The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946 as one of the league's original eight teams, the Celtics play their home games at TD Garden, a shared arena with the NHL's Boston Bruins. The Celtics are regarded as one of the most successful teams in NBA history and hold the records for most NBA championships won, with 18, and most recorded wins of any NBA franchise.
Daniel Ray Ainge is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his 18-year career as general manager for the Boston Celtics, Ainge was known for making bold moves to help the team rebuild, and clearing cap space. He served as the Celtics' president of basketball operations from 2003 until his retirement in 2021.
Robert Lee Parish is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 1997. During his 14-year tenure with the Boston Celtics, Parish teamed with Hall-of-Fame forwards Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to form one of the greatest front lines in NBA history.
Nathaniel "Tiny" Archibald is an American retired professional basketball player. He spent 14 years playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City–Omaha Kings and Boston Celtics. In 1991, he was enshrined into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame.
William Walton Sharman was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered the greatest backcourt duo of all time. As a coach, Sharman won titles in the ABL, ABA, and NBA, and is credited with introducing the now-ubiquitous morning shootaround.
Samuel Jones was an American professional basketball player who was a shooting guard for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time NBA All-Star, for his quickness and game-winning shots, especially during the NBA playoffs, he was nicknamed "Mr. Clutch" and "The Shooter". Jones has the second most NBA championships of any player (10), behind only his teammate Bill Russell (11). He was also one of only three Celtics to be part of each of the Celtics' eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. Jones is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The 1980 NBA draft was the 34th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 10, 1980, at the Sheraton Centre Hotel & Towers, before the 1980–81 season. In this draft, 23 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Boston Celtics, who obtained the Detroit Pistons' first-round pick in a trade, won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Utah Jazz were awarded the second pick. The Celtics then traded the first pick to the Golden State Warriors before the draft. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. An expansion franchise, the Dallas Mavericks, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the eleventh pick in each round. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was automatically eligible for selection. Before the draft, five college underclassmen announced that they would leave college early and would be eligible for selection. The draft consisted of 10 rounds comprising the selection of 214 players. This draft has the distinction of being the first NBA Draft to be televised.
Mark D. Blount is an American retired professional basketball center with four teams in the National Basketball Association between 2000 and 2009.
Joseph Henry White was an American basketball player. As an amateur, he played at the University of Kansas, where he was named a second-team All-American twice. White was part of the U.S. men's basketball team during the 1968 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal with the team.
Christopher Joseph Ford was an American professional basketball player and head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Mad Bomber", Ford played most of his NBA career on the Detroit Pistons, before finishing his playing career at the Boston Celtics. In the Celtics' season opener in 1979–80, he was credited with making the first official three-point shot in NBA history. He won an NBA championship with the Celtics in 1981.
Sidney Wicks is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A native of California, he played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. Wicks was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1971 NBA draft with the second overall pick. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and was a four-time NBA All-Star with the Trail Blazers. He also played professionally for the Boston Celtics and San Diego Clippers, finishing his career after one season in Italy.
Greg Magado Minor is an American basketball coach and a former National Basketball Association player who spent five seasons with the Boston Celtics. Born in Sandersville, Georgia he played basketball for Washington County High School before enrolling at the University of Louisville to play for the Cardinals. He has been an assistant coach with the NBA Development League's Tulsa 66ers, Bakersfield Jam, and Idaho Stampede.
The 1972 NBA draft was the 26th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 10 and 15, 1972 before the 1972–73 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each conference, with the order determined by a coin flip. The Portland Trail Blazers won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Buffalo Braves were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. As a result of last year's supplemental hardship draft, the Cincinnati Royals, the Atlanta Hawks, the Golden State Warriors and the Baltimore Bullets forfeited their first-round picks, while the Los Angeles Lakers forfeited their fourth round pick. Prior to the start of the season, the Cincinnati Royals relocated and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. The draft consisted of 18 rounds comprising the selection of 198 players.
