-American population. The Celtics were initially owned by Walter Brown, who then managed the legendary Boston Garden arena. Thanks to this association, the Celtics would call the Boston Garden home for decades to come, sharing the space with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team set foot on the Boston Garden’s famous parquet floor for the first time on November 5, 1946, in what turned out to be a 57–55 loss to the Chicago Stags.

The Celtics played in the BAA for several years before the league absorbed a competing league called the National Basketball League (NBL) and became the NBA in 1949. Throughout these early years, the Celtics struggled to find success on the court, failing to earn even a winning record. In need of a change, the team hired Red Auerbach as its head coach in 1950. His arrival marked the beginning of the Celtics’ rise to the top of the NBA. In his first season on the bench, Auerbach guided the Celtics into the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history. Through the remainder of his time as coach, the team never again missed the postseason. Auerbach was also notable for his groundbreaking support for Black players, including making Chuck Cooper the first African American player drafted into the league in 1950.

After a string of abbreviated playoff runs in the early 1950s, the Celtics made several fateful moves in the 1956 NBA Draft, laying the foundation for one of the most dominant stretches in sports history. After drafting Tom Heinsohn and K. C. Jones, the team also traded for freshly drafted center Bill Russell from the St. Louis Hawks; all three would eventually be named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Celtics made it to the NBA Finals for the first time in 1957 and ultimately beat the Hawks to win the franchise’s first NBA championship. After losing in a Finals rematch with the Hawks in 1958, the Auerbach-led Celtics went on to win eight straight NBA championships from 1959 to 1966. The streak set a record for consecutive championship across all four major North American team sports. Auerbach retired as coach following the last of those championships (he remained with the franchise as an executive), giving the job to Russell, who became the first Black head coach in the NBA while still competing as a player as well. The Celtics dynasty continued with two additional NBA titles in 1968 and 1969, after which Russell retired.

While the Celtics were not quite as dominant in the 1970s, the team continued to largely be one of the NBA’s best. In 1974, Boston beat the Milwaukee Bucks to win their twelfth NBA championship. Two years later, the Celtics overcame the Phoenix Suns in dramatic fashion to claim another NBA title. After a brief downfall in the latter part of the decade, the Celtics returned to form in the 1980s. Led by all-time NBA great Larry Bird, the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals five times in the decade and won further championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986. During the 1985–86 season the Celtics organization also made history by selling shares in the team, making it the first sports franchise to go public.

The 1990s brought the first extended playoff drought in Celtics history. Starting in the 1995–96 season, the team failed to make the postseason for six straight years. After that, the playoff appearances the team did make were often brief and disappointing. Meanwhile, in 1995 the franchise moved into a new arena replacing the Boston Garden, which was first called the FleetCenter and later renamed the TD Garden.

The Celtics’ eventual turnaround occurred in dramatic fashion during the 2007–08 season. Led by All-Star player Paul Pierce, who was joined that year by star additions Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, Boston won forty-two more games than the previous season, en route to the NBA’s best record. In the playoffs, the rebuilt Celtics surged all the way to the NBA Finals and a matchup against the longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers. In the end, the Celtics defeated the Lakers to win the seventeenth NBA championship in team history. They returned to the Finals in 2009–10, but this time lost to the Lakers.

The 2010s saw the Celtics remain frequent playoff contenders, although they struggled to break through with another championship. After the 2012–13 season the team entered a major rebuild, as head coach Doc Rivers left after nine seasons and stars Pierce and Garnett were traded to the Brooklyn Nets for a package including multiple future first-round draft picks. Those draft selections brought the team Jaylen Brown in 2016 and Jayson Tatum in 2017, who would go on to develop as core members of the roster. Under head coach Brad Stevens, the Celtics experimented with other star players such as Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving and made it as far as the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017, 2018, and 2020.

After the 2020–21 season, Stevens stepped down as the Celtics' coach, instead replacing longtime team executive Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations. The team continued to build around Brown and Tatum, and made it back to the NBA Finals in 2022 before falling to the Golden State Warriors led by superstar Stephen Curry. After enduring a scandal in which new head coach Ime Udoka was suspended and eventually permanently removed for an improper relationship with a staff member, the Celtics moved on with Joe Mazzulla as coach. They had another strong season in 2022–23, but ultimately lost the Eastern Conference Finals to the Miami Heat in seven games. In 2023–24, with Brown and Tatum complemented by notable new additions Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics improved again, finishing with an NBA-best 64–18 record in the regular season. After progressing through the playoffs, they reached the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks and won a record-setting eighteenth NBA championship.

