Celtics History Online Information and NBA Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Boston Celtics History betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Boston Celticst History Franchise history The beginning of a dynasty (1946-1969) The Celtics were formed in 1946 as a team in the Basketball Association of America, and became part of the National Basketball Association after the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League to form the NBA in the fall of 1949. The Celtics had struggled during their early years, but the hiring of Coach Red Auerbach would change their fortunes. One of the first major players to join the Celtics was Bob Cousy, whom Auerbach initially refused to draft. Cousy eventually became the property of the Chicago Stags.

When that franchise went bankrupt, Cousy was acquired by the Celtics in a dispersal draft. He would become a huge part of the Celtics' success and eventually became good friends with his new coach. Under Auerbach the Celtics improved dramatically, becoming a consistent threat to win in the NBA's Eastern Division in each of his first six seasons, although they fell short each time.

After the 1955-56 season, Auerbach made a stunning trade. He sent perennial All-Star and future Hall of Famer Ed Macauley to the St. Louis Hawks along with the draft rights to Cliff Hagan in exchange for the Hawks' first round draft pick, the second overall. After negotiating with the Rochester Royals, Auerbach used the pick to select University of San Francisco center Bill Russell . Auerbach also acquired Holy Cross standout, and 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year, Tommy Heinsohn. Russell and Heinsohn worked extraordinarly well with Cousy, and they were the players around whom Auerbach would build the Celtics for more than a decade. Russell, who might well have beaten Heinsohn for the '57 Rookie of the Year Award, had he not been ineligible due to joining the NBA mid-season in order to play for the US Olympic team (winning the gold), had an immediate impact during 1957. Russell joined the Celtics in December of 1956 and went on to play most every game during which the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals and defeated the St. Louis Hawks in seven games, giving the Celtics the first of their record 16 NBA Championships. In 1958, the Celtics again advanced to the NBA Finals, this time losing to the Hawks in 6 games. However, with the acquisition of K.C. Jones that year, the Celtics began a dynasty that would last for more than a decade.

In 1959, with Cousy at point guard, Russell at center and Heinsohn up front, the Celtics won the NBA Championship after sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers. Still coached by Auerbach, the Celtics won seven more consecutive championships, bringing their streak to eight in a row. During that timespan, the Celtics met the Lakers in the Finals six times, starting an intense and often bitter rivalry. The Celtics would eventually meet the Lakers a total of 10 times in the NBA Finals. After the 1966 championship, Auerbach retired as coach and Russell took over as player-coach. Auerbach would remain the General Manager, a position he would hold well into the 1980s. However, that year the Celtics' string of NBA titles was broken as they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The aging team managed two more championships in 1968 and 1969, defeating the Lakers each time in the NBA Finals. Russell retired after the 1969 season, effectively ending a dominant Celtics dynasty that had garnered 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons. The streak of 8 consecutive NBA championships is the longest streak of consecutive championships in U.S. professional sports history. Other important players during this era included Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Frank Ramsey,and Satch Sanders.

Rebuilding the dynasty (1970-1978)

The 1970 season was a rebuilding year, as the Celtics had their first losing record since the 1949-50 season, the year prior to Auerbach's arrival. However, with Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Jo Jo White, the Celtics soon became dominant again. After losing in the Eastern Conference Finals in 1972, the Celtics regrouped and came out determined in 1973 and posted an excellent 68-14 regular season record. But the season ended in disappointment, as they were upset in 7 games by the New York Knicks in the Conference Finals. The Celtics rebounded the next year, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Finals in 1974 for their 10th NBA Championship. In 1976 the team won yet another championship, defeating the Phoenix Suns in 6 games. The 1976 NBA Finals featured one of the greatest games in the history of the NBA. With the series tied at two games apiece, the Suns trailed early in the Boston Garden, but came back to force overtime. In double overtime, a Gar Heard turn-around jumper at the top of the key sent the game to an unprecedented third overtime, at which point the Celtics prevailed. Tommy Heinsohn coached the team for those two championships. After the 1976 championship and a playoff appearance in 1977, Boston went into another phase of rebuilding.

