Boston Celtics Biography: Players, Net Worth, History, Stats

When we speak of the Boston Celtics, we talk of NBA history. As one of the league’s founding teams, the Celtics have a storied history spanning decades, wherein they have won 18 NBA championships, the most in the league. The Celtics boast a proud history of players ranging from Bill Russell and Larry Bird to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jayson Tatum. In this article, we dig deeper into this esteemed franchise’s history, players, championships, stats, and everything else that you need to know.

Boston Celtics Profile

Team Information	Details
Founded	1946
Owner	Wyc Grousbeck
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Nickname	Celtics, The Cs, Celts, C-Green Smash Machine
Stadium	TD Garden
Capacity	19,156
Conference	Eastern
Division	Atlantic
Head Coach	Joe Mazzulla
Networth	$6-8 billion

Boston Celtics History

The Boston Celtics were one of the eight original teams to play during the formation of the NBA. Formed on June 6, 1946, the Celtics franchise was founded by the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation president Walter A. Brown to participate in the Basketball Association of America. The team recorded their first playoff appearance in 1948. In 1949, following the merger of the National Basketball League and BAA, the team became part of the newly formed league, the National Basketball Association (NBA).

In 1950, the Celtics assigned Chuck Cooper, thus becoming the first NBA franchise to draft a black player. The team had a rough few early years until head coach Red Auerbach turned things around for the Cs. With no assistants during the franchise’s early days, Auerbach used to run all practices, do all the scouting, and even schedule all road trips. Auerbach also signed Bob Cousy, who joined the Cs after the Chicago Stags went bankrupt following a dispersal draft.

Auerbach also recruited Bill Russell from the University of San Francisco and Tom Heinsohn, who won the 1957 Rookie of the Year award. With Russell, the franchise started reaching new heights, winning their first NBA championship in 1957. They would go on to win 10 championships from 1959 to 1969, thus setting precedence for them being associated with NBA championships.

The 70s and the 80s heralded a new generation for the Celtics to embrace, with many new rivalries being set and star players becoming part of the franchise. One of such stars was Larry Bird, who is considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time.

Though the Celtics won two championships in the 1970s, the 80s was a decade when the league witnessed ‘Showtime’ Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics’ rivalry thrive at its best. The rivalry was particularly exemplified, given the already existing rivalry between Lakers’ Magic Johnson and the Celtics’ Larry Bird.

During that time, the team won three championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986 respectively. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson faced thrice in the Finals in the 80s, and Johnson won two of those Finals. The Celtics would then face a championship drought until the duo of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were to turn around the history of the franchise in the 2000s decade.

In 2003, the Celtics were sold by then-owner Paul Gaston to the Boston Basketball Partners L.L.C, a group led by H. Irving Grousbeck, Wycliffe Grousnbeck, and Steve Pagliuca. The team faced a tough time in the league, and former Celtic Danny Ainge was hired as the General Manager. The Celtics team was a young team under coach Doc Rivers, being led by Paul Pierce and rookie Al Jefferson. They continued to rebuild and drafted point guard Rajon Rondo in the 2006 NBA draft. This draft was particularly crucial for the franchise as Rondo would go on to become one of the most important pieces in the Celtics’ championship campaign.

In the summer of 2007, the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading to the emergence of Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen’s ‘The Big Three.’ For the first time since 1987, the Celtics faced the Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals, winning the series in six games. Paul Pierce was named the Finals MVP, and the Celtics set the record for most games a team had ever played in a postseason, having played 26 games.

Though the Celtics had a few more Finals appearances in the 2000s, injuries and the growing age of their players started dwindling their dominance and impact. However, like every decade and era of the Cs, the young crop of talent has always raised the shamrock-bannered team from depths of obscurity to prominence again. This time in the late 2010s and the 2020s, the drafting of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown did this thing.

Both Brown and Tatum were selected as the third picks by the Celtics in the 2016 and 2017 draft. The Celtics would go on to win the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, marking their first Finals appearance since 2008. In the 2022 NBA Finals, the Cs faced Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, which was a major upset for the Cs.

The Celtics again made it to the 2023 NBA Finals but faced another major upset against Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets. In 2024, the Celtics finally were able to beat the Dallas Mavericks, thus ending their championship drought since 2008. The Cs had the best chemistry and depth during the 2023-24 season, marking the franchise’s first three consecutive Finals appearances since 1987.

