Since the Celtics had two draft choices, Auerbach took a risk and selected junior Larry Bird of Indiana State with the 6th pick, knowing that Bird would elect to remain in college for his senior year.
The Celtics would retain his rights for one year a Construction began on April 29, Plans for the new arena stated that it would be slightly north of the old facility. The Boston Celtics, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, four games to two in a best-of-seven Read More See Full Story.
The franchise's 17 championships are the most of any NBA franchise, and account for As a percentage of championships won, the Celtics are the most successful franchise to date in the major four traditional North American professional sports leagues.
Championship NBA Championships 17 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Mangurian, Jr. Brown, Jr. Who is the greatest Boston Celtics?
Senate seat in , but finished last. Although the Celtics were the dominant NBA team from the s into the 80s with 16 NBA championships, they had not won an NBA title since and the team was nothing special when Wyc's group bought the team in And then things got worse. They lost their star player Paul Pierce to a foot injury at the beginning of the - season and had only two wins in their next 24 games. They finished the year with a 24 - 58 record landing at the bottom of the NBA standings.
Their luck quickly changed when the Celtics obtained both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen for the - season. Considering that the Celtics recorded 16 league championships during the year span bridging the team's creation and the formation of Boston Celtics L. Owner of the Boston Bruins hockey team and the fabled Boston Garden, Brown cared little and perhaps knew even less about the game of basketball when he and a small group of arena operators gathered in New York City in to organize the Basketball Association of America.
Like others in attendance, Brown was primarily concerned with keeping his arena filled with paying spectators, something that had proven hard to accomplish during the winter nights in Boston. Basketball seemed an odd choice considering the game enjoyed little popular support, particularly in Boston, where the population was devoted to baseball and hockey. Basketball, in fact, had been eliminated from the Boston city school system in , nearly two decades earlier.
Nevertheless, Brown and his cohorts--all of whom, except one, owned hockey teams--organized the member Basketball Association of America in the Commodore Hotel on June 6, , and Brown left New York with a basketball franchise, as yet unnamed. After considering several team names, including "Whirlwinds," "Unicorns," and "Olympics," Brown opted for "Celtics," hoping to grab the attention of Boston's large Irish population.
John Davis "Honey" Russell was hired as the first Celtics coach, and the team soon began its inaugural season, losing its first game to the Providence Steamrollers, the first of many losses during the franchise's fledgling years.
The Celtics were after their first season, and, despite Brown's expectations of packing his arena with adoring fans, the team never filled half the seats in the Boston Garden, averaging only 3, people per game. The Celtics posted a losing record the following year yet made the playoffs. But more important to the team's future was its financial condition, as the losses mounted for Brown and the company he led, Boston Garden Arena Corporation.
A coaching change was made before the basketball season, with Alvin "Doggie" Julian taking over for Honey Russell, but his impact was negligible and the Celtics again recorded a losing season, winning 25 games and losing By this point the financial condition of the team was grave. Shareholders of the Boston Garden Arena Corporation wanted out and urged Brown to fold the franchise, but Brown persevered, convincing the disgruntled stockholders to give the Celtics franchise one more year to prove its financial viability.
The following season was the worst in the franchise's short history, as the Celtics posted a dismal record; the team's record was 89 victories and losses during the first four years. Boston Garden Arena Corporation stockholders were no longer receptive to Brown's pleas after the fourth season and they sold their stakes in the franchise to Brown, leaving the disheartened founder saddled with debt and in charge of the failing Celtics.
To stave off a complete collapse of the franchise, Brown sold his home and other private investments, keeping the Celtics in business for another season. As later became apparent, Brown's decision to keep the team afloat, despite no obvious sign that the team's future would be any more successful than its past, was an immensely beneficial one.
Two new faces arrived for the basketball season: coach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach, who was hired as the Celtics third head man in five years, and guard Bob Cousy, who would convert his harshest critic--his new coach--into one of his staunchest supporters. Red Auerbach, age 32 when Walter Brown named him coach of the Celtics, would be chiefly responsible for creating the celebrated Celtics mystique that would intimidate opposing players and draw legions of Celtics fans into the Boston Garden for generations to come.
With his ever-present victory cigar clamped in his mouth, Auerbach would guide the Celtics through the team's much heralded glory years, orchestrating the action from courtside for the next 16 seasons, then wielding his managerial control for decades afterward. Under Auerbach's glare, the other new arrival--Cousy--would develop into one of the game's greatest players, transforming the Celtics organization from a perennial loser into the most successful franchise in the history of professional basketball.
Together, Cousy and Auerbach righted the floundering Celtics, who posted a record during the season--the team's first winning season--and advanced to the playoffs. Perhaps more important, average attendance rose 2, per game during the season, enabling Brown to begin recouping his losses and beat back the financial pressures that threatened the franchise's existence.
The Celtics advanced to the playoffs each of the next five years, but a championship title--the hallmark of a sports organization's success--eluded the franchise. In retrospect, the Celtics were missing one key player, and that player, Bill Russell, arrived in camp in the autumn of
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