In the 1977 NBA Draft, the Celtics drafted a young forward from the UNC Charlotte named Cedric Maxwell. Maxwell did not contribute much in his rookie season, but he showed promise. Auerbach's job became even tougher following a horrible 1977-78 in which they went 32-50 as John Havlicek, the Celtics All-Time leading scorer, retired after 16 seasons.

Attempts to rebuild (2001-2007)

Back to contention: The O'Brien years

Following the resignation of Rick Pitino, the Celtics improved greatly under coach Jim O'Brien. Paul Pierce matured into an NBA star and was ably complemented by Antoine Walker, along with the other role players acquired over the years. The team finished the season going 24-24 under O'Brien (after going 12-22 before Pitino's resignation) and following the 2000-01 season O'Brien was given the job of head coach on a permanent basis. As a result of numerous trades, the Celtics had three picks in the 2001 NBA Draft, a luxury that seemed to set the franchise up well for the long term. General Manager Chris Wallace used the picks on Joe Johnson, Joe Forte (a favorite of Red Auerbach) and Kedrick Brown.

The Celtics entered the 2001-02 season with low expectations. The team's success in the latter stages of 2000-01 was largely forgotten, and critics were surprised when the team (along with the New Jersey Nets) surged to the top of the Atlantic Division ahead of teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, who were fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals. A trade at the February trade deadline sent Joe Johnson, who was having an inconsistent rookie season, along with little-used bench players Randy Brown and Milt Palacio to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers. Buoyed by the trade, the Celtics went on to win 49 games. The 49 victories were the franchises most since 1992, when Larry Bird was still playing, and the Celtics made the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

The Celtics won a hard-fought five game series with the 76ers in the first round, 3 games to 2. Pierce scored 46 points in the series-clinching blowout at the Fleet Center. In the conference semifinals the Celtics defeated the favored Detroit Pistons 4 games to 1 in a series best remembered for the Celtics low-scoring (66-64) game 3 victory. In their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since 1988, the Celtics would jump out to a 2-1 series lead over the New Jersey Nets (after rallying from 21 points down in the fourth quarter to win game 3) but would lose the next three games to fall 4 games to 2. It was simmilar to a 6th seeded emerging Chicago which came from 15 points behind in the fourth quarter to win Game 3 on Michael Jordan's game winner of the glass in the 1989 Conference Finals against Detroit, but the Pistons then won the next 3 games. But The Celtics could not recover unlike the Bulls.

Following their defeat at the hands of the Nets, the Celtics once again overhauled their roster. Gone were Rodney Rogers, who signed with new rival New Jersey as a free agent, Vitaly Potapenko, Kenny Anderson and Joe Forte, who were sent to Seattle in a five-player trade that brought Vin Baker and Shammond Williams to Boston.

In 2003, the Celtics were sold by owner Paul Gaston to Boston Basketball Partners LLC, led by H. Irving Grousbeck, Wycliffe Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca, Robert Epstein, David Epstein, and John Svenson. The team made it back to the playoffs but were eliminated in the second round this time, again by the Nets in a 4 game sweep. The Celtics did though take Game 4 to double OT.

Before their elimination, the team hired Danny Ainge to take over the front office, pushing Chris Wallace to another job in the organization. Ainge believed the team had reached its peak and promptly stunned the team by sending Antoine Walker to the Dallas Mavericks (along with Tony Delk). In return, the Celtics received the oft-injured Raef LaFrentz and a first-round draft pick in 2004.

Rebuilding anew: The Ainge years

On the heels of the off-season Walker trade, Ainge continued to dismantle O'Brien's team with a midseason trade that sent Eric Williams, and Tony Battie to Cleveland in exchange for troubled guard Ricky Davis, center Chris Mihm and swingman Jiri Welsch(Welsch was apart of the original Walker trade, not the Cleveland trade). Reportedly distraught by this trade, O'Brien stepped down during the 2003-04 Season and was replaced by interim coach John Carroll.

Davis proved to be an exciting player, and Welsch an offensive threat from three-point range (albeit an inconsistent one), but neither was capable of playing the tenacious defense that had become a trademark of O'Brien's teams. Vin Baker proved to be not up to the task of playing near his home state of Connecticut; alcoholism forced the Celtics to first suspend him, then void his contract. He played only 37 games for the Celtics in 2004, and 17 more with the New York Knicks in a minor role. The acquisition of LaFrentz also proved problematic, as LaFrentz's chronic knee problems acted up and forced the big man to miss all but 17 games.

