Celtics City

As the Boston Celtics celebrate their record 18th NBA title, the franchise’s origins are traced back to the arrival of Red Auerbach in 1950, and his uncompromising vision for success. Auerbach makes history by drafting Chuck Cooper, the NBA’s first Black player, and builds a powerhouse led by Bob Cousy and Bill Russell. When Cousy retires in 1963, the team has six championships, but racial tensions in Boston and beyond augur a tumultuous era ahead.

At the peak of the civil rights movement, with segregation persisting in Boston, Bill Russell inserts himself into the struggle, drawing backlash and death threats. Yet the winning continues, with Russell making more history when he replaces Auerbach to become the team’s player-coach – the first Black head coach in professional sports. It all culminates with an 11th title in 13 years in 1969 in a dramatic seven-game series against Wilt Chamberlain and the Lakers.

Against the backdrop of the controversial Boston busing mandate and racial unrest in the city, the Celtics return to glory with a pair of championships in the 1970’s thanks to players including John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Paul Silas, and Jo Jo White. The team fades towards the end of the decade before Auerbach pulls off another brilliant move, drafting an Indiana State star named Larry Bird.

Larry Bird arrives in Boston as a beacon of hope for a city still grappling with racial tensions and its identity in flux. His blend of talent and tenacity embodies Boston’s working-class ethos, while his rivalry with Magic Johnson and battles against Julius Erving help revive a struggling NBA and elevate it to new heights. With the additions of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, Bird helps lead the Celtics to their 14th championship in 1981. However, internal discord threatens to derail another potential dynasty.

As the Celtics and Lakers battle for basketball supremacy, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson’s rivalry captivates the sports world. The Celtics and the Lakers trade titles in epic showdowns as the teams’ racial identities fuel complex conversations about Boston’s lingering reputation. In 1986, Bird helps lead the Celtics to one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history, but then an unthinkable tragedy changes everything.

The tragic death of Len Bias after the 1986 draft casts a shadow over the Celtics, and Larry Bird’s style of play begins to take its toll – all as new rivals emerge with the Celtics going head-to-head with the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons in a heated 1987 playoff series before ultimately falling to Magic Johnson and the Lakers in the Finals. Bird fights through pain to extend his career, but in 1992, he retires and closes a historic chapter for the Celtics and the NBA.

As the Celtics struggle to find a new identity with young Black stars, Reggie Lewis appears poised to lead their resurgence before his sudden death leaves the franchise and city in mourning again. Even the arrival of new team president and coach Rick Pitino in 1997 doesn’t help as the team spirals into crisis, decline, and then irrelevance. One month before the 2000-01 season, promising forward Paul Pierce is left clinging for his life after being stabbed in a Boston nightclub. Fans are left to wonder if the Celtics will ever rise again.

A new century brings new hope: Paul Pierce survives his stabbing and emerges as the team’s franchise cornerstone, leading Boston back to the playoffs alongside fellow star Antoine Walker. After another downturn, former Celtic Danny Ainge takes over as GM and makes a bold series of moves to acquire Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, forming a new “Big Three” with Pierce. With head coach Doc Rivers at the helm, the Celtics reclaim their dominance in 2008, defeating Kobe Bryant’s Lakers in the NBA Finals to capture their 17th championship.

Following the 2008 title, injuries, age, and internal conflict take their toll. Though the Celtics return to the Finals in 2010, Danny Ainge quickly pivots to a new era. Soon, rising stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are tasked with carrying the weight of the franchise’s storied tradition and the city’s complex racial history. In 2024, under Ainge’s replacement Brad Stevens and head coach Joe Mazzulla, the team captures its record-breaking 18th championship, embodying the legacy of Red Auerbach and Bill Russell as one of the greatest dynasties in sports history.