The Boston Celtics are an American basketball team located in Boston. The Celtics play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. It was founded in 1946. They play their home games at TD Garden. They are one of the most successful basketball teams in NBA history. Further, it is one of two teams with 17 NBA Championships. The Celtics presently hold the record for the most wins of any NBA team. Let us take a look at the top 10 best players of the Boston Celtics of all time.
Who is the best player for the Boston Celtics of all time?
| Rankings | Best Boston Celtics players of all time |
|---|---|
| 1 | Larry Bird |
| 2 | Bill Russell |
| 3 | Paul Pierce |
| 4 | John Havlicek |
| 5 | Bob Cousy |
| 6 | Kevin McHale |
| 7 | Kevin Garnett |
| 8 | Robert Parish |
| 9 | Dave Cowens |
| 10 | Sam Jones |
1. Larry Bird
Larry Bird was born on December 7, 1956. Bird is a former American basketball player. Further, he is a coach and executive in the NBA. He is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Initially, he agreed to play college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers. The following year, he joined the smaller Indiana State University. Finally, he played for the Sycamores for three years. Boston Celtics selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft. Then he led his team to an undefeated regular season in 1978–1979. The season was completed with a national championship game matchup against Michigan State.
Bird joined the NBA for the 1979–1980 season. There he made an immediate impact. He started at power forward and led the Celtics to a 32-win improvement over the previous season. Bird played for the Celtics during his entire career. He guided the team to three NBA titles and five NBA Finals appearances. Further, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star. He also received two NBA Finals MVP awards and the NBA Most Valuable Player Award three consecutive times (1984–1986).
2. Bill Russell
Bill Russell was born on born February 12, 1934. He is a former American basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969. He was a five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time NBA All-Star. Throughout his 13-year career, he was the key player of the Celtics dynasty. He helped the team in winning eleven NBA championships. Russell is one of the most famous players in NBA history. In 1955 and 1956, he led the San Francisco Dons to back-to-back NCAA titles. Further, he captained the U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He played a key role in winning the gold medal for his team.
3. Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce was born on October 13, 1977. Paul is a former American basketball player. He was an NBA player for 19 seasons, mostly with the Boston Celtics. Most recently he was an analyst on ESPN’s basketball programs The Jump and NBA Countdown. Pierce played for the Boston Celtics for the first 15 years of his career after being selected by them with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft. He played as captain of the Celtics. Further, he received 10 All-Star selections and became a four-time All-NBA team member. In 2007, Pierce joined with Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to form the “Big Three”. They guided Boston to two NBA Finals and a championship in 2008. In 2008, he has declared the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
4. John Havlicek
John Havlicek was a former American basketball player. He spent his entire professional career with the Boston Celtics. Havlicek received eight NBA championships and four of them during his first four seasons with the team. He is one of four players in the National Basketball Association to win eight championships in his career. Havlicek is one of only three NBA players with an unbeatable 8-0 record in NBA Finals. Havlicek is one of the greatest players in the history of the game. In 1984, he was inducted as a key member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
5. Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy was born on August 9, 1928. Cousy is a former American basketball player. From 1950 to 1963, Cousy was a point guard for the Boston Celtics. He played with the Cincinnati Royals during the 1969–70 season. He was a 13-time NBA All-Star and 1957 NBA Most Valuable Player. During his 13-year stay with the Celtics, he won six NBA Championships. After finishing his playing career with the Celtics, he worked as an NBA head coach for the Cincinnati Royals as well as a college basketball coach. He is the NBA’s first great point guard.
6. Kevin McHale
Kevin McHale was born on December 19, 1957. He is a former American basketball player, coach, and analyst. McHale played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Further, he is widely famous as one of the greatest power forwards of all time. He was selected third overall by the Celtics in the 1980 NBA draft. He spent his first six seasons as a valuable bench player. McHale became a starter alongside Bird and center Robert Parish, where the three formed the best front-court trio in NBA history.
7. Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett was born on May 19, 1976. He is a former American basketball player. He played for 21 seasons in the National Basketball Association. Garnett was nicknamed the “Big Ticket” for his emphatic dunking and athleticism. Further, he is one of the greatest power forwards of all time. He was famous for his intensity, defensive ability, and versatility throughout his career. Garnett is one of the five most famous NBA players to have won both the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award as of 2020.
Garnett entered the 1995 NBA draft and he was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Minnesota Timberwolves. He made an immediate impact on the team. He assisted them in leading to eight consecutive playoff appearances. Garnett led the Timberwolves to the Western Conference Finals in 2004 and received the NBA MVP Award. Further, he received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2007–08.
After playing 12 seasons with the Timberwolves, Garnett joined the Boston Celtics in 2007. During his first year with the Celtics, he helped lead them to the 2008 NBA Finals. In 2015, he was traded back to Minnesota. Further, he announced his retirement from basketball in September 2016. In October 2021, he was named one of the league’s greatest players of all time. He was also selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
8. Robert Parish
Robert Parish was born on August 30, 1953. Parish is a former American basketball player. He played 21 seasons as a center in the National Basketball Association, tied for second-most in league history. Further, he played an NBA record of 1,611 matches in his career. Parish was famous for his strong defense, high arcing jump shots, and clutch rebounding late in games.
Finally, Parish was selected by the Golden State Warriors of the NBA in 1976. He joined Celtics and remained with the team through the lean years of the early 1990s. He retired with the most games played of any NBA player with 1611 games which is a record that still stands.
9. Dave Cowens
Dave Cowens was born on October 25, 1948. He is a former American basketball player and NBA head coach. He played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens played most of his career with the Boston Celtics. Further, he was the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NBA Most Valuable Player. Cowens received NBA championships as a key player of the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. In 1991, he was inducted into the most famous Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
10. Sam Jones
Sam Jones was an American basketball player. He was playing as a shooting guard for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. He was a five-time NBA All-Star. Further, he was famous for his quickness and game-winning shots, especially during the NBA playoffs. Further, Jones has the second most NBA championships of any player. He was one of only three Celtics to be part of each of the Celtics’ eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. He is a key member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
You can view also to the LIST OF OLYMPIC MEDALISTS IN BASKETBALL
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