Still, with Pierce playing at his usual level, Davis providing a second scoring punch, and occasional help from rookie Marcus Banks at point guard the Celtics prepared for yet another playoff run. In February, the Celtics helped their former nemeses, the Detroit Pistons acquire Rasheed Wallace for their own title run, sending Mike James off to Detroit in exchange for a 1st-round pick as well as Chucky Atkins, who would provide the Celtics with a stabilizing veteran point guard to go with the inconsistent Banks. The Celtics made the playoffs only to be badly swept in the first round by the Indiana Pacers losing all 4 by blowout margains.

Ainge received a lot of criticism for dismantling the previous team, but he attempted to redeem himself in the draft. After selecting Banks and center Kendrick Perkins in 2003, Ainge added high school power forward Al Jefferson, St. Joseph's University standout Delonte West (with the Mavericks pick from the Antoine Walker trade), and the athletic Tony Allen (with the Pistons 1st-round pick acquired in the Atkins-James swap) in 2004. During his second off-season, Ainge was able to unload some payroll when he acquired veterans Gary Payton and Rick Fox from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Mihm, Atkins and bench player Jumaine Jones. Fox retired rather than rejoin the team and Payton threatened to hold out of training camp, but he eventually ended up playing for the team during the 2004-05 Season.

The Celtics were a young team under new coach Doc Rivers, yet they seemed to have a core of good young players, led by rookie Al Jefferson, to go along with a selection of able veterans (Paul Pierce, a now-healthy Raef LaFrentz, and Ricky Davis). Before the trading deadline in the winter of 2005 the Celtics re-acquired Antoine Walker when they dealt Gary Payton to the Atlanta Hawks (Payton would re-sign with the team after being released from the Hawks a week later). With Walker back in the fold, the Celtics improved enormously. The Celtics went 45-37 and won their first Atlantic Division title since 1991-92. The Pacers defeated them in the first round yet again, with the series culminating in an embarrassing 27 point 7th game loss at the Fleet Center.

At the conclusion of the 2004-05 season Payton and Walker both became free agents. Walker was sent to the Miami Heat in a multi-team sign-and-trade deal (the largest trade in NBA history) that brought the Celtics Qyntel Woods and Curtis Borchardt, both of whom would later be released, two future second-round draft picks, the rights to Spanish center Albert Miralles, and cash. Payton later chose to sign with the Heat as well. Ainge brought in a few more young players during the draft, including Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, and Orien Greene. Ainge also added the veteran Brian Scalabrine, signing Scalabrine to a 5-year/$15 million contract.

During the 2005-06 season, Ainge traded Davis, Blount, Banks, Justin Reed, and two conditional second-round draft picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves for forward Wally Szczerbiak, centers Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones, and a first-round pick. Many are still skeptical of the team's direction. However, Ainge has stated more than once that he is committed to continuing the rebuilding process under team captain Paul Pierce, who played some of the best basketball of his career in 2006. Despite Pierce's excellence, the Celtics missed the 2006 playoffs with a 33-49 record.

2006-2007

The 2006-07 season was a gloomy one for the franchise. The season began with the death of Red Auerbach at the age of 89. Auerbach was one of the few remaining people who had been a part of the NBA since its inception in 1946. The Celtics went 2-22 from late December 2006 through early February 2007 after losing Paul Pierce to injury, the result of a stress reaction in his left foot. At first, the Celtics received a much needed boost from guard Tony Allen but he tore his ACL on a dunk attempt in a game vs. the Indiana Pacers on January 10, 2007. The Celtics recorded a record of 24-58, second-worst in the NBA, including a franchise record 18-game losing streak that lasted from January 5 to February 14. As the streak grew, some suggested that Pierce sit out the rest of the season to the let the young players such as Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo and Delonte West get more experience. Green became the second Celtic (joining Dee Brown) to capture the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend.