Boston Celtics Stats

The Boston Celtics have played in 79 seasons in the NBA (counting the years before the merger), with 61 Playoff Appearances and 18 championships. They have a winning record of 59.5% in the league and are currently (2024-25 season) standing second in the Eastern Conference, with a 36-16 record.

With the current record in hand, the Boston Celtics are most likely to make it to the playoffs this season as well. And most probably, the fans believe the Cs might also make it to the Finals this time. With their high-volume three-point shooting and a team with incredible depth, every player in the current roster seems determined to run it back to another championship as well. Here is a breakdown of Boston’s standings in the Eastern Conference, as per the NBA:

Team	w	L	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	Neutral	OT	LAST10	STREAK
Cavaliers	41	10	—	27-7	9-1	24-4	17-6	0-0	0-0	6-4	W 1
Celtics	36	16	5.5	26-9	6-2	16-10	20-6	0-0	3-2	7-3	L 1
Knicks	34	17	7	23-10	9-1	18-9	16-8	0-0	2-0	8-2	W 2
Pacers	29	21	11.5	17-15	6-4	14-7	14-13	1-1	1-1	7-3	W 1
Bucks	27	22	13	22-15	6-5	16-8	10-14	1-0	1-0	5-5	W 1
Heat	25	24	15	14-14	5-3	12-10	12-14	1-0	2-3	5-5	W 1
Pistons	25	26	16	17-20	2-9	12-13	13-13	0-0	2-2	4-6	L 2
Magic	25	28	17	20-15	5-2	15-9	10-19	0-0	0-1	2-8	L 1
Hawks	23	28	18	16-13	4-2	11-12	12-15	0-1	2-1	1-9	L 1
Bulls	22	30	19.5	17-18	3-7	10-16	12-14	0-0	1-0	4-6	L 1
76ers	20	30	20.5	14-16	3-4	10-16	10-14	0-0	2-2	5-5	L 1
Nets	17	34	24	8-23	1-8	6-17	11-17	0-0	0-3	3-7	L 1
Raptors	16	35	25	10-23	3-7	12-16	4-19	0-0	1-2	6-4	L 2
Hornets	12	36	27.5	7-27	0-9	8-20	4-16	0-0	1-2	2-8	L 6
Wizards	9	41	31.5	7-20	5-3	5-19	4-21	0-1	0-1	3-7

Boston Celtics Famous Players

The Boston Celtics boast a history of some of the greatest NBA players to be part of their roster. Starting from Bill Chamberlain, Bob Cousy, Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo. Some of the most famous Celtics players are as follows:

Paul Pierce

Shaquille O’Neal had himself dubbed Paul Pierce as ‘The Truth.’ Pierce is considered one of the most pioneer figures if we ought to ever evaluate the Celtics’ history. From 1998 to 2013, Pierce was a constant on the Cs’ roster and led the team with his scoring prowess, clutch abilities, and veteran leadership to the 2008 NBA Finals. He solidified his status as a franchise goat with his 26,937 points recorded with the Celtics.

Larry Bird

The 80s decade was marked by the rivalry between the Showtime Lakers and the Boston Celtics, primarily stemming from the existing rivalry between the Cs’ Larry Bird and the Lakers’ Magic Johnson. Larry Bird was a scoring machine in all respects and could also grab rebounds and make ingenious plays for his teammates. Also considered one of the most legendary trash talkers, Bird had heralded the Celtics to new heights of glory. He won three championships with the Cs during his time with the franchise.

Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett was already a superstar when he arrived at the Celtics in 2007. Acquired in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, KG would record impressive stats and showcase skills on both ends of the floor to dominate the court when he played. He is best known for his “Anything is possible!” scream after winning the 2008 NBA championship.

Boston Celtics Roster

The Boston Celtics roster in the 2024-25 season consists of the following players

POS	Number	Name	Age	HT	WT	College
SG	7	Jaylen Brown	28	1.98 m	101 kg	California
SG	20	JD Davison	22	1.85 m	88 kg	Alabama
SF	30	Sam Hauser	27	2.01 m	98 kg	Virginia
PG	4	Jrue Holiday	34	1.93 m	92 kg	UCLA
C	42	Al Horford	38	2.06 m	108 kg	Florida
C	40	Luke Hornet	29	2.16 m	113 kg	Vanderbilt
F	13	Drew Peterson	25	2.06 m	92 kg	USC
C	8	Kristaps Porzingis	29	2.18 m	108 kg	—
PG	11	Payton Pritchard	27	1.85 m	88 kg	Oregon
C	88	Neemias Queta	25	2.13 m	112 kg	Utah State
F	55	Baylor Scheierman	24	1.98 m	92 kg	Creighton
SF	0	Jayson Tatum	26	2.03 m	95 kg	Duke
F	26	Xavier Tillman	26	2.01 m	111 kg	Michigan State
G	27	Jordan Walsh	20	1.98 m	92 kg	Arkansas
F	28	Anton Watson	24	2.03 m	102 kg	Gonzaga
PG	9	Derrick White	30	1.93 m	86 kg	Colorado

