114 Fun Facts About Boston Celtics

Red Auerbach signalled that a Celtics win was safe by doing what on the bench?

Lighting a cigar was Auerbach's way of declaring a game won before the final buzzer; some Boston restaurants later posted no-smoking signs that made an exception for him.

The Celtics were founded in 1946 as a charter team of which league, a forerunner of the NBA?

Basketball Association of America clubs merged with the older, rival National Basketball League in 1949, and the combined league took the name NBA; the NBA dates its history from the BAA's 1946 start.

Which future star of the TV western The Rifleman was an original member of the Boston Celtics in 1946?

Chuck Connors shattered a glass backboard with a warm-up shot before the Celtics' first home game in November 1946; he later played baseball for the Dodgers and Cubs before Hollywood.

Which future Celtics great arrived in 1950 as the name nobody wanted from a hat of Chicago Stags players?

Bob Cousy went into a hat with two more sought-after Stags when the Chicago club folded; the Celtics' owner had hoped for Max Zaslofsky and admitted he nearly fell to the floor when he drew Cousy.

To get the 1956 pick used on Russell, the Celtics traded Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan's rights to which team?

The Celtics sent Ed Macauley and the rights to Cliff Hagan to the St. Louis Hawks for the No. 2 pick in 1956; the Hawks then met Boston in four Finals, winning only in 1958.

Which Celtic won the 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year award over teammate Bill Russell?

Tom Heinsohn played the whole season, while Russell joined only in December after winning Olympic gold in Melbourne; Heinsohn then had 37 points and 23 rebounds in Game 7 of the Finals.

The Celtics' 1959 title was the first sweep in NBA Finals history, over a Lakers team then based in which city?

Minneapolis lost the Lakers a year later: crowds had dwindled since star center George Mikan retired, and the team moved to Los Angeles before the 1960-61 season.

When Russell succeeded Auerbach as Celtics coach in 1966, what milestone did he set?

The NBA's first Black head coach took the job while still playing and won titles in 1968 and 1969; Russell said he got it not because of his race but because Auerbach figured he could do it.

Which Celtics guard, famed for his bank shot, won ten championship rings, second only to Bill Russell?

Sam Jones nearly became a schoolteacher instead: he had a high-school job offer pending when Auerbach drafted him from little-known North Carolina Central, and he went on to be called 'Mr. Clutch'.

Which Celtics radio announcer made the famous 1965 call 'Havlicek stole the ball!'?

Johnny Most rasped the line as Havlicek tipped away a Philadelphia inbounds pass with five seconds left in Game 7, saving a 110-109 win; he called Celtics games from 1953 to 1990.

Who is the Celtics' all-time leading regular-season scorer?

John Havlicek piled up 26,395 points over 16 seasons, all with Boston, even though he began his career coming off the bench as the team's sixth man.

Which NFL team drafted Celtics swingman Havlicek in 1962 and briefly tried him at wide receiver?

Cleveland Browns coaches took Havlicek in the seventh round in 1962 and tried him at wide receiver in exhibition games before releasing him, which left the Ohio State star to the Celtics.

Which Celtics center spent a day in 1977 driving a Boston taxi cab, going largely unrecognized?

Dave Cowens, the 1973 league MVP, spent a day driving a Boston taxi in 1977 and said few passengers recognised him; he had also taken a mid-season sabbatical from the team in 1976-77.

The triple-overtime Game 5 of the 1976 Finals at Boston Garden came against which team?

Boston beat the Phoenix Suns 128–126 in three overtimes on 4 June 1976, after Gar Heard's turnaround jumper at the buzzer forced the third extra period; Boston then won the title in Game 6.

Larry Bird was drafted sixth by the Celtics in 1978 but stayed another year at which college?

Indiana State went unbeaten into the 1979 NCAA final with Bird before losing to Magic Johnson's Michigan State; Boston had spent a first-round pick a year early to secure him.

Bird's then-franchise-record 60-point game in March 1985 came against which opponent?

Bird scored 60 against the Atlanta Hawks on 12 March 1985 in New Orleans, where the Hawks staged 12 home games that season; Dominique Wilkins said it was 'like living in a video game'.

Nine days before Bird's 60, which teammate had set the Celtics single-game scoring record with 56 points?

Kevin McHale asked to come out late with 56 against Detroit; Bird told him he should have gone for 60, then scored 60 himself nine days later.

