The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946 as one of the league's original eight teams, the Celtics play their home games at TD Garden, a shared arena with the NHL's Boston Bruins. The Celtics are regarded as one of the most successful teams in NBA history. They hold the records for the most NBA championships won, with 18, and the most recorded wins of any NBA team.[11][12]
The Celtics' rise to dominance began in the late 1950s, after the team, led by coach Red Auerbach, acquired center Bill Russell, who would become the cornerstone of the Celtics dynasty, in a draft-day trade in 1956. Led by Russell, point guard Bob Cousy, and 1956–57 Rookie of the Year Tom Heinsohn, the Celtics won their first NBA championship in 1957. Russell, along with a talented supporting cast of future Hall of Famers including Tom Heinsohn, Don Nelson, K.C. Jones, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Sharman, would usher the Celtics into the greatest period in franchise history, winning eight consecutive NBA championships from 1959 to 1966 and two more in 1968 and 1969. After Russell retired, as a player-coach, and the first African-American head coach in any US sport, in 1969, the team entered a period of rebuilding.
In the mid-1970s, the Celtics became contenders once again, winning championships in 1974 and 1976 under the leadership of head coach Tom Heinsohn with center Dave Cowens, forward John Havlicek, andpoint guard Jo Jo White. In the 1980s, the Celtics returned to dominance. The team experienced a renewed rivalry with the "Showtime" Lakers, who were led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Anchored by the "Big Three" of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, the Celtics won championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986,the latter two with head coach K. C. Jones. After the retirements of Bird and McHale, the departure of Parish, and the untimely deaths of 1986 draft pick Len Bias and star player Reggie Lewis, the Celtics struggled through the 1990s and much of the early 2000s.