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.
