1986 NBA Championship

Lore & Background

The Celtics made the 1985 NBA Finals but lost in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers. In the offseason, president Red Auerbach traded Cedric Maxwell to the Los Angeles Clippers for Bill Walton and acquired Jerry Sichting from the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics surged to a league-best 67–15 record, powered by an NBA record 40 victories at home. In the playoffs, Boston needed just three games to defeat the Chicago Bulls in the first round, eliminated the Atlanta Hawks in five games in the second round, and swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference finals. The Rockets, after trading Moses Malone, had a league-worst 14–68 record in 1982–83, then selected Ralph Sampson with the top pick in 1983 and Akeem Olajuwon with the top pick in 1984. Under head coach Bill Fitch, the Rockets posted a 51–31 record, swept the Sacramento Kings in the first round, eliminated the Denver Nuggets in six games, and stunned the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Boston Garden was thick with the smell of popcorn and floor wax, a familiar perfume to anyone who had watched the Celts win here before. But tonight felt different; the stakes were absolute. Larry Bird stood near the sideline as the final seconds ticked away, watching the Rockets' defense crumble under the weight of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale in the paint. Coach K.C. Jones raised his arms, and for a moment, the ghosts of Red Auerbach seemed to dance among the confetti as the franchise claimed its sixteenth crown.

Reader's Guide

The Celtics won the first two games at the Boston Garden. The Rockets won game three 106–104 at home. The Celtics won game four 106–103. The Rockets won game five. The Celtics won game six 114–97. Larry Bird averaged 24 points, 9.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, and 2.7 steals per game for the series.

Did You Know?

• This series marked the first time the 'NBA Finals' branding was officially used, dropping the 'NBA World Championship Series' branding.
• Until the 2011 series, this was the last time the NBA Finals had started before June.
• It was the last NBA Finals series to schedule a game on a Monday until 1999 and the last NBA Finals game to be played on Memorial Day.
• CBS Sports used Dick Stockton and Tom Heinsohn as play-by-play and color commentator, with Brent Musburger as host and Pat O'Brien and Lesley Visser as sideline reporters.