Before the 1980 draft, the Celtics traded the first overall pick for a center and the third pick with which team?

The Golden State Warriors used the top pick on Joe Barry Carroll; the center and the third pick Boston got back became two-thirds of a Hall of Fame frontcourt.

Which Celtic beat out Larry Bird for the 1981 NBA Finals MVP award?

Cedric Maxwell, known as 'Cornbread', told teammates to 'climb on my back' before Game 7 of the 1984 Finals and later became a Celtics radio broadcaster.

Which Laker was given oxygen on the bench during the 97-degree 'Heat Game' of the 1984 Finals?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then 37, needed an oxygen tank in a Garden with no air conditioning, while Larry Bird scored 34 and Boston won Game 5 121–103.

The 'Beat L.A.!' chant began in 1982 when Boston fans urged which team, about to eliminate the Celtics, to win it all?

The Philadelphia 76ers were closing out Game 7 of the 1982 East finals at Boston Garden when the chant began; they lost the Finals to the Lakers anyway.

Which Celtics reserve went 11-for-11 in the 1985 'Memorial Day Massacre' win over the Lakers?

Scott Wedman made all 11 of his shots, including four three-pointers, as Boston won Game 1 148–114 on 27 May 1985; the Lakers then took four of the next five games and the title.

The 1985-86 Celtics' record 40-1 home mark was finally matched in 2015-16 by which team?

The San Antonio Spurs also went 40–1 at home thirty years later but lost in the second round, whereas the 1986 Celtics went on to win the title.

Which Celtic won the 1986 Sixth Man of the Year award?

Bill Walton, the 1978 league MVP, won the 1986 Sixth Man of the Year award after coming to Boston from the Clippers, the only player with an MVP, a Finals MVP and a Sixth Man award.

Len Bias, Boston's No. 2 pick in 1986, starred at which university before dying two days after the draft?

Maryland's Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose two days after the draft; within months Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, known as the Len Bias Law.

The Celtics' pick used on Len Bias came from Seattle in a 1984 trade for which guard, famed for a Finals steal?

Gerald Henderson's steal and layup tied Game 2 of the 1984 Finals, which Boston won in overtime; that fall he was traded for the Seattle first-rounder that became the second overall pick.

Reggie Lewis, whose No. 35 was retired after his 1993 death, played college ball at which Boston school?

Northeastern's Reggie Lewis became Celtics captain after Larry Bird retired, then collapsed during a 1993 playoff game and died that July at 27.

How many games did the Celtics win in their franchise-worst 1996-97 season?

The 1996-97 Celtics went 15–67 under M. L. Carr, the worst record in franchise history, then lost the draft lottery for Tim Duncan and settled for the No. 3 and No. 6 picks.

Rick Pitino's 1997 ten-year deal as Celtics president and coach was reportedly worth how much?

Pitino's May 1997 contract was reported at $70 million over ten years, making him the NBA's highest-paid coach; he took the president title Auerbach had held since 1970 and resigned in January 2001.

Rick Pitino's 'walking through that door' rant followed a March 2000 buzzer-beater by which Raptors star?

Vince Carter's buzzer-beater won it for the visitors on 1 March 2000, after which Pitino declared that 'Larry Bird is not walking through that door', nor his old teammates.

Paul Pierce fell to the Celtics at which overall pick in the 1998 draft?

Pierce grew up in Inglewood as a Lakers fan and admitted he had 'despised' the Celtics.

Who gave Pierce the nickname 'the Truth' in 2001?

After Pierce scored 42 against the Lakers in March 2001, Shaquille O'Neal told reporters 'Paul Pierce is the truth'; the two were Celtics teammates in 2010-11, O'Neal's final season.

Which player, drafted fifth in 2007, went to Seattle as part of the Celtics' trade for Ray Allen?

Jeff Green was picked by Boston and sent straight to Seattle; he came back to the Celtics in a 2011 trade with Oklahoma City.

Garnett wore No. 5 in Boston because his Minnesota number, 21, had been retired for which Celtic?

Bill Sharman, a Hall of Fame guard, later coached the Lakers to the 1972 title and is credited with introducing the morning shootaround.

The 2007-08 Celtics went 66-16, improving by how many wins, the largest single-season turnaround in NBA history?

Boston jumped from 24–58 in 2006-07, a year that included an 18-game losing streak, to 66–16 after adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, a 42-win improvement, the NBA's biggest in a single season.

