Boston Celtics Tickets

Staff Writer Nichole P. Pingel
Like the Lakers, the Boston Celtics are among the few franchises that rank older than the NBA. Walter Brown, owner of the Boston Garden and a driving force behind the Basketball Association of America (BAA), established the Celtics on June 6, 1946. The team’s first game on November 5th of that year is most remembered as the first time a player (Chuck Connors) shattered a backboard, at that time, the boards were made of wood. Three years later, the Boston Celtics became a charter franchise of the NBA.

The league was reorganized prior to the start of the 1950-51 season, and Boston reaped the benefits. The team acquired Bob Cousy, added Red Auerbach as coach and drafted Charles Cooper, the first African-American player ever drafted by an NBA team. Cousy brought behind-the-back dribbling and no-look passes to the game. The following season, Bill Sharman joined the Celtic’s roster but struggled to get the team past the Knicks in the postseason for the next two years. The 1954-55 season saw Auerbach invent the role of the sixth man by bringing Frank Ramsey off the bench for instant offense. While the team finished the season at .500, Boston was the first in league history to average over 100 points. Two years later, Auerbach finally decided to do something about his team’s defense. He found a solution in Bill Russell. However, Russell didn’t join the team until late December, as a result of helping the U.S. to a gold medal in Melbourne, Australia. The Celtics finished the season with the league’s best record, 44-28, and met the St. Louis Hawks in the Finals. Game 7, a 125-123 Boston win, was the first nationally televised NBA game. By the end of the 1957-58 season, the Celtics again owned the league’s best record and Russell earned his first of five MVP awards. The Finals resulted in a rematch with the Hawks and ended in St. Louis’ only NBA Championship. The following season, Sam Jones joined the roster as Boston improved to a 52-20 record. In the Finals, the Celtics swept Elgin Baylor and the Minneapolis Lakers for their second league title. (For more information on the Lakers, click here) The 1960 postseason put Boston against Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia Warriors in the Eastern Division Finals. The Celtics won in six games, but the team needed seven games to defeat the Hawks in the Finals.

A year later, Boston posted a 57-win record and took St. Louis to five games in the Finals before claiming a fourth title. Russell received his second MVP. Prior to the 1961-62 season, Sharman left Boston to coach a new American Basketball League (ABL) team in Los Angeles. Russell became the first repeat MVP and the team became the first in league history to record 60 wins in one season. The Celtics and Lakers met again in the Finals, but Boston needed overtime in Game 7 to claim its fifth NBA Championship. The following season, the Celtics drafted John Havlicek and posted a 58-22 record. Russell won his third MVP as Boston defeated Los Angeles again in the Finals. At season’s end, Cousy retired. Russell led the Celtics to 59 wins during the 1963-64 season. The team went on to defeat Chamberlain and the San Francisco Warriors for a seventh league title. After the season, the Celtics owner, Walter Brown, died.

As a result, the next season was dedicated to Brown. The team went on to win 62 games and faced Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. Holding a seven-point lead with 2:00 left in Game 7, Boston appeared to have the contest in hand, but then Chamberlain scored six quick points to pull the 76ers within one at 110-109. With five seconds left, Russell inbounded the ball with a pass that hit a wire supporting the basket, and possession went to Philadelphia. But when the Sixers' Hal Greer threw the ball in to Chet Walker, John Havlicek stepped in and snatched the pass, inciting announcer Johnny Most's legendary shouts of "Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!". The Celtics again faced the Lakers in the Finals, taking the championship for the eighth time and Auerbach was named the league’s Coach of the Year. In the 1966 postseason, Boston met Los Angeles again for a Finals rematch. L.A. took the series to seven games before the Celtics claimed their eighth straight NBA title. During the off-season, Auerbach stepped down to become the team’s general manager and named Russell player-coach. Although Russell improved the Celtics to 60 wins a year later, he didn’t get Boston past Philadelphia in the Eastern Division Finals. The team would miss the Finals for the first time in a decade. The 1968 postseason saw the Celtics face the Sixers for the fourth consecutive season. However, Boston proved victorious and met their usual opponent in the Finals. The Celtics needed six games against the Lakers to win the team’s 10th championship. The following season marked the sixth time in eight seasons Boston and L.A. met in the Finals. Each meeting resulted in a Celtics championship. Russell and Sam Jones retired after the season. Bill Russell left the team with fi ve MVP awards and11 NBA Championships while Jones had 10 league titles. The team closed the 60s by missing the playoffs for the first time in two decades.

