Facts about Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are one of the eight National Basketball Association (NBA) teams still in existence. With 17 NBA titles, legendary players and iconic coaches the Celtics are among the elites in the entire NBA franchise. Here are some fun facts about the Boston Celtics that you may not know.

History

Founded in 1946, the Boston Celtics are one of the eight original NBA teams out of the 23 that are still in existence. The name ‘Celtics’ and their mascot ‘Lucky the Leprechaun’ were given since “Boston is full of Irishman,” according to team owner Walter A.Brown. 

Jinx

Brown personally chose the team name over options such as Whirlwinds, Olympians, and Unicorns. His publicity officials reluctantly accepted this decision saying, “No team with an Irish name has ever won a damned thing in Boston.” Despite such beliefs, the Boston Celtics went on to win 17 NBA titles and impacted NBA’s history like no other teams have.

Uniqueness

The Celtics’ 17 championship wins are the highest in NBA history. It accounts for 24.3 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s founding in 1946.

Ever since the team’s birth, the Celtics have played their home games at the TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Boston Bruins. 

There has always been ‘the big three’ for each decade of the NBA and in 1960’s it was Russell-Havlicek-Cousy who were all Celtics players.

In 1950, they drafted African-American Chuck Cooper, the move made them the first NBA franchise to do so.

Red Auerbach was the General Manager of the Celtics for 33 years (1951-1984).

The Celtics have played the Lakers in the NBA Finals 12 times, which is a record. The Celtics won most of those meetings, 9.

The Celtics have had 16 different owners/owner combinations since they were founded.