The current Boston roster can be considered a deep squad, with a mix of veterans and young talents. The Celtics also have a decked-up bench, which is extremely handy during crunch-time plays. With their current standings in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics are most likely to challenge another title contention and are considered among the favorites to win the chip this season.

Boston Celtics Head Coach

The Boston Celtics’ current head coach is Joe Mazzulla, who has been part of the Celtics’ coaching team since 2019. Before the 2022-23 season, Mazzulla was appointed as the interim head coach before being named head coach in February 2023. Mazzulla has the highest winning amongst any coach in franchise history, leading the team to 64 wins and an NBA championship in the 2023-24 season. Mazzulla is also the youngest coach to win an NBA Finals in franchise history since Bill Russell was the player-coach in 1969.

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Boston Celtics Owner

The Boston Celtics was founded by Walter A. Brown, the franchise’s original owner until 1964. Since then, the Celtics’ ownership has changed several hands, the most recently being in 2006. The current owners of the Boston Celtics are the Boston Basketbal Partners LLC, consisting of Wycliffe Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca, and H. Irving Grousbeck. Here is a list of all the owners of the Boston Celtics franchise over it’s history:

• Walter A. Brown, team founder and original owner (1946–64)
• Marjorie Brown, wife of team founder (1964–1965)
• Marvin Kratter/National Equities (1965–68)
• Ballantine Brewery (1968–69)
• E.E. Erdman’s Trans-National Communications (1969–71)
• Investors Funding Corporation (1971–72)
• Robert Schmertz-Leisure Technology (1972–74)
• Robert Schmertz and Irv Levin (1974–75)
• Irv Levin (1975–78)
• John Y. Brown, Jr. and Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. (1978)
• Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. (1979–83)
• Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, Paul Dupee (1983–92)
• Paul Gaston (1992–2003)
• Boston Basketball Partners LLC – consisting of Wycliffe Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca, and H. Irving Grousbeck (2003–present)

Boston Celtics Net Worth

According to Forbes, the net worth of the Boston Celtics can be estimated to be around $6 billion to $8 billion under the Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics have seen a 28% increase in value since winning the 2024 NBA Championship. They are considered one of the NBA’s ‘big market’ teams and are among the top five most valuable teams in the league.

Boston Celtics Stadium

The Boston Celtics have historically been based in Boston, Massachusetts, since its founding in 1946. Their current home arena is the TD Garden in Boston, where they have been playing all their home NBA games since 1995. The Celtics played in the erstwhile Boston Arena (now known as the Matthews Arena) from 1946 to 1955 and the Boston Garden until 1995.

The TD Garden can house more than 19,000 fans and is a multipurpose arena, with the NHL team Boston Bruins also being based out there. The arena has also hosted concerts of several top artists coming to Boston.

Boston Celtics Championships

The Boston Celtics have won 18 NBA championships, the most by a franchise in league history. Since being one of the league’s founding franchises, the Celtics have a storied history of winning championships right from the hay days of the league. Under Bill Russell and head coach Red Auerbach, the franchise reached its new heights. The team won ten championships between 1958 and 1969 and dominated in the 80s as well under Larry Bird, winning three championships.

The Celtics then faced a championship drought in the 1990s, and the 2000s were a dark phase in the franchise’s history. However, in 2008, the trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen turned history around and went on to win the NBA Championship against the Lakers.

Most recently, in 2024, the Celtics won the NBA championship, thus marking their 18th championship victory and breaking the tie with the Lakers for the most titles in league history.

Boston Celtics Records

The Boston Celtics have played 79 seasons in the NBA from the 1946-47 season to the 2024-25 season. They have a 3670-2496 record in the league, making their W-L% to be 59.5 percent. The Celtics have recorded 61 playoff appearances and have won 18 championships in the league.

In the 2023-24 season, the Celtics finished with a league-best 64-18 record, marking the 25th-best winning percentage (78%) of all time. Furthermore, after beating the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, the Celts have matched their best postseason winning percentage from 1986 by winning 84.2% (16-3) of their games.

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