Boston opened the 70s with draft pick Dave Cowens. Cowens was named co-recipient of the league’s Rookie of the Year award for the 1970-71 season. This was the only time the award was shared. The Celtics fell to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1972 and 1973. The next year saw another Boston-New York match up, but the Celtics would survive this time. The team met a new opponent in the Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Milwaukee Bucks. The series went to seven games and ended in a Boston win. The 1976 Finals put the Celtics against the Phoenix Suns. Game 5 was the longest in Finals history. Boston needed three overtimes to win the game by two points. The Suns took the Celtics to seven games, but to no avail: Boston won its 13th league title. Before the 1978-79 season, the team acquired Nate Archibald and two draft picks, in addition to retaining the draft rights to Larry Bird, who wore a Celtics jersey a year later. After the season, Havlicek retired and Cowens became player-coach.

A new era began to form in Boston as Cowens retired and the team traded its first and thirteenth 1980 draft picks to the Golden State Warriors for Robert Parish and the third pick, which they used to select Kevin McHale. After a season finish of 62-20, the Celtics met Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers for a seven game Eastern Conference Finals series. Then Boston faced Moses Malone and the Houston Rockets in the championship round to win the franchise’s 14th NBA title. McHale contributed immediate offence of the bench during the 1983-84 season. In fact, he and Bird led the team to 62 wins. For their efforts, Bird won the first of three straight MVP Awards and McHale earned his first of two consecutive NBA Sixth Man Awards. The Celtics met their usual opponents (the Lakers) and finished them off with the usual result (a Boston win). The following season almost mirrored the one before. Bird received his second MVP and McHale won his second Sixth Man Award. For the ninth time, the team faced Los Angeles in the Finals. However, the Lakers had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to help them break the Celtics’ curse and finally proved victorious over Boston. The team acquired Bill Walton prior to the 1985-86 season. Bird earned his third straight MVP and Walton took the Sixth Man Award. The Celtics faced Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets in the Finals to claim their 16th league championship. The next season marked the 10th meeting between Boston and Los Angeles in the Finals. However, the “Showtime” Lakers would prove that the Celtics were no longer in control as L.A. won the series in six games.

Boston finished the 1991-92 season in first place, but was eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Bird joined Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan in Barcelona for the Summer Olympic Games to help lead the Dream Team to a gold medal. Once back in Boston, Bird announced his retirement. Two years later, McHale followed suit and Parish left the Celtics for the Charlotte Hornets. The Boston dynasty was officially over. The 1994-95 season was the last for the team at Boston Garden. The team began the next year at the FleetCenter. The 1996-97 season marked the Celtics’ 50th in the league. Boston celebrated by selecting Antoine Walker in the pre-season draft. Walker became the seventh rookie in team history to score 1,000 points in a season. Rick Fox also set a team single season record by grabbing 167 steals, passing Bird’s record by one. Fox left after the season and the Celtics selected Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer in the 1997 NBA Draft. A year later, Billups was sent to Toronto and Boston finished the season 36-46, a 21-game improvement. The Celtics closed the 1990s with a boost from Paul Pierce, who joined the Boston roster with the start of the abbreviated 1999 season. Pierce helped the Celtics lead the league in steals per game.

During the first season of the new millennium, Pierce became the first Celtic to score 2,000 points since Bird. The team would reach the playoffs in each of the next three seasons, but never made the finals. Boston lost to the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002 and in the Semifinals in 2003 and the Indiana Pacers in the first round in 2004; and the rest, as they say, is history.

For more information on the Boston Celtics, visit www.nba.com/celtics