The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the group play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; the franchise has won the most championships in the NBA with 17, accounting for 23.9 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s heritage. [8][9]
The Celtics have a notable competition with the Los Angeles Lakers, who have won 16 NBA championships, second behind the Celtics. The competition was emphasized through the 1960s and 1980s. The franchise has played with the Lakers a record 12 times in the NBA Finals (such as their latest appearances in 2008 and 2010), of which the Celtics have won eight. [10] Four Celtics players (Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Dave Cowens and Larry Bird) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for an NBA record total of 10 MVP awards. [11] The nickname»Celtics» and their mascot»Lucky the Leprechaun» really are a nod to Boston’s historically large Irish population. [12]
The Celtics’ rise to dominance began in the late 1950s, after acquiring center Bill Russell in a draft day trade in 1956, who’d become the basis of their Celtics dynasty. Led by superstar and Russell point guard Bob Cousy, the Celtics won their first NBA championship. Russell, Together with a talented supporting cast of future Hall of Famers such as John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Sharman, could usher the Celtics into the greatest stage in franchise history, winning eight consecutive NBA championships throughout the 1960s. After the retirement of Russell in 1969, the Celtics entered a period of rebuilding. Led by center Dave Cowens and point guard JoJo White, the Celtics returned to championship caliber, winning two NBA titles in 1974 and 1976. The Celtics again returned in the 1980s into dominance. Directed from the»Big Three» that showcased Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, the Celtics won the 1981, 1984, and 1986 championships. After winning 16 championships during the 20th century, the Celtics, after struggling through the 1990s, climbed to win a championship in 2008 with the help of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen in what had been called the brand new»Big Three» era.
After the triumph in 2008, general manager Danny Ainge started a rebuilding process with the assistance of head coach Brad Stevens, who led the Celtics to a return to the playoffs from 2015. During the season, the top seed was clinched by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, but had been removed in the Conference Finals. This prompted an aggressive reconstruct in 2017, in which the team acquired All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. [13] However, the pair struggled with injuries throughout the 2017–18 season, and the team was again defeated at the Eastern Conference Finals.
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