Top 50 Boston Celtics
There are successful NBA Teams, and there are the Boston Celtics.
Seriously, this is no hyperbole. The Celtics have been that much more successful than any other franchise in the National Basketball Association with 17 titles, one more than the Los Angeles Lakers, their longtime rival.
Formed in 1946, The Boston Celtics were part of the Basketball Association of America and would become part of the NBA in 1949 when the league absorbed them. The first years in the NBA were not pretty for the Celtics, but they would become a league powerhouse built by Red Auerbach and based around the superstar Center, Bill Russell. Russell and the perfect cast around him (that would include, at times, Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Willie Naulls, K.C. Jones, and Sam Jones) would put forth the greatest dynasty in North American team sports.
From 1957 to 1969, Boston won 11 Titles. Think about that for a minute. 11 NBA Championships in 13 NBA Seasons. This is a dynasty that may never happen again.
This wasn’t it for the Celtics.
Boston would win the championship twice in the 1970s (1974 and 1976) with the acquisition of Dave Cowens and Heinsohn as their big two, but the decade after would be more dynamic. The Celtics drafted Larry Bird, and, along with Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, they had a trio that would win the title in 1981, 1984 & 1986.
It would take another "big three"—Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen — to win it again in 2008, the Celtics' 17th overall, and in 2024, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they won their 18th Championship.
This list is up to the end of the 2024-25 regular season.
Note: Basketball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and postseason accolades.
Tom “Satch” Sanders is one of only three players to appear in eight NBA Finals and win them all. To no surprise, the other two are also Celtics.
Ray Allen had already proven himself as a star with the Milwaukee Bucks and Seattle SuperSonics, but it was with the Boston Celtics where he would win his first NBA Championship. The superstar shooter was traded from the Sonics before the 2007-08 season where he joined Paul Pierce and an incoming Kevin Garnett to form a "Big Three" and Allen, who no longer had to carry the workload (and also was getting a little older)…
K.C. Jones played with the great Bill Russell at the University of San Francisco, where he would win two NCAA Championships. The duo would later join the Celtics, where Jones was not the same contributor that he was in college, but his role was to be a role player and distributor, which he did perfectly. Jones played all nine seasons in the NBA with Boston, wherein eight of them he would be an NBA Champion,…
Antoine Walker was a champion at the University of Kentucky and was drafted 6th Overall by Boston in 1996, though the Celtics were no longer the dominant team they used to be. The Power Forward would be Boston's primary offensive weapon, and he would be named an All-Star in his sophomore season when he averaged 22.4 Points per Game. Walker would be a workhorse, and in 2001-02 he would lead the NBA in Minutes Played…
Reggie Lewis was a late-round draft pick in 1987 and the product of Northeastern University, playing less than ten minutes a game as a rookie, so it surprised some when he would blossom when gaining minutes due to Larry Bird's injury and had an 18.5 PPG season as a sophomore. Lewis would become the starting Shooting Guard, and in 1991/92 and 1992/93 he averaged just over 20 Points per Game, with the first of those…
Bailey Howell had already been to five All-Star Games (four with Detroit and one with Baltimore) before he arrived in Boston for the back nine of his career. Howell wasn't putting up the exact numbers he had in Boston, but he was now on a more loaded team, and when you are a teammate of Bill Russell, you don't have to lead the team in boards. Howell was a strong presence during the NBA Championship…
Ainge actually played for the Toronto Blue Jays before he was drafted by the Boston Celtics, who chose him 31st Overall in 1981. After a rocky start, he would find his role in professional basketball as a pesky agitator and occasional scorer. Ainge would help Boston win two titles (1984 & 1986) and was a bit of a surprise as an All-Star in 1988. The Guard averaged 11.3 Points per Game over the seven-and-a-half…
As of this writing, Marcus Smart is entering his ninth season in the NBA, all of which have been with the Boston Celtics. The 2014 6th Overall Pick from Oklahoma State, Smart was a good pickup for the Celtics and earned Second Team All-Rookie honors with 7.8 Points and 1.5 Steals per Game season. Smart would later have two straight seasons where he averaged over 10 Points per Game (2016-17 & 2017-18), and while he…
Yes, we know that Thomas's stay in Boston lasted only two years and change, but he was on fire, especially in his last year, and was the man who carried Boston further than they had any right to be at the time.
