1963 Boston Celtics

Boston finished 58-22 and first in the East. Russell won the MVP again, averaging nearly 24 rebounds a game. The change came at the end of the bench: Auerbach drafted Havlicek out of Ohio State, and the rookie scored 14 a game without starting.

Sam Jones had become the team's leading scorer at nearly 20 a night on his bank shot. Cousy, at 34, was winding down a career that had made him the face of the franchise. Heinsohn and Frank Ramsey still supplied frontcourt scoring.

Boston got