Without Larry Bird, the Celtics were clearly Reggie Lewis’ team. It made sense when Lewis was elected team captain during training camp in 1992. “I think it’s great that the coaches and players have that kind of confidence in me and give me that kind of leadership on the team,” Lewis said. To help buttress […]

St. Patrick’s Day is a special holiday in Boston. Fittingly, the Celtics have a winning record for games played on March 17, including a 1985 win over the Houston Rockets when Larry Bird (48 points) and Robert Parish (38 points) put up the two highest St. Patrick’s Day point totals in team history. Starting in 2005, the team celebrated their […]

After a second-straight disappointing playoff run, Boston made a coaching change in 1983 and turned to former player K.C. Jones. He had been a Celtics assistant coach for six years and previously took the Washington Bullets to the 1975 NBA Finals as the team’s head coach. Jones was the man for the job as he […]

With a team full of superstars, K.C. Jones’ best trait as Celtics head coach was his ability to relate to his players. Red Auerbach said of Jones, “You never hear him say, ‘This is my team.’ It’s always our team.” Auerbach later added that “K.C. never coached out of fear. He coached out of confidence.” […]

After five years, the Celtics were back in the NBA Finals in 1981, this time against the Houston Rockets. In this iconic image, Larry Bird prepared to inbound the ball while Chris Ford (No. 42), Nate “Tiny” Archibald (No. 7), Robert Parish (No. 00) and Cedric Maxwell (No. 31) fought for position. Having all five […]

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 […]

Kevin McHale and Robert Parish welcomed back former teammate Danny Ainge and his new Phoenix Suns cohort Charles Barkley before a 1993 game. The trio had helped power Boston’s dominance in the 1980s and led the team to NBA World Championship titles in 1984 and 1986. McHale and Ainge had a playful relationship over the […]

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 […]

Just when it appeared that Reggie Lewis was ready to take over the reins from the likes of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, the unthinkable happened. Lewis passed away suddenly just weeks after leading the Celtics to the 1993 NBA Playoffs. This ball, with another unknown message, was signed by the 1992 All-Star […]

Celtics fans showed their support for their favorite players during the 1981 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. Rick Robey, Kevin McHale, Larry Bird, Tiny Archibald, Chris Ford and Robert Parish all earned shoutouts in this section! Boston’s fan banner game was so strong that reporters occasionally crowned a “banner of the game,” which was […]