Dennis Johnson played the last half of his career (seven years) with the Boston Celtics after already playing in four All-Star Games and winning the NBA Championship in 1979 with the Seattle SuperSonics. "D.J." was already one of the best defensive guards, and as a Celtic, he would continue to provide that with four All-Defensive Selections (one First Team and three Second Teams). Johnson was scoring as much as he had before, but with Boston,…
Paul Silas was with the Boston Celtics for four seasons, directly after he was chosen for his first All-Star Game with the Phoenix Suns. Silas was much happier in Boston, and every season he donned the green, he averaged a double-double, posting 11.5 Points and 12.3 Rebounds per Game as a Celtic. The Power Forward wasn't a great shooter, but his pay was based on his rebounding prowess, and Silas was damned good at it. …
When you think of Dee Brown's career, most people point to his electrifying no-look slam dunk that won the competition in 1991. That is not a bad way to be remembered, but beyond that, you had a good player who split his time between Point and Shooting Guard who would have two straight years averaging over 15 Points per Game (1993-94 & 1994-95), the first of which would see him also finish 10th in the…
This one can be considered a little tricky. When Kyrie Irving surprisingly requested a trade from Cleveland (to get away from LeBron, let's be honest!), Boston arguably stole him in the deal, considering that the best player that they gave up, Isaiah Thomas, was never the same after that hip injury that took him out during the previous playoffs. Irving wanted to prove he could lead a powerhouse team, and he did…sort of.
What a player Derrick White has become for the Boston Celtics! Traded from the San Antonio Spurs in early 2022, White became an instant fan favorite in Boston, for his high-intelligence court skills, expert passing, and attention to defense, which has made him one of the most dependable “glue” players in the game; so much that a player who is not an All-Star saw considerable minutes for Team U.S.A. in the 2024 Paris Olympics. White’s…
Chaney was the 12th overall pick from the University of Houston, where, as a rookie, he was part of the Celtics’ 1969 Championship win, the last of the ’60s dynasty. The Guard would star on the defensive side of the ball, earning Second Team All-Defensive Selection honors four times as a Celtic, and would have four seasons of 10-plus Points per Game. Chaney was with Boston for most of his career, save for a one-year…
Larry Siegfried took a longer way than many to get to the Celtics, as he was drafted 3rd in the 1961 Draft by the Cincinnati Royals, a team the former Ohio State Buckeye surprisingly did not want to play for. Instead, he elected to play for the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League and would win a title there. However, the league folded, and he would sign with the St. Louis Hawks, who bought…
Nate “Tiny” Archibald was an absolute beast for the Kansas City Kings, and the stats he put up there can't be forgotten. When we reach an all-relocated team, we will set up a shrine for him. A torn Achilles would take him out of the 1977-78 Season (where he was with the Buffalo Braves), and he would be traded to Boston, where he would take over as their starting Point Guard.
Perhaps it is a bit of a surprise that Robert Williams is ranked this high, but we love our intangibles and defense here. It was not a great start for Williams, whose stock fell in the Draft when questions about his work ethic arose. He did not do himself any favors in his first training camp, but the talent was there, and he was worth the investment. The Center played off the bench for his first…
Kevin Gamble struggled to find a spot in the NBA, and when he did, it was with Portland, who would waive him after a few Games. The Celtics would sign him with little expectation, but he would work his way into the team for six seasons. The Small Forward would have four straight years with a PPG over 11, with a 15.6 season in 1990/91.
Fox may have been better known in his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he helped them win three times, but before that, he played for the Boston Celtics for 6 years, where he posted his best individual numbers. In Boston, he averaged 10.7 Points per game over his last two seasons, exceeding the 14 PPG threshold. He would also exceed a PER of 16 in his final three years as a Celtic.