- 1946
- 1957
- 1957 - 1960
- 1961 - 1963
- 1964 - 1966
- 1968 - 1974
- 1978
- 1981 - 1986
- 1995
- 2008
-
Boston Celtics Team Formation
The Boston Celtics were formed on June 6, 1946, by Boston Garden-Arena Corporation President Walter A. Brown as a team in the Basketball Association of America, and became part of the National Basketball Association after the absorption of the National Basketball League by the BAA in the fall of 1949. In 1950, the Celtics signed Chuck Cooper, becoming the first NBA ... -
Trade for Bill Russell
After the 1955 – 1956 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade. He sent perennial All-Star Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the second overall pick in the draft. After negotiating with the Rochester Royals a negotiation that included a promise that the Celtics owner would send the highly ... -
NBA Finals Winners 57,’ 59′ – 60′
NBA Finals – 1957 The 1957 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1956 – 1957 National Basketball Association season and was the conclusion of the 1957 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics. This was Boston’s first trip to the NBA ... -
NBA Finals Winners 61′ – 63′
NBA Finals – 1961 The 1961 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1961 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1960 – 1961 season. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics. This was the Celtics’ 5th straight trip to the championship series, ... -
NBA Finals Winners 64′ – 66′
NBA Finals – 1964 The 1964 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1964 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1963 – 1964 season. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion San Francisco Warriors and the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics. This was the Celtics’ 8th straight trip to the championship series, ... -
NBA Finals Winner 68′ – 69,’ 74,’ 76′
NBA Finals – 1968 The 1968 NBA World Championship Series pitted the Boston Celtics from the East, against the Los Angeles Lakers from the West, for the sixth time in ten years. The Celtics won their tenth NBA Championship in twelve seasons, by defeating the Lakers in six games. Significantly, Game 6 of the 1968 NBA Finals marked the first ... -
Drafting Larry Bird
The Celtics owned two of the top eight picks in the 1978 NBA Draft. Since the Celtics had two draft choices, Auerbach took a risk and selected junior Larry Bird of Indiana State with the 6th pick, knowing that Bird would elect to remain in college for his senior year. The Celtics would retain his rights for one year a ... -
NBA Finals Winner 81,’ 84,’ 86′
NBA Finals – 1981 The 1981 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament that followed National Basketball Association’s 1980 – 1981 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. Cedric Maxwell was named NBA Finals MVP. NBA Finals – 1984 The 1984 NBA ... -
Closing Down Boston Garden
In 1995, the Celtics moved from the Boston Garden to the Fleet Center (later TD BankNorth, then TD Garden). Construction began on April 29, 1993. Plans for the new arena stated that it would be slightly north of the old facility. The term “slightly north” ended up meaning that there were only nine inches (23 cm) of space between the ... -
NBA Final Winner 2008
NBA Finals – 2008 The 2008 NBA Finals were held June 5 through June 17 of 2008, to decide the winner of the 2007 – 2008 NBA season, and conclude the season’s playoffs. The Boston Celtics, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, four games to two in a best-of-seven ...
History of the Celtics
The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 and one of eight NBA teams (out of 23 total teams) to survive the league's first decade, the team is owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Boston Bruins. The franchise's 17 championships are the most of any NBA franchise and account for 24.3 percent of all NBA championships since the league's founding in 1946. As a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues.
Established
1946
City
Boston
League History
1949 - Present / National Basketball Association
1946 - 1949 / Basketball Association of America
Team History
1946 - Present / Boston Celtics
Nickname
Celtics - The name was chosen because “Boston is full of Irishman,” according to team owner Walter Brown. Team owner Walter Brown personally chose Celtics over Whirlwinds, Olympians, and Unicorns as the nickname for Boston's Basketball Association of America team in 1946. Despite the warnings of one of his publicity staffers, who told Brown, "No team with an Irish name has ever won a damned thing in Boston," Brown liked the winning tradition of the nickname; the New York Celtics were a successful franchise during the 1920s.
Championship
NBA Championships 17
2008, 1986, 1984, 1981, 1976, 1974, 1969, 1968, 1966, 1965, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1961, 1960, 1959, 1957
Arena
2010 - Present / TD Garden
2005 - 2009 / TD Banknorth Garden
1995 - 2005 / FleetCenter
1993 - 1995 / Shawmut Center (during construction)
1946 - 1995 / Boston Garden
Owner
2002–Present / Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C.
1993 - 2002 / Paul Gaston
1983 - 1993 / Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, Paul Dupee
1979 - 1983 / Harry T. Mangurian, Jr.
1978 - 1979 / John Y. Brown, Jr. and Harry T. Mangurian, Jr.
1975 - 1978 / Irv Levin and Harold Lipton
1975 / Robert Schmertz/Leisure Technology, Irv Levin, and Harold Lipton
1972 - 1975 / Robert Schmertz/Leisure Technology
1972 - 1972 / Irv Levin and Harold Lipton
1971 - 1972 / Ballantine Brewery
1969 - 1971 / Trans-National Communications
1968 - 1969 / Ballantine Brewery
1965 - 1968 / Marvin Kratter/Knickerbocker Brewing Company
1964 - 1965 / Lou Pieri and Marjorie Brown
1950 - 1964 / Walter A. Brown/Lou Pieri
1946 - 1950 / Boston Garden-Arena Corporation
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
00 / Robert Parish
1 / Walter A. Brown
2 / Red Auerbach
3 / Dennis Johnson
6 / Bill Russell
10 / Jo Jo White
14 / Bob Cousy
15 / Tom Heinsohn
16 / Tom "Satch" Sanders
17 / John Havlicek
18 / Dave Cowens
19 / Don Nelson
21 / Bill Sharman
22 / Ed Macauley
23 / Frank Ramsey
24 / Sam Jones
25 / K.C. Jones
31 / Cedric Maxwell
32 / Kevin McHale
33 / Larry Bird
34 / Paul Pierce
35 / Reggie Lewis
LOSCY / Jim Loscutoff
MIC / Johnny Most
*Blue is this team’s history