History of the Boston Celtics

History of the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics were formed in 1946 as part of the Basketball Association of America.  They began play in the NBA in 1949 when the two leagues merged.  The following year, the Celtics became the first professional franchise to sign a black player when they drafted Chuck Cooper.

 

The seeds for the Celtics dynasty were formed when Red Auerbach was hired to coach the team in 1956.  Point guard Bob Cousy was acquired by Boston when the team he was playing on went bankrupt.  Auerbach was then able to make some trades and negotiations that ended with his team getting center Bill Russell forward Tommy Heinsohn.

 

With three future hall-of-famers, Boston went on a period of success that goes down as one of the most successful in sports.  They won their first championship in 1957 and returned to the championship series in 1958 only to lose to the St. Louis Hawks.

 

In 1959, the Celtics reclaimed the championship.  They defended the title year after year, refusing to relinquish it until 1967.  The eight straight titles Boston won from 1959 to 1966 is an NBA record that hasn’t been approached and is the longest consecutive championship winning streak of any North American professional sports team.

 

After the 1966 championship, Auerbach retired as coach and Russell was named player-coach.  He became the first black coach in the NBA.  Although his first season as player coach coincided with the Celtics first non-championship in eight years, he went on to be a very successful player coach, winning the championship in the 1968 and 1969 seasons.

 

The Celtics had moderate success in the 70s when compared to their historic run in the late 50s and 60s.  They were able to play in the championship series twice, in 1974 and 1976, winning each time.  They were led by future hall-of-famers John Havlicek and Dave Cowens.

 

Larry Bird of Indiana State joined the Celtics for the 1979-80 season.  He had been drafted two years earlier but opted to stay in college through his senior year.  The sharp-shooting forward turned out to be the key ingredient for another successful stretch in the 80s.  He teamed with forward Kevin McHale and center Robert Parrish to form the best frontline in the NBA.  “The Big Three,” as they came to be known, led Boston to three championships (1981, 1984, and 1986).

 

Magic Johnson joined the Los Angeles Lakers the same year Bird joined the Celtics.  The two famously met in the 1979 NCAA Championship Game in which Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans narrowly defeated Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores.  The two reestablished a rivalry between the Celtics and the Lakers, who had met several times in the Finals during Boston’s heyday.

 

The 90s were the worst decade for Boston.  Len Bias, as the second overall pick of the 1986 Draft, was supposed to be Boston’s star of the future.  However, he died shortly after being drafted of a cocaine overdose.  Tragedy struck again for Boston in 1993 when forward Reggie Lewis died.  With The Big Three aging, Boston fell from its spot at the top of the Eastern Conference, and eventually struggled to make the playoffs.  From 1996  to 2007, they made the playoffs just four times.

 

The Celtics have had resurgence over the past three years, however.  After acquiring former league MVP Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Celtics became the team to beat during the 2007-2008 season.  The two of them combined with veteran Celtic Paul Pierce to form the second rendition of “The Big Three.”  Pierce, Garnett, and Allen led Boston to their first championship in 22 years in 2008.

 

Boston continued to be one of the top teams in the NBA in 2009.  However, after an injury to Garnett, they lost in the second round to the Orlando Magic.

 

Currently, the Celtics are playing in the Eastern Conference Championship against the Orlando Magic.  After a lackluster second half of the season, Boston appears to have found their stroke after upsetting the number one seed Cleveland Cavaliers.