Douglas Smith is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected by the Dallas Mavericks as the sixth overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft.
Hubert "Hugh" Evans was an American basketball referee in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 28 seasons. He worked 1,969 regular season NBA games and 35 NBA Finals games during his NBA officiating career from 1972 to 2001. He subsequently served as an assistant supervisor of officials in the NBA front office.
The 1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season was the team's 15th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its sixth in Cincinnati. The Royals were shifted from the Western Division into the Eastern Division before the start of the season because the Philadelphia Warriors had relocated to San Francisco. In their first season in the Eastern Division, the Royals posted a 42–38 record and finished in 3rd place. The season saw the Royals challenged by a rival league, the American Basketball League run by Abe Saperstein, like few NBA teams ever have been. Larry Staverman and Win Wilfong had left the team for the new league. #1 draft picks Larry Siegfried and Jerry Lucas were both also signed away by the ABL. These key losses would later greatly affect the team's playoffs result. Lucas was particularly missed by Cincinnati fans. Oscar Robertson nonetheless led a balanced and solid Royals five that year, supported by Wayne Embry, Jack Twyman, Bob Boozer and Arlen Bockhorn. Draft pick Adrian Smith had arrived and joined Tom Hawkins and Hub Reed at the head of the bench. Robertson posted 28.3 points per game, and his league-leading assists total was twice that of all but one other NBA player. He sank the second-most free throws in the league, and was a strong third on the Royals in rebounds.
The 1994–95 NBA season was the 49th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. This was the Celtics first season since the 1979–80 season without longtime center Robert Parish, who left as a free agent to the Charlotte Hornets. It was also the team's final season of play at the Boston Garden. After missing the playoffs the previous season, the Celtics had the ninth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected Eric Montross from the University of North Carolina. Prior to the season, the Celtics signed free agent All-Star forward Dominique Wilkins, signed free agents Pervis Ellison, second-year guard David Wesley and rookie guard Greg Minor, and acquired Blue Edwards and Derek Strong from the Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics got off to a 7–6 start in November, but played below .500 for the remainder of the season, holding a 19–27 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, Edwards was traded back to his former team, the Utah Jazz in exchange for Jay Humphries. The Celtics won eight of their final twelve games finishing third in the Atlantic Division with a 35–47 record.
The 1996–97 NBA season was the 51st season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. Celebrating its 50th anniversary as one of the NBA's original franchises, the Celtics selected Antoine Walker from the University of Kentucky with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. During the off-season, the team signed free agents Frank Brickowski and Marty Conlon. However, after a 4–8 start to the season, the Celtics lost 13 of their next 14 games as players like Dino Radja, Dana Barros, Dee Brown, Greg Minor and Pervis Ellison were all out for long stretches of the season with injuries. The team suffered through their worst season, holding an 11–35 record at the All-Star break, then posting a 13-game losing streak between February and March, and losing ten straight games near the end of the season. The Celtics lost 34 of their final 38 games, finishing last place in the Atlantic Division with a dreadful 15–67 record, which is the team's worst record in franchise history.
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. A new era began for the Celtics as they moved into their current home, a state of the art new arena then known as the Fleet Center. In addition, this also ended their practice of playing occasional home games at the Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. The Celtics had the fourteenth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Eric Williams out of Providence College. There was much speculation during the previous off-season over who would coach the team after the firing of Chris Ford, with candidates that included former Celtics coaches Dave Cowens and K. C. Jones, and even former Celtic player Paul Silas. Ultimately, General Manager M. L. Carr decided to hire himself as the team's new head coach. The Celtics also signed free agent and former Boston College star Dana Barros, who won the Most Improved Player award the previous season with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Washington Huskies men's basketball team represents the University of Washington in NCAA Division I college basketball competing in the Big Ten Conference. Their home games are played at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, located in Seattle, and they are currently led by head coach Danny Sprinkle.
