Compiling an all-time starting five for the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are regarded as the most successful basketball team in NBA history; the franchise has accumulated 22 division titles, 21 conference championships and has won the most championships in the NBA with 17 including eight in a row, and eleven championships in thirteen years.
The Celtics have accounted for 23.9 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s founding, and currently hold the record for the most recorded wins of any NBA team.
They also have 56 playoff appearances. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has 45 enshrined players who played for the Celtics, and the franchise has retired 22 jersey numbers, more than any other American sports team.
With such a storied history behind them, it is a daunting task to choose the five position players to make up their all-time team, but that is what I will attempt to do. I have watched this team consistently since their last championship in 2008 and I have seen a number of their games from their heyday in the 80s. So in some cases for this starting five, I reference players that I am familiar with, but otherwise, there may be a player or two who I did not have the opportunity to see play but I believe based on my research that they deserve a spot.
That’s the fun with doing an article like this, it’s not definitive. It’s subjective and open for discussion and I would welcome your thoughts in the comments below. Anyway, here we go.