Offseason
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Greg Kite | Center |  United States | BYU |
| 1983–84 Boston Celtics season | |
|---|---|
NBA champions | |
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | K. C. Jones |
| General manager | Red Auerbach |
| Owners | Don Gaston Alan N. Cohen Paul Dupee |
| Arena | Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 62–20 (.756) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | NBA champions (Defeated Lakers 4–3) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | SportsChannel New England, WBZ, WTXX |
| Radio | WRKO, WTIC |
The 1983–84 Boston Celtics were champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the 15th time in franchise history, led by regular season and finals MVP Larry Bird.
In the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Washington Bullets in the First Round in three games, defeated the New York Knicks in the Semi-finals in seven games, and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Finals in five games, advancing to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Celtics faced their long time rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, the first time the two teams faced off against each other since 1969 in which the Celtics won 4–3, and the first time the two teams met in the Finals in the 1980s. The Celtics would go on to defeat the Lakers in seven games, winning their fifteenth NBA championship, and extending their NBA Finals victories over the Lakers to 8. HoopsHype would later rank this squad as the team with the 15th easiest route to the NBA Finals championship, primarily due to the record of the Washington Bullets in the first round. [1]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Greg Kite | Center | United States | BYU |
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coach Assistant(s) Legend
|
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – | 33–8 | 29–12 | 13–11 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 10 | 32–9 | 20–21 | 15–9 |
| x-New York Knicks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 | 29–12 | 18–23 | 12–12 |
| x-New Jersey Nets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 17 | 29–12 | 16–25 | 12–12 |
| x-Washington Bullets | 35 | 47 | .427 | 27 | 25–16 | 10–31 | 8–16 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 62 | 20 | .756 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 12 |
| 3 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 52 | 30 | .634 | 10 |
| 4 | x-Detroit Pistons | 49 | 33 | .598 | 13 |
| 5 | x-New York Knicks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 15 |
| 6 | x-New Jersey Nets | 45 | 37 | .549 | 17 |
| 7 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 22 |
| 8 | x-Washington Bullets | 35 | 47 | .427 | 27 |
| 9 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 28 | 54 | .341 | 34 |
| 10 | Chicago Bulls | 27 | 55 | .329 | 35 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 26 | 56 | .317 | 36 |
| 1983–84 game log Total: 62–20 (Home: 33–8; Road: 29–12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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November: 11–4 (home: 7–1; road: 4–3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
December: 12–3 (home: 5–2; road: 7–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
January: 11–1 (home: 6–0; road: 5–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
February: 8–6 (home: 4–3; road: 4–3)
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March: 13–4 (home: 7–2; road: 6–2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April: 6–1 (home: 4–0; road: 2–1)
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| 1983–84 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 playoff game log Total: 15–8 (home: 12–1; road: 3–7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Conference First Round: 3–1 (home: 2–0; road: 1–1)
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Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3)
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Eastern Conference Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
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NBA Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
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| 1984 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Scoring Average
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Bird | 79 | 796 | 520 | 144 | 69 | 1908 | 24.2 |
| Robert Parish | 80 | 857 | 139 | 55 | 116 | 1520 | 19.0 |
| Kevin McHale | 82 | 610 | 104 | 23 | 126 | 1511 | 18.4 |
| Dennis Johnson | 80 | 280 | 338 | 93 | 57 | 1053 | 13.2 |
| Cedric Maxwell | 80 | 461 | 205 | 63 | 24 | 955 | 11.9 |
| Gerald Henderson | 78 | 147 | 300 | 117 | 14 | 908 | 11.6 |
| Danny Ainge | 71 | 116 | 162 | 41 | 4 | 384 | 5.4 |
| Scott Wedman | 68 | 139 | 67 | 27 | 7 | 327 | 4.8 |
| Quinn Buckner | 79 | 137 | 214 | 84 | 3 | 324 | 4.1 |
| M.L. Carr | 60 | 75 | 49 | 17 | 4 | 185 | 3.1 |
| Greg Kite | 35 | 62 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 65 | 1.9 |
| Carlos Clark | 31 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 54 | 1.7 |
The Lakers opened the series with a 115–109 victory at Boston Garden.
In Game 2, the Lakers led 113–111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup and the Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124–121.
In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137–104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists. After the game, Larry Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates.
In Game 4, the Lakers had a five-point lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129–125 victory in overtime. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's takedown of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would go after Larry Bird later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter.
In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3–2 series lead as Larry Bird scored 34 points. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97-degree heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. The Celtics did not warm up with their sweat pants on because of extreme heat, and oxygen tanks were provided to give air to exhausted players.
In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119–108 victory. In the game the Lakers answered the Celtics' rough tactics when Laker forward James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war."
In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not so bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91 degrees during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). The Celtics were led by Cedric Maxwell who had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as they came away with a 111–102 victory. In the game the Lakers rallied from a 14-point-deficit to three with one minute remaining when Cedric Maxwell knocked the ball away from Magic Johnson. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. Larry Bird was named MVP of the series.
The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time.
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| Franchise | |
| Arenas | |
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| G League affiliate | |
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