How many points did the Celtics come back from in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals, then the largest Finals comeback?

Trailing by 24 in the third quarter after the Lakers led 35–14 at the end of the first, Boston won Game 4 97–91 in Los Angeles, the biggest comeback in Finals history at the time.

Which Celtics starting center's knee injury in Game 6 of the 2010 Finals preceded the loss to the Lakers?

Kendrick Perkins tore knee ligaments in the first half of Game 6 in Los Angeles; without their starting center Boston, up 3–2, lost that game and Game 7 to the Lakers.

Ray Allen's seven first-half threes in Game 2 of the 2010 Finals broke whose record of six?

Michael Jordan hit six first-half threes in the 1992 Finals opener and famously shrugged; Allen finished with a record eight, then went 0-for-13 from the field in Game 3.

Whose career three-point record did Ray Allen pass as a Celtic in February 2011?

Reggie Miller's record of 2,560 fell on 10 February 2011 in a loss to the Lakers; Allen held the mark for a decade until Stephen Curry passed him in 2021.

In 2013 the Celtics traded Garnett and Pierce to which team for future first-round picks?

The Brooklyn Nets gave up first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018 for Garnett, Pierce and Jason Terry, a haul that seeded Boston's next contender.

Brad Stevens was hired as Celtics head coach in 2013 from which college program?

Butler reached the 2010 and 2011 national title games under Stevens, who had quit a job at Eli Lilly to join the program as a volunteer.

Which Celtic, the last pick of the 2011 draft, finished fifth in 2016-17 MVP voting?

Isaiah Thomas, just 5-foot-9, averaged 28.9 points that season, yet Boston traded him months later in the deal for Kyrie Irving.

In the 2017 NBA draft, Boston traded down from the first pick and used the third on which player?

Jayson Tatum went third after Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball; by moving down two spots Boston also collected a future first-round pick.

Which player did the Celtics select third overall in the 2016 NBA draft?

Jaylen Brown was drafted with a pick Boston got for trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce three years earlier; in 2024 he was named Finals MVP.

Which Celtics signing fractured his tibia and dislocated his ankle minutes into the 2017-18 season opener?

Gordon Hayward was out for the regular season, yet Boston reeled off a 16-game winning streak anyway and finished 55-27.

A 56-point rout in December 2018, then the largest win in Celtics history, came against which team?

The Chicago Bulls, who had just fired their coach, lost 133–77 at home; the 56-point margin set a Celtics record and tied the NBA's largest road win.

Marcus Smart's 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award was the first for a point guard since whom?

Gary Payton won it in 1996 with Seattle; every winner in the 25 seasons between him and Smart was a forward or a center.

Joe Mazzulla became Celtics interim head coach in September 2022 after which coach was suspended for the whole season?

Ime Udoka was suspended over an improper relationship with a staffer; Mazzulla, 34, had the team at a league-best 42-17 when the interim tag came off.

The 2023 three-team deal that brought Kristaps Porziņģis to Boston sent Marcus Smart to which team?

The Memphis Grizzlies got Marcus Smart only after an earlier version of the deal, sending Malcolm Brogdon to the Clippers, fell through within hours over injury concerns.

The 64-18 Celtics of 2023-24 swept which team in the Eastern Conference finals?

The Indiana Pacers lost Game 1 in overtime, then lost Tyrese Haliburton to a hamstring injury in Game 2 and never recovered.

The Celtics clinched the 2024 NBA title by beating which team in five games?

The Dallas Mavericks, featuring former Celtic Kyrie Irving, avoided a sweep with a 38-point win in Game 4 before Boston clinched at home.

Which member of the 2024 champions was the only Celtic who had previously won an NBA title?

Jrue Holiday won with Milwaukee in 2021; the Bucks sent him to Portland in the 2023 Damian Lillard trade and Boston acquired him days later.

Which Celtic won a first title in 2024 after a record 186 playoff games?

Al Horford left Boston as a free agent in 2019, returned by trade two years later and finally won in his 186th playoff game, aged 38.

What does Jim Loscutoff's banner show in place of a retired number?

His nickname, 'Loscy', hangs among the retired numbers; the 18 he wore went on to another Celtics great and is retired in that player's honour instead.

Which Celtic wore the jersey number 00, retired by the team in 1998?

