The Complete History of Boston Celtics Championships: Every NBA Finals win and title explained
Boston is known as “Titletown” because of the number of championship teams the city has produced. The Patriots were NFL royalty in the 2000s and 2010s, while the Red Sox enjoyed quite a run following the end of the “Curse of the Bambino.”
However, nothing can top the legendary run of the Boston Celtics. They are the gold standard in the NBA with a league-high 18 championships.
Here’s a breakdown of every NBA Finals-winning Celtics team.
A quick guide to each championship season
1957 NBA Finals
The Celtics won their first title in a seven-game slugfest against the St. Louis Hawks. Boston ended the series with a double-overtime victory in Game 7.
The legendary Bill Russell averaged 13.3 points and 22.9 rebounds per game, and Tom Heinsohn led the team in scoring with 24.0 points per game.
1959 NBA Finals
The Celtics and the then-Minneapolis Lakers met in the NBA Finals for the first time in 1959. Boston prevailed with a 4-0 sweep, the first in NBA Finals history.
It was the first of eight consecutive championships for the Celtics.
1960 NBA Finals
The Celtics faced the Hawks in the team’s second straight NBA Finals appearance. Boston beat St. Louis, 4-3.
The Celtics scored more than 100 points in six of the seven games, including a 140-point explosion in Game 1.
1961 NBA Finals
Once again, the Celtics beat the Hawks in the NBA Finals. Bill Sharman, who averaged 13.6 points per game in the series, ended his career as a four-time champion.
1962 NBA Finals
The Lakers had moved to Los Angeles at the beginning of the decade, but the result was the same. The Celtics beat the Lakers, 4-3.
Russell closed out the series with an incredible 30-point, 40-rebound performance in a Game 7 victory.
1963 NBA Finals
The Celtics continued to dominate the Lakers on the big stage, this time defeating Los Angeles in six games. Sam Jones led the Celtics in scoring (24.7 points per game), and Russell posted 20.0 points and 26.0 rebounds per game.
1964 NBA Finals
The Celtics faced Wilt Chamberlain and the San Francisco Warriors in 1964, capturing another ring with a 4-1 series win. Boston’s team effort overcame Chamberlain’s wild stat line (29.2 points, 27.6 rebounds per game).
1965 NBA Finals
The rivalry resumed in 1965 with Boston taking down Los Angeles, 4-1. Jones led the team in points per game (27.8), while Russell did his typical work in the paint.
1966 NBA Finals
Los Angeles pushed Boston to seven games, but the Celtics simply refused to lose. Russell was the team’s top scorer and rebounder, bringing an eighth consecutive championship to Boston.
1968 NBA Finals
New year, same result — the Celtics beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals, 4-2. John Havlicek had a great all-around series, posting 27.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.
1969 NBA Finals
This year marked the end of Russell’s career, so he had to end the Lakers’ championship dreams one more time before he walked away. This is the only NBA Finals in which a player on the losing team (Jerry West) won the Finals MVP award.
1974 NBA Finals
A Boston team without Russell reached the Finals in 1974, beating Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Bucks, 4-3. Dave Cowens and Havlicek, who earned the Finals MVP award, each averaged more than 20 points per game.
1976 NBA Finals
This series is known for Game 5, which is referred to as “the greatest game ever played.” The Celtics outlasted the Suns in a triple-overtime thriller.
Following that game, the Celtics won a tight Game 6 to secure another championship. Jo Jo White won his second title and first Finals MVP award.
1981 NBA Finals
The Celtics truly launched the Larry Bird era with a 4-2 series win against the Rockets. While Boston had its “Big Three” of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, Cedric Maxwell was named Finals MVP after leading the team with 17.7 points per game.
1984 NBA Finals
Bird’s Celtics and Magic Johnson’s Lakers met in the NBA Finals for the first time in 1984. The Celtics escaped with a 4-3 series win. Bird earned the first Finals MVP award of his career by averaging a double-double of 27.4 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.
1986 NBA Finals
The Celtics wanted to get some revenge against the Lakers after losing in the 1985 NBA Finals, but they instead faced Hakeem Olajuwon and the Rockets in 1986, beating Houston, 4-2.
This was the last championship run for Bird and the start of a 22-year drought for the Celtics.
2008 NBA Finals
After more than two decades, the Celtics finally reached the top of the NBA mountain.
With a “Big Three” of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the Celtics beat the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers in six games. It was largely a tight series, but Boston crushed Los Angeles, 131-92, in the deciding Game 6.
2024 NBA Finals
With the dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way, the Celtics defeated Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in the NBA Finals, breaking a tie with the Lakers for most championships in league history.
Boston jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. Dallas avoided a sweep in a one-sided Game 4, but it only delayed the inevitable.
