Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics
2024–25 Boston Celtics season
Conference	Eastern
Division	Atlantic
Founded	1946
History	Boston Celtics 1946–present[1][2][3]
Arena	TD Garden
Location	Boston, Massachusetts
Team colors	Green, white, black, gold, brown[4][5][6]
Main sponsor	Vistaprint[7]
CEO	Wyc Grousbeck[8]
President	Rich Gotham[9]
General manager	Brad Stevens[8]
Head coach	Joe Mazzulla
Ownership	Boston Basketball Partners
Affiliation(s)	Maine Celtics
Championships	18 (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008, 2024)
Conference titles	11 (1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2008, 2010, 2022, 2024)
Division titles	34 (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Retired numbers	23 (00, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, LOSCY)
Website	www.nba.com/celtics
Association Icon Statement

The Boston Celtics (/ˈsɛltɪks/ SEL-tiks^[a]) 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.^[11][12]

The Celtics' rise to dominance began in the late 1950s, after the team, led by coach Red Auerbach, acquired center Bill Russell, who would become the cornerstone of the Celtics dynasty, in a draft-day trade in 1956. Led by Russell, point guard Bob Cousy, and 1956–57 Rookie of the Year Tom Heinsohn, the Celtics won their first NBA championship in 1957. Russell, along with a talented supporting cast of future Hall of Famers including Tom Heinsohn, Don Nelson, K. C. Jones, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Sharman, would usher the Celtics into the greatest period in franchise history, winning eight consecutive NBA championships from 1959 to 1966 and two more in 1968 and 1969. After Russell retired, as a player-coach, and the first African-American head coach in any US sport, in 1969, the team entered a period of rebuilding.

In the mid-1970s, the Celtics became contenders once again, winning championships in 1974 and 1976 under the leadership of head coach Tom Heinsohn with center Dave Cowens, forward John Havlicek, and point guard Jo Jo White. In the 1980s, the Celtics returned to dominance. The team experienced a renewed rivalry with the "Showtime" Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Anchored by the "Big Three" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, the Celtics won championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986, the latter two with head coach K. C. Jones. After the retirements of Bird and McHale, the departure of Parish, and the untimely deaths of 1986 draft pick Len Bias and star player Reggie Lewis, the Celtics struggled through the 1990s and much of the early 2000s.

After a period of rebuilding, the Celtics assembled a new "Big Three" around team captain Paul Pierce by acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the 2007 offseason. Under the leadership of head coach Doc Rivers, the team defeated the Lakers to win their 17th championship in 2008, while also losing to the Lakers in the 2010 Finals. Garnett, Pierce, and Allen were no longer with the team by the start of the 2013–14 season, with Pierce and Garnett being traded to the Brooklyn Nets for three future first round picks. With two of these first round picks, the team drafted Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Led by "The Jays", the team reached the Conference Finals six times during an eight-year span from 2017 to 2024. They returned to the NBA Finals in 2022, losing to the Golden State Warriors, and defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 2024 to secure their 18th championship.

The Celtics have a notable rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers (who are second in NBA history with 17 championships). The teams' rivalry was especially pronounced in the 1960s and 1980s. The franchise has played the Lakers a record 12 times in the NBA Finals and has defeated them nine times. Four Celtics players (Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Dave Cowens and Larry Bird) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award; overall, Celtics players have won an NBA-record 10 MVP awards.^[13] Both the nickname "Celtics" and their mascot "Lucky the Leprechaun" are a nod to Boston's historically large Irish population, and also to the Original Celtics, a barnstorming basketball team that played in the early 20th century.^[14]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).