1964 NBA Finals Game 7 vs San Francisco Warriors

Lore & Background

The Celtics' rise to dominance began in the late 1950s after the team acquired Bill Russell in 1956. Led by Russell, Bob Cousy, and Tom Heinsohn, the Celtics won their first NBA championship in 1957. They won eight consecutive NBA championships from 1959 to 1966. After Russell became player-coach, they won back-to-back titles in 1968 and 1969.

In the mid-1970s, the Celtics won championships in 1974 and 1976 under head coach Tom Heinsohn. In the 1980s, anchored by the 'Big Three' of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, they won championships in 1981, 1984, and 1986. After a period of rebuilding, the Celtics assembled a new 'Big Three' around Paul Pierce by acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in 2007, winning the 2008 championship. Led by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 2024 to secure their 18th championship.

On December 26, 1964, Willie Naulls replaced an injured Tom Heinsohn, joining Tom 'Satch' Sanders, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, and Bill Russell in the starting lineup, making the Celtics the first NBA team to have an all African-American starting lineup. That game was a regular-season game against St. Louis, not part of the 1964 NBA Finals.

Reader's Guide

The Celtics have a notable rivalry with the Los Angeles Lakers, who are second in NBA history with 17 championships. The teams' rivalry was especially pronounced in the 1960s and 1980s. The Celtics have played the Lakers a record 12 times in the NBA Finals and have defeated them nine times. 41 members of the Basketball Hall of Fame have played for the Celtics. Four Celtics players (Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Dave Cowens, and Larry Bird) have won the NBA Most Valuable Player award; overall, Celtics players have won an NBA-record 10 MVP awards.

Did You Know?

• The Celtics' 8 consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966 is the longest championship streak in U.S. professional sports history.
• Bill Russell won 11 NBA titles, the most by any NBA player.
• The Celtics were sold in May 2025 to private equity investor William Chisholm for $6.1 billion, the second-highest valued sports franchise transaction in U.S. history.
• The team name and mascot 'Lucky the Leprechaun' are nods to Boston's historically large Irish population and the Original Celtics.