The Big Three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish became the “big five” when Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge joined them on the floor during the 1987-88 season. The quintet each averaged at least 30 minutes and 12 points per game without much help from the bench. This core powered the Celtics to […]

New Head Coach Doc Rivers and Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge posed with Team President Red Auerbach during the Celtics photo day in 2005. When the team hired Rivers in 2004, Auerbach said, “He has control. He’s knowledgeable. He’s a good motivator. And he’s always right in the ballgame, at all times.” Red’s faith […]

Led by All-Star Larry Bird, the Celtics posted 56 wins and the league’s third-best record in the 1982-83 season. The highlight of his season came on March 30 when Bird scored a then franchise single-game record of 53 points against his home state Indiana Pacers. Even with their win total, the Celtics came in second […]

The Red Auerbach Youth Foundation Celebrity Golf Tournament helped raise money to encourage children, especially those without normal access, to play sports. Held at various prestigious private golf courses around the greater Boston area over the years, Celtics players from Bob Cousy and K.C. Jones to Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge participated, helping their old […]

It wasn’t surprising when Brad Stevens moved away from Butler University in 2013 after leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA Championship game appearances – many collegiate bluebloods like UCLA had pursued the 36-year-old Stevens for years. Stevens instead chose to leave the NCAA for new pastures as head coach of the Boston Celtics. He became […]

Coach Doc Rivers and Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge posed for a photograph after the Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. It was the franchise’s first title win since 1986, when Ainge himself was a Celtics player. Rivers, whose shirt was stained by sports drink dumped […]

Celtics history is filled with postseason success stories, but this isn’t one of them. Boston was bounced from the 2004 NBA Playoffs in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, the team they beat in the previous season’s playoffs. Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge bluntly said, “This year was not pretty. […]

Isaiah Thomas had a year to remember in the 2016-17 season. Averaging over 28 points per game while playing in 76 regular-season contests, Thomas made the NBA All-Star team and his performance earned him a nomination to the All-NBA team. After an injury ended Thomas’ season during the Eastern Conference Finals, former Celtics star Danny […]

Dennis Johnson provided the Celtics with a much-needed spark. After Boston won the 1981 NBA World Championship title but failed to make the NBA Finals over the next two seasons, Red Auerbach traded for DJ, the 1979 NBA Finals MVP with the Seattle SuperSonics. Johnson’s defensive intensity and basketball intelligence paid immediate dividends as the […]

Just one day after winning the 15th NBA World Championship title in franchise history, members of the Celtics were feted by President Ronald Reagan at the White House. Just back from a trip to his ancestral Ireland, Reagan compared Boston’s basketball team to the Celtic warriors of old. “You threw yourselves into that final battle […]