Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete at the National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of this 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 prosperous 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 because the league’s heritage. [8][9]
The Celtics have a prominent competition with the Los Angeles Lakers, who have won 16 NBA championships, next behind the Celtics. The rivalry was heavily highlighted through the 1960s and 1980s. The franchise has played with the Lakers a record 12 times in the NBA Finals (including their most recent appearances in 2008 and 2010), of which the Celtics have won eight. [10] Four Celtics gamers (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” are a nod to Boston’s historically large Irish population. [12]
The Celtics’ rise to dominance began in the late 1950s, after obtaining center Bill Russell in a draft day trade in 1956, who’d become the basis of the Celtics dynasty. Directed by celebrity 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 including John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Sharman, would usher the Celtics to the greatest period in franchise history, winning eight consecutive NBA championships during the 1960s. After the retirement of Russell in 1969, the Celtics entered a period of rebuilding. Directed 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 returned in the 1980s into dominance. Led by 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 throughout the 20th century, the Celtics, after fighting through the 1990s, climbed to win a championship in 2008 with the assistance of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen in what had been known as the new”Big Three” era.
After the triumph in 2008, general manager Danny Ainge commenced 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 next season, the Celtics clinched the top seed but were removed in the Conference Finals. This prompted a competitive reconstruct in 2017, in which the team obtained All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. [13] But, the pair struggled with injuries through the 2017–18 season, and the team was again defeated at the Eastern Conference Finals.