Notable Players

As one of the oldest and most successful franchises in the NBA, the Boston Celtics have had many former players inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Chief among these honorees is legendary center Bill Russell. A defensive mastermind who forever changed the way basketball was played, Russell led the Celtics to eleven NBA championships and won an array of awards. In his thirteen-season career, Russell accumulated more than 14,000 points and 21,000 rebounds. He also guided the Celtics to two championships as a coach after taking over that duty from Red Auerbach in 1966. Inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1975, he was added as a coach in 2021.

Just behind Russell on the list of all-time Celtics greats is forward Larry Bird. Affectionately known as “The Hick from French Lick,” Bird was a dominating all-around player who was the unquestioned face of the Celtics in the 1980s and early 1990s. In addition to his numerous All-Star appearances and other personal accomplishments, Bird led the Celtics to a trio of NBA championships. By the time of his retirement, Bird had more than 21,000 career points and almost 10,000 rebounds.

Many other players from the Celtics' multiple dominant eras are also enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Small forward and shooting guard John Havlicek played with the Celtics from 1962 to 1978 and was one of the team’s key stars during that time. He won eight NBA championships with the Celtics and became the team’s all-time leading scorer with a career total of 26,395 points. He also retired with more than 8,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists. Power forward Kevin McHale played alongside Bird in the 1980s and developed a penchant for drawing opponents into fouls with his famous hard pump fake on low post shots. Over the course of his career, McHale scored more than 17,000 points and recorded more than 7,000 rebounds. Another key member of the 1980s Celtics was center Robert Parish. The towering seven-foot-one Parish was a nearly unstoppable player who scored more than 23,000 career points and pulled in more than 15,000 rebounds in his twenty-two-year career. Other Celtics Hall of Famers include Jo Jo White, Tommy Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Sam Jones, and Bill Sharman.

Each of the Celtics' "Big Three" stars from the championship-winning 2007–08 squad reached the Hall of Fame. Paul Pierce was drafted by Boston tenth overall in 1998, and became a consistent standout despite the team's struggles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He served as team captain and earned ten All-Star selections, becoming a fan favorite even before he was named MVP of the 2008 NBA Finals. Considered one of the greatest pure shooters in NBA history, shooting guard Ray Allen played five seasons with the Celtics from 2007 to 2012 and had a key role in the team’s 2008 championship. Equally important to the Celtics’ 2008 team was center/forward Kevin Garnett, who established himself as a superstar with the Minnesota Timberwolves before coming to Boston in a trade. In his six seasons with the Celtics, Garnett scored more than 6,000 points and pulled in more than 3,000 rebounds.

There have been many other notable Boston Celtics as well. Small forward Cedric Maxwell played for the Celtics from 1977 to 1985 and won two NBA championships during that time. In his eight years in Boston, Maxwell scored more than 8,300 points and corralled more than 4,000 rebounds. Point Guard Rajon Rondo was a key element of the 2008 championship alongside Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. During his nine seasons with the Celtics, Rondo scored more than 5,700 points and had more than 2,400 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas became a fan-favorite, high-scoring star with the Celtics from 2015 to 2017, before the team controversially traded him for another prominent player, Kyrie Irving, who played two All-Star seasons in Boston before leaving. During that same era, the Celtics drafted both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who emerged as dual stars and led the team to the 2024 championship.

Bibliography

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“Boston Celtics.” Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/query/?q=Boston+Celtics. Accessed 18 June 2024.

“Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation Community Impact Report.” Boston Celtics, 2020,www.nba.com/resources/static/team/v2/celtics/cdn/community/files/ImpactReport‗2020.pdf. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.

"Boston Celtics Statistics." NBA, www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612738/traditional. Accessed 18 June 2024.

“Boston Celtics Team History.” Sports Team History, 2020, sportsteamhistory.com/boston-celtics. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.

“#4 Boston Celtics.” Forbes, October 2023, www.forbes.com/teams/boston-celtics/. Accessed 18 June 2024.

Spencer, Adam. “Top 25 Players in Boston Celtics History: Where Does Paul Pierce Rank?” Bleacher Report, 19 Dec. 2010, bleacherreport.com/articles/542791-top-25-players-in-boston-celtics-history-where-does-paul-pierce-rank. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.