The early 1980s Celtics were good, but they became great in 1983 when Red Auerbach made a trade for 1979 NBA Finals MVP Dennis Johnson. A tough player and tenacious defender, Johnson helped deliver NBA World Championship titles in 1984 and 1986 and was a notorious thorn in the side of Los Angeles Lakers legend […]

After defeating the Washington Bullets in four games in the 1984 Eastern Conference First Round, the Celtics faced the New York Knicks in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. The physical semifinals went seven games, but Boston came out on top. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics took revenge on the […]

The Celtics seemed to be back at full strength in the 1989-90 season with Larry Bird’s return from injury, productive seasons from Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson, and the emergence of Reggie Lewis as a starter. The team improved its win total by 10 and won the first two games of their opening-round […]

Imagine what the final season of the Boston Garden could have been with Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. Bias would have been just 31 early in the 1994-95 season and Lewis just 28. The loss of these young stars resonated deeply in the mid-1990s as the superstars of the past retired – first Dennis Johnson, […]

Dennis Johnson joined the Celtics in 1983 as the team made a run for the NBA World Championship title. His 22-point performance in Game 7 of the 1984 NBA Finals helped the Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers. DJ wore these Converse sneakers in 1990 during the final season of his Hall-of-Fame career.

After Reggie Lewis’ shocking passing and Kevin McHale’s retirement, a new crop of Celtics players took on leadership positions during the 1993-94 season. Kevin Gamble, Sherman Douglas, Rick Fox and Dino Radja, who made the All-Rookie Second Team, stepped into starring roles. Thankfully, familiar faces helped guide the young stars as Larry Bird joined the […]

The acquisition of Phoenix Suns point guard Dennis Johnson in 1983 appeared to be the missing link in bringing two more NBA World Championships to Boston. The 1979 NBA Finals MVP with the Seattle SuperSonics perfectly melded with Celtics Coach K.C. Jones, a former point man in his day. Jones talked strategy with DJ during […]

Offseason foot surgery kept Kevin McHale out of the Celtics lineup until December 1987 as Boston struggled to an 11-8 start. But once the full starting five was in place, the Celtics dominated by winning 44 of the next 57 games en route to their fifth straight Atlantic Division championship. Danny Ainge gave the Celtics […]

Other than winning NBA World Championship titles in Boston, Kevin McHale, Dennis Johnson, Red Auerbach and Robert Parish had something else in common. The Celtics retired each of their numbers – even Auerbach, whose No. 2 went up in the rafters during a ceremony on January 4, 1985. The number followed Celtics founder Walter Brown’s […]

Children of a certain era know exactly what someone means when they say “Starter jacket.” The brightly-colored satin jackets were on the sidelines of NBA games just as often as playgrounds and classrooms during the 1980s and ’90s. With players such as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson wearing these threads, it’s no wonder why kids found the jackets to be […]