Last season, one of the most famous franchises in American sporting history returned to the grandest stage. Although they have missed the playoffs just three times in 20 years, the 2021/22 NBA season saw the Boston Celtics return to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years. Their journey would ultimately end in heartbreak, however, as they were defeated by a new dynasty.
As we all remember, the Golden State Warriors eventually defeated the Massachusetts-based outfit by four games to two in the championship series. In turn, the Warriors picked up their fourth Larry O’Brien trophy in eight years in what was their sixth finals appearance during the same timeframe. This season, however, the Celtics are in search of redemption.
Led by the sensational Jayson Tatum, who is a leading candidate for the MVP award this season, the Celtics currently sit top of the Eastern Conference after amassing a mighty 33 wins in their first 45 games. They have won their last seven fixtures on the spin. With that said, online sportsbook Bovada whose NBA offering can be found on this site has made Joe Mazzulla’s side the favorites for the championship this season.
It looks like their closest rivals in the Western Conference are the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies. That pair are currently tied on 30 wins each on the west side of the league. Both are led by Eastern European sensations, namely the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokić – who is looking for his third consecutive MVP award – and the Grizzlies’ Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But the Celtics remain the team to beat. And for fans of a certain age, it will feel like normal service has been resumed.
A History of Success
The Boston Celtics are one of the most storied franchises in the NBA. Founded in 1946, the Celtics are the oldest professional basketball team in the United States and the most successful of all time, having won 17 NBA titles, including eight consecutive championships from 1959 to 1966. Their record of 17 titles was matched by the Los Angeles Lakers when LeBron James led them to the championship in 2020, but the Celtics look set on regaining the outright record this season.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Celtics were led by Hall of Famers Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, and Larry Bird, who together won five NBA championships from 1974 to 1986. The team captured its 16th title in 1986, but soon after, the Celtics went into a rebuilding phase. They went through a period of mediocrity in the 1990s, but the emergence of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker in the late 1990s and early 2000s helped the team return to prominence.
After a decade of struggles, the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals in 2008, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games to become NBA champions for the 17th time. Led by Hall of Fame coach Doc Rivers, the Celtics returned to the finals two years later however, were defeated by the Lakers, with the late Kobe Bryant bringing his franchise within one championship of the Celtics’ record.
The period between 1957 and 1969 saw the Celtics win 11 of their 17 championships, including an unparalleled eight on the spin. The team also participated in some of the most iconic NBA Finals series of all time. During an eight-season period between 1962 and 1969, the Celtis faced off with Lakers in six of the eight championship series and unbelievably won every time.
Recent Years
Since the turn of the millennium, the Celtics have been contenders for the NBA title and have made the playoffs every year except for three. The team was led by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who arrived in 2007 and formed the Big Three with Ray Allen. That trio was broken up with Allen’s departure in 2012 – with Pierce and Garnett both leaving the following year – but not before they had led the Celtics to two finals appearances in three seasons.
The Boston Celtics have one of the most storied franchises in the NBA. With 17 championships and decades of history, the Celtics have been at the forefront of the sport for many years. The team is looking forward to a bright future, bolstered by its rich history of success and its return to prominence in the late 2000s.
Their return to the finals last season after a 12-year absence was long overdue, and defeat seems to have only made the TD Garden outfit hungrier than ever. All that remains now is an 18th Larry O’Brien Trophy, and if Tatum and co. can continue in the same vain throughout the second half of the current season, that long-overdue success may be just around the corner.