Hoops Habit
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Boston Celtics Top 25 Moments In Franchise History

By Bill Speros

BOSTON - 1996: Red Auerbach, former head coach and General Manager of the Boston Celtics poses for a portrait in front of Celtics championship banners in Boston Massachesetts in 1996. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Greg Foster/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOSTON - 1996: Red Auerbach, former head coach and General Manager of the Boston Celtics poses for a portrait in front of Celtics championship banners in Boston Massachesetts in 1996. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1996 NBAE (Photo by Greg Foster/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Original Caption) Boston Celtics manager Red Auerbach is shown (left) talking with Olympic star Bill Russell as Russell’s wife, Rose, looks on at Madison Square Garden. Russell will sign a contract with the Celtics tommorrow. The Celtics played the Knicks tonight at the Garden.
(Original Caption) Boston Celtics manager Red Auerbach is shown (left) talking with Olympic star Bill Russell as Russell’s wife, Rose, looks on at Madison Square Garden. Russell will sign a contract with the Celtics tommorrow. The Celtics played the Knicks tonight at the Garden. /

1. Meet The Greatest Player Ever – Bill Russell

The Celtics never won a championship before Bill Russell came to Boston. He would win 11 championships in his 13 seasons with Boston, including eight straight from 1959-66. Russell would never lose an elimination game in the NCAA tournament, the Olympics, or a Game 7 in the NBA.

He remains in the same sentence with Michael Jordan as the greatest NBA player of all time. Red Auerbach pulled off the greatest heist in the history of the NBA when he dealt center Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to the St. Louis Hawks for the No. 2 pick in the 1956 NBA draft. That pick would be used to select center and two-time NCAA champion Russell from the University of San Francisco.

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Russell would not join the Celtics until December because he was a member of the U.S. gold-medal winning Olympic team. Boston’s starting five of Russell, Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, and Jim Loscutoff rolled through the regular season and playoffs. They were taken to seven games by the Hawks in the NBA finals, before winning Game 7 125-123 in double-overtime for their first NBA Championship.

Of Russell’s remaining 10 titles, 1962 would be the most fiercely contested. He and Wilt Chamberlain waged a brutal war of attrition. The Celtics prevailed in Game 7, thanks in part to 40 rebounds by Russell.

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