On February 22, 2007, former Celtic Dennis Johnson died at the age of 52. Johnson had been coaching the franchise's NBDL affiliate in Austin, Texas at the time of his death. Johnson was honored at the very next Celtics game, even though it was against the Lakers in Los Angeles. The Celtics also held a special ceremony for him at the Garden on February 28, 2007, before a game against the New York Knicks.

On April 18, the team promoted COO Rich Gotham to President.

2007 off-season Part 1

The Celtics were assigned the fifth pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the draft lottery, essentially losing their chance of drafting either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. The fifth selection was also the worst-case scenario for the Celtics, who had a 19.9% chance of obtaining the first overall selection. They drafted Jeff Green with their 5th pick and traded him along with Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West for All-Star 3-point specialist Ray Allen and the 35th pick (Glen Davis from LSU) from Seattle. The Celtics then selected Gabe Pruitt out of USC with the 32nd pick.

Kevin Garnett Comes to Boston
2007 off-season Part 2

On July 31st, in the biggest trade for one player in NBA history, the Celtics traded for 10 time All-Star and former league MVP Kevin Garnett. They acquired him from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, a 2009 first round draft pick (top three protected) and a return of Minnesota's conditional first round draft pick previously obtained in the 2006 Ricky Davis-Wally Szczerbiak trade. By adding Garnett to All-Stars Paul Pierce and Ray Allen it is widely believed that the trade will bring a new era of relevancy to the long struggling franchise. Depth is now an issue for this once mighty club, and Ainge has attempted to address this by signing Jackie Manuel, a defensive PG, Eddie House, a scoring guard, and Scot Pollard, a veteran big man.

Historical rivalries

The Boston Celtics have had a long-standing rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers, which is widely regarded as the league's greatest rivalry, as these two teams have faced each other 10 times in the NBA Finals, and won a combined 30 NBA championships. In the 1960s, the Celtics faced and defeated the Lakers six times in the NBA Finals, despite the efforts of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The rivalry was renewed in the 1980s, when the Lakers and Celtics won 8 of the 9 NBA Championships awarded from 1980-1988 (the Lakers won 5 while the Celtics won 3), and played each other in the NBA Finals on 3 occasions. The rivalry cooled off as the Celtics slipped into mediocrity in the mid and late-90s.

In the Eastern Conference, the Celtics long-standing rivals have been the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Chamberlain in 1965-68, and by Julius Erving in 1976-87 and Moses Malone. The Celtics-Sixers rivalry in the 1980s was marked by intense personal confrontations between Larry Bird and Erving.

Another fierce rivalry formed in the 1980s between the Celtics and the Detroit Pistons. The two franchises met in the playoffs 5 times between 1985 and 1991, and more than once there was a physical confrontation between a Celtic and Detroit's Bill Laimbeer. The rivalry, like their rivalry with the Lakers, cooled in the 1990s as the Celtics slid into a long decline.

Season-by-season records

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
Boston Celtics
1989-90	52	30	.634	Lost First Round	New York 3, Boston 2
1990-91	56	26	.683	Won First Round Lost Conference Seminfinals	Boston 3, Indiana 2 Detroit 4, Boston 2
1991-92	51	31	.622	Won First Round Lost Conference Seminfinals	Boston 3, Indiana 0 Cleveland 4, Boston 3
1992-93	48	34	.585	Lost First Round	Charlotte 3, Boston 1
1993-94	32	50	.390
1994-95	35	47	.427	Lost First Round	Orlando 3, Boston 1
1995-96	33	49	.402
1996-97	15	67	.183
1997-98	36	46	.439
1998-99	19	31	.380
1999-2000	35	47	.427
2000-01	36	46	.439
2001-02	49	33	.598	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals	Boston 3, Philadelphia 2 Boston 4, Detroit 1 New Jersey 4, Boston 2
2002-03	44	38	.537	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Boston 4, Indiana 2 New Jersey 4, Boston 0
2003-04	36	46	.439	Lost First Round	Indiana 4, Boston 0
2004-05	45	37	.549	Lost First Round	Indiana 4, Boston 3
2005-06	33	49	.402
2006-07	24	58	.293
2007-08	0	0	.000
Totals	2794	1963	.587
Playoffs	286	209	.578	16 Championships

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