On this day, the Boston Celtics won their 17th banner, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals.
On this day in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise won their 17th and most recent title to date by defeating their longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers with a 131-92 blowout of Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals.
The win came at home in TD Garden, behind 26 points and 14 rebounds by big man Kevin Garnett, and 26 points from shooting guard Ray Allen. Point guard Rajon Rondo added 21 points, 8 boards, and 6 assists while forward Paul Pierce chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds. Reserve forward James Posey provided 11 points off the bench.
Check out this snapshot of Boston Celtics history.
Back in the day when current Boston Celtics broadcaster Brian Scalabrine was a member of the team he now covers’ roster, White Mamba (as Scal was known in those days) soaked up plenty of crazy stories with the team he would win a title as a member of in 2008.
The USC alum bore witness to the colorful personalities of his Banner 17 teammates as they worked towards the common goal of all Boston teams, hanging more banners to burnish the already storied legacy of the Celtics in the NBA. Fast forward to today and Scal has become quite the storyteller of that era of Boston basketball lore.
In a recent interview with the “Dan LeBatard” show, Scalabrine sat down and told some of his best stories from that moment in time, most notably the arm wrestling tale that took place on the team plane.
Take a look at the clip embedded above for a snapshot of Boston Celtics history.
You might know him for his time on Survivor, but Pollard nearly voted himself off of the Banner 17 island.
Many of you know him more for his role on “Survivor” than his contributions to the Boston Celtics‘ 2008 title team that hung Banner 17, but Scot Pollard was part of it even if he did not get on the court during the postseason run it took to win it.
The journeyman center actually needed a little persuading to sign with the Celtics according to his recent interview with the folks over at the Heavy YouTube channel. “Boston calls and says ‘Hey, come help us win a championship;'” related Pollard. “I said, ‘Nah, I’m good.'”
To hear the rest of Pollard’s story, take a look at the clip embedded below to hear how the big man better known by many for his island exploits on reality TV today ended up winning a ring with the Celtics.
The famed Boston sharpshooter had a unique perspective of how the KG-Ray Allen-Paul Pierce feud was born and died.
Former Boston Celtics microwave scorer Eddie House had a front-row seat to the birth and death of the feud between fellow champion Celtics alumni Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, having been present for the initial cracks in the foundation laid by the Banner 17 crew in 2008.
So the current NBC Sports analyst knows as much as anyone about that trio of Boston greats, the details behind their longtime rancor and final resolution ahead of KG’s jersey retirement ceremony this past spring when all three were together again at TD Garden.
Speaking with Bally Sports’ Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, House told the tale from his perspective of the origin and end to one of the most infamous feuds in Celtics history.
Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear it for yourself.
Back when the Boston Celtics were celebrating their then-record 17th NBA title at TD Garden late into the night after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 131-92, star Celtics shooting guard Ray Allen looked over at one of the many faces they had been celebrating with in the locker room all night long.
The room had been packed full of teammates, friends and families, team trainers and staff, front office personnel and all sorts of Celtics-adjacent people in the media and beyond. But the crowd dwindled to the team itself and a handful of others as the night dragged into the early hours of the morning.
In an interview with ESPN, the former UConn standout revealed he suddenly learned the identity of a mysterious guest that had been celebrating with them that whole night, blowing his mind with the news.
Watch the clip embedded above to learn the identity of this unexpected visitor in the clip embedded above.
The last title team in Celtics history, won by the big three of Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, has been at odds since Allen left Boston to join the Miami Heat in 2012. The Truth and Jesus Shuttlesworth have since made amends, but the ire between Allen and KG has lingered on. But, a recent video from our friends at CLNS Media in attendance for Pierce’s big night showed something pretty surprising — The Big Ticket and the UConn product are seated next to one another.
Does this signal an end to one of the most enduring grudges in league history? We certainly hope so, even if they never manage to recapture the spirit of “ubuntu” that brought them together to win Banner 17 in 2008.
Many just want to be able to enjoy that moment as fans without diving into drama, and with a little luck, that moment might just have arrived. Watch the video embedded above, and decide for yourself what might be about to go down.
On this day, the Boston Celtics won their 17th banner, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals.
On this day in 2008, the Boston Celtics won their 17th and last title to date by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers with a 131-92 blowout of Game 6 of the series.
The win came at home in TD Garden, behind 26 points and 14 rebounds by big man Kevin Garnett, and 26 points from shooting guard Ray Allen.
Point guard Rajon Rondo added 21 points, 8 boards and six assists while forward Paul Pierce chipped in 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Reserve forward James Posey provided 11 points off the bench.
“It means so much more because these are the guys, the Havliceks, the Bill Russells, the Cousys,” Pierce said via ESPN. “These guys started what’s going on with those banners. They don’t hang up any other banners but championship ones, and now I’m a part of it.”
“I got my own. I got my own,” Garnett said to Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell, present at the sidelines. “I hope we made you proud.”