Robert Parish wore 00 for 14 Celtics seasons; a teammate dubbed the silent 7-footer 'the Chief' after the character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Bill Russell became the third North American athlete with a league-wide retired number, after Jackie Robinson and whom?

Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 was retired across the NHL in 2000, following Jackie Robinson's 42 in MLB in 1997; the NBA retired Russell's No. 6 league-wide in August 2022 and every team wore a No. 6 patch that season.

The Lucky the Leprechaun logo was originally drawn by Zang Auerbach, who was Red's what?

His brother Zang, a commercial artist, designed the leprechaun, which did not get its full-colour look, gold included, until the 1996-97 season.

Which coach broke Red Auerbach's record of nine NBA titles by winning a tenth in 2009?

Phil Jackson passed him with the 2009 Lakers; Auerbach's nine with Boston included eight in a row before he handed the bench to Bill Russell.

What is the name of the Celtics' practice facility and headquarters, opened in June 2018?

The Auerbach Center, named for Red Auerbach, opened in June 2018 at Boston Landing in the Brighton neighborhood, replacing the team's old practice site in Waltham.

TD Garden opened as the FleetCenter but was slated to carry which bank's name before a merger?

The arena was to be the Shawmut Center until Fleet Financial bought Shawmut National in 1995, months before opening; it became the FleetCenter, then TD Banknorth Garden in 2005 and TD Garden in 2009.

Where was the Celtics' original parquet floor first laid before moving to the Garden in 1952?

Boston Arena, the Celtics' first home, got the parquet in 1946; the floor moved intact to the Garden in 1952, where players were said to know its dead spots.

Promoter Tex Rickard designed Boston Garden in 1928 with which sport chiefly in mind?

Boxing was Rickard's business: he wanted every seat close enough to see the sweat on the boxers' brows, which gave the Celtics a famously intimate home court.

Through 2024, how many times had the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA Finals?

Boston and Los Angeles met 12 times in the Finals between 1959 and 2010, a record for any pairing; the Celtics won the first eight and nine overall, the Lakers taking 1985, 1987 and 2010.

Before joining the Celtics in 1981, Danny Ainge played parts of three MLB seasons with which team?

Ainge hit .220 in three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays from 1979 to 1981, and Boston had to settle a lawsuit and buy out his baseball contract before he could join the Celtics in late 1981.

Which Celtics guard of the 1980s had already won a Finals MVP with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979?

Dennis Johnson came to Boston in 1983 for backup center Rick Robey; Larry Bird later called him the best teammate he ever had.

Which Celtics guard, later a two-time title-winning coach, tried out for the Rams in 1958?

K. C. Jones, Russell's teammate on two NCAA champions at San Francisco and the 1956 Olympic team, tried out as a defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams in 1958, then coached Boston to the 1984 and 1986 titles.

A Celtic's 55 points in the 2023 All-Star Game broke a scoring record held by which player?

Anthony Davis had scored 52 in 2017; the Celtics forward's 55 led Team Giannis to a 184–175 win, the only loss LeBron James took as an All-Star captain.

The August 2017 trade that brought Kyrie Irving to Boston was made with which team?

The Cleveland Cavaliers dealt Irving a month after he asked out, reportedly wanting his own team instead of playing alongside LeBron James.

The Celtics' then-record $6.1 billion sale in 2025 topped the 2023 price of which NFL team?

The Washington Commanders had fetched $6.05 billion; William Chisholm's group edged that, and within months the Lakers changed hands at a $10 billion valuation.

The Celtics' name nods to the Original Celtics, a famous 1920s barnstorming club based in which city?

New York's Original Celtics were a famous touring team of the 1920s; Boston's founder borrowed the name as a nod to them and to the city's Irish population.

Which 1979 move, made without consulting Red Auerbach, nearly drove him to take a job with the Knicks?

Acquiring Bob McAdoo cost three first-round picks Auerbach had planned to rebuild with; he stayed, and months later sent McAdoo to Detroit for picks that included the top choice of 1980.

The 2008-09 Celtics started a record 27-2 but lost a seven-game second-round series to which team?

The Orlando Magic won Game 7 in Boston, the first time the Celtics had ever lost a series after leading 3–2; Kevin Garnett missed the playoffs with a knee injury.

Which team did the Celtics beat in the 1986 NBA Finals?

The Houston Rockets had knocked out the defending champion Lakers in five games; Boston then won 4–2 and Bird was Finals MVP.

According to legend, why did Red Auerbach insist the Celtics wear black sneakers?

White ones got dirty too easily, Auerbach is said to have noticed, so he put the Celtics in black sneakers; they did not wear white at home again until 2003.

What would Celtics coach Red Auerbach famously do on the bench once he judged a game to be won?

Light a cigar was Auerbach's way of declaring victory, a habit so tied to him that some Boston restaurants banned smoking for everyone except Red.

How was Celtics star Paul Pierce taken off the court in Game 1 of the 2008 Finals before returning minutes later?

In a wheelchair is how Pierce exited with an apparent knee injury, which is why his quick return and Boston's win became known as the Wheelchair Game.

After their 2008 and 2024 titles, the Boston Celtics paraded through the city aboard which sightseeing vehicles?

Duck boats, the amphibious tour vehicles, have carried Boston's champions since the Patriots' 2002 parade, and calling for them became a local catchphrase.

Celtics legend Larry Bird grew up a local basketball star in which Indiana town?

French Lick pulled Bird back after only a month at his first college. He enrolled elsewhere the following year and became a national star.

Which towering rival center lost seven of eight playoff series against Bill Russell's Celtics?

Wilt Chamberlain was also Russell's close friend for years, until the relationship ended after Game 7 of the 1969 Finals.

Future Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen played high school phenom Jesus Shuttlesworth in which Spike Lee basketball film?

He Got Game cast Allen opposite Denzel Washington, and teammates and fans later borrowed the character's name as his basketball nickname.

Which president awarded Celtics great Bill Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom for basketball and civil rights?

Barack Obama presented the medal in 2011, two years after the NBA renamed its Finals MVP trophy in Russell's honor.

Larry Bird's famous last-second steal of an inbounds pass in the 1987 Eastern Conference finals came against which team?

Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas threw the pass with five seconds left and a one-point lead, and Bird fed a teammate for the winning layup.

Rick Pitino left which college powerhouse, where he had won the 1996 national title, to run the Boston Celtics?

Kentucky had made Pitino a star, but in Boston he went 102–146 and resigned midway through his fourth season.

Paul Pierce, MVP of the 2008 NBA Finals, was a college All-American at which school before Boston drafted him?

Kansas retired Pierce's No. 34 jersey, though he grew up in Inglewood, California, dreaming of playing for the Lakers he would later beat.

Bill Russell won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956 at which college before joining the Celtics?

San Francisco made the first scholarship offer to a player other recruiters had ignored, and Russell repaid it with a 55-game winning streak.

TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics since 1995, sits directly above which busy rail and subway hub?

North Station also lay beneath the old Boston Garden, so generations of fans have stepped off a train and straight into a Celtics game.

Which Zulu and Xhosa word meaning humanity did the 2008 champion Celtics chant when breaking every huddle?

Ubuntu was adopted at the start of the 2007–08 season, the first for a roster rebuilt around three All-Stars, and the chant lasted all the way to the title.

In which state was the Red Claws G League team based when the Boston Celtics bought and later renamed it?

Maine was home to the Red Claws in Portland from 2009. The Celtics bought the club in 2019 and renamed it after themselves in 2021.

A statue of longtime Celtics boss Red Auerbach was unveiled in 1985 outside which downtown Boston landmark?

Quincy Market received the statue in the same year the Celtics retired a number 2 jersey bearing Auerbach's name, though he never played for them.

Which venture capitalist led the group that bought the Boston Celtics for $360 million in 2002?

Wyc Grousbeck stayed on as lead owner for 23 years, a stretch that brought championships in 2008 and 2024.

Which play-by-play announcer called Celtics games on local television from 1981 until retiring in 2024?

Mike Gorman was honored at his last regular-season game, when TD Garden's courtside broadcast table was renamed for him.

Which three-time All-Star forward teamed with Paul Pierce to take the Celtics to the 2002 Eastern Conference finals?

Antoine Walker became an All-Star in only his second season, averaging 22.4 points and 10.2 rebounds for a rebuilding Boston team.

Which flashy Hall of Fame guard, waived by the Utah Jazz, played his final NBA games beside rookie Larry Bird in 1980?

Pete Maravich, the showman known as Pistol, signed with the league's top team for one playoff run, then retired because of injuries.

Nate Archibald, point guard of the 1981 champion Celtics, was far better known by which nickname?

Tiny was the tag for a guard who in 1972–73 became the first player to lead the NBA in both scoring and assists in one season.

Bill Russell delayed his Celtics debut until December 1956 to captain the U.S. Olympic team to gold in which city?

Melbourne staged its Games in November and December, so Russell missed the season's opening weeks yet finished it as an NBA champion.

Before Game 7 of the 1969 Finals against Boston, Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke hung thousands of what in the rafters?

Balloons printed with a Lakers victory message were never released as Boston won 108–106, the last game of Bill Russell's playing career.

Which Lakers guard was named the first NBA Finals MVP in 1969 even though the Celtics won the series?

Jerry West averaged nearly 38 points a game, and no player from a losing team has won the award since.

Which future Finals MVP did Rick Pitino's Celtics draft third overall in 1997, then trade away after only 51 games?

Chauncey Billups never meshed with his new coach, then blossomed elsewhere into the clutch point guard nicknamed Mr. Big Shot.

Which future superstar went first overall in 1997 after the Celtics, holding the best lottery odds, slipped to third?

Tim Duncan went to San Antonio, which won the lottery after injuries wrecked its season, and he delivered five championships there.

Which Celtics big man of the Bill Russell era also won the 1957 World Series as a major league pitcher?

Gene Conley added three straight Celtics titles from 1959 to 1961, becoming the first player to win both a World Series and an NBA championship.

Which rugged 1950s Celtics forward asked that his number stay in use, so the team honored his nickname instead?

Jim Loscutoff, an enforcer also known as Jungle Jim, is honored by a banner reading Loscy that hangs among the retired numbers.

In 1978 Celtics owner Irv Levin swapped franchises with the owner of which team, which he then moved to San Diego?

Buffalo Braves became the San Diego Clippers because Levin wanted a California team and knew the NBA would never let him move the Celtics.

Bob Cousy became a New England hero before turning pro as a three-time All-American guard at which college?

Holy Cross, forty miles from Boston in Worcester, won the 1947 NCAA title with Cousy as a freshman, the first New England college to do so.

Which 1950s Celtics swingman, saved by Red Auerbach for late in close games, is remembered as the NBA's first sixth man?

Frank Ramsey was among Boston's best players yet preferred coming off the bench, and he won seven championships in that role.

Which guard, acquired from San Antonio at the 2022 trade deadline, won a title with the 2024 Boston Celtics?

Derrick White was only the 29th pick in 2017 after starting out at a Division II college, yet he added Olympic gold in the summer after the title.

Kristaps Porziņģis, the 7-foot-2 center on the Celtics' 2024 championship team, was born in which European country?

Latvia's port city of Liepāja is his hometown, and he turned professional in Spain with Sevilla as a teenager before reaching the NBA.

Al Horford's 2024 title with the Celtics made him the first NBA champion from which country?

Dominican Republic native Horford was born in Puerto Plata, the son of a father who had himself played three years in the NBA.

Which second-year point guard started alongside Boston's new Big Three on the 2008 NBA championship team?

Rajon Rondo was a 21st overall pick who grew into a four-time All-Star and piled up 10 playoff triple-doubles.

Which coach guided the Celtics to the 2008 championship before leaving for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2013?

Doc Rivers had spent 13 seasons as an NBA point guard, and the 2008 title was his first as a head coach.

Which 7-foot-6 Senegalese center spent his first two NBA seasons on a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics?

Tacko Fall went undrafted in 2019, yet his combine measurements set NBA records, including a wingspan of more than eight feet.

Which shot-blocking Celtics big man, a first-round pick in 2018, was nicknamed Time Lord by fans?

Robert Williams earned the name through a reputation for missing flights and video meetings soon after he joined the team.

Neemias Queta, a reserve center on the 2024 champion Celtics, was the first NBA draftee from which country?

Portugal's first NBA draftee was born in Lisbon and went 39th overall in 2021 after playing college basketball at Utah State.

Which young Celtics big man was traded to Minnesota with four teammates in the 2007 deal for Kevin Garnett?

Al Jefferson was part of a seven-for-one swap, five players plus two draft picks, the biggest deal an NBA team had ever made for a single player.

Which defensive assistant on the 2008 champion Celtics later won two NBA Coach of the Year awards elsewhere?

Tom Thibodeau joined Boston as a defensive coach after stints with the Knicks and Rockets, then won the award in his first season running his own team.