Tag: Bill Russell

Would Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell be a superstar in today’s NBA?

Russell’s shot-blocking, rebounding, and leadership qualities would still make him a force to be reckoned with in the modern game.

Would Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell Be a superstar in today’s NBA? Russell’s extraordinary career, spanning from 1955 to 1969, saw his ball club win 11 NBA titles, a testament to the Louisiana native’s unmatched success with the Celtics and dominance as a force in the paint.

Russell’s achievements, including two NCAA titles at the University of San Francisco, a gold medal in the 1956 Olympics, and the likely unmatchable feat of his 11 NBA championships make Russell the ultimate winner. But what do they tell us about how well he would do in the league the way the game is played now?

Russell’s shot-blocking, rebounding, and leadership qualities would still make him a force to be reckoned with in the modern game according to CLNS Media’s Bob Ryan, who laid out the case on a recent episode of his eponymous podcast.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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The top three Boston Celtics to elevate their team

In the NBA, the influence of a single star player on a team’s success can be profound.

In the NBA, the influence of a single star player on a team’s success can be profound, turning struggling teams into perennial contenders. A recent analysis by the staff of our sister site HoopsHype focuses on these sorts of transformative stars and the teams they were closely associated with, showing off the before-and-after scenarios in terms of franchise winning percentages pumped up by their presence on that respective roster.

And as one might expect given the flow of future Hall of Famers through the Boston Celtics’ organization over the decades they won an NBA-record 17 banners, there are several Boston alumni in that analysis.

Let’s take a look at the top three Celtics stars to make the cut.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason free throws?

Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

In his historic, 50-point masterpiece against the Brooklyn Nets in Game 3 of the 2021 Eastern Conference first-round series, All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics likely would not have won the game had the budding superstar not gotten to the line 15 times, converting 13.

But the St. Louis native had a long way to go to crack the franchise’s top ten in free throws made in the postseason given the long and storied history of the Celtics in the playoffs, making the list in 2023; you sink a lot of shots at the charity stripe when you win 17 banners, after all.

Who are the 10 most accomplished sinkers of free throws in the playoffs for Boston, then? Make your guesses, then scroll down to see how you did.

SI’s Jack McCallum lists two Celtics legends among his 10 greatest ‘what-ifs’ of NBA history

Both were key figures to the team’s legacy of historic dominance – but very plausibly might not have been.

Legendary Sports Illustrated sportswriter Jack McCallum is feeling the celebratory vibes of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, and he put together a list of his 10 greatest “what-if” moments in league history, entertaining the possibility of what it would mean had critical events in NBA history not played out as they did.

Some of them are so critical they affected the entire league’s history (imagine what might have happened if the sport — on life support in its early years of the NBA — had not adopted the shot clock, for example), but others focus on some critical events more germane to specific teams, two of which directly touch on the Boston Celtics.

Let’s look at McCallum’s questioning the potential for counterfactual histories, and how things might have been different had they come to pass.

How many of the NBA’s official 50 greatest in 1996 were Boston Celtics?

In 1996, the NBA released a list of its 50 greatest players up to that year to celebrate as many years of play as a league. Can you guess how many were Celtics? Better yet, who they were?

In 1996, the NBA decided to assemble a panel of 50 players, media members, and team representatives in total to select the 50 greatest players of the league’s first 50 years on the anniversary of the NBA’s first season of 1946-47.

The league again plans to assemble a similar list to honor the 75th anniversary of its foundation in 2021, but before we begin to recount which alumni of the Boston Celtics were added to the list, let’s take a look at the old one. Dominated by names once populating the championship eras of the team from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, a total of 14 of the NBA’s 50 greatest players once donned the green and white.

Let’s review who made the cut, and when they were Celtics.

Two Boston Celtics among all-time NBA rookie postseason records

The Boston Celtics have a duo of rookies who hold playoff production records decades after setting them.

The Boston Celtics currently hold a number of records regarding rookie production that have stood for decades now, and could perhaps stand for several decades more with some luck.

Our sister site Rookie Wire shined a light on historic rookie achievements in the postseason, and five of the records highlighted were set by Celtics rookies in the ball club’s glory days of the 1960s. All of them were set by two Celtics legends who just so happened to be part of the same rookie class that sparked the era of Celtics dominance that has since been unmatched in league history.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves — let’s dive into those historic rookie records held by this iconic duo.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason points scored?

Can you name Boston’s 10 most prolific postseason scorers? Better yet, can you do it in order?

The Boston Celtics have put a whole lot of points on the board in NBA postseasons while they racked up a league-record 17 titles over the course of their seven decades (and counting) of existence.

Some of the greatest of the great have put the proverbial biscuit in the basket for the Celtics over the years, including several staples on lists of the greatest to play the game. But naming the 10 most prolific postseason scorers for Boston is still no easy task, even for the most ardent Celtics fans. With the golden era of the 1960s, the mid-seventies resurgence, the trio of titles in the eighties, or the most recent banner in 2008, there are a lot of options to choose from.

Make your own guesses about Boston’s playoff scoring leaders, and then scroll down to see how you did.

Can you name all six Hall of Fame coaches of the Boston Celtics?

Better yet, can you do it in order?

The Boston Celtics have plenty of former players in Springfield, Massachusetts Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, and plenty more who may yet one day help people in its ranks. But the storied franchise has had plenty of stellar leadership on the other side of the clipboard as well, with six former coaches having earned immortalization in basketball’s Mount Olympus.

Celtics fans may not be very crazy about at least one of the five among the franchise’s least popular alumni, but he still counts and puts Boston among the league’s most decorated teams when it comes to historically recognized coaches on its payroll.

Let’s take a look at those Hall of Fame Celtics coaches, from the evil emperor himself to the greatest head coach in the history of the NBA.

Who are the Boston Celtics’ top-10 all-time leaders in postseason wins?

Can you name all the Celtics who led Boston to the most playoff wins? Better yet, can you do it in order?

Begrudgingly tied with their longtime rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, with the most NBA titles in league history at 17 each, few teams can rival the Boston Celtics in terms of total playoff games won by their players.

Spanning most of the years in the seven decades of existence all the way back to the Basketball Association of America (BAA — a precursor league to the NBA) era, there has been a Celtics roster playing in the postseason more often than not. But who are the stars and role players who got Boston there and played the games that led to all those banners?

Make your guesses, and scroll down to see how you did.

How many Boston Celtics are in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame?

No team in NBA history has produced more. How many can you name?

With Boston Celtics Hall of Fame Paul Pierce officially part of the incoming 2021 class and big man Kevin Garnett getting his formal induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in May 2021 — nearly a year after getting the nod due to the pandemic — all three members of the so-called “new Big Three” of KG, Pierce and Ray Allen have been ensconced in what serves as the Valhalla of basketball.

But they are far from the only Celtics so honored. In fact, there is a veritable host of Boston legends populating the Hoop Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, just a short drive away from the NBA’s titletown. The Celtics have more players than any other team in league history.

Let’s take a look at the 40 Celtics who have been honored with a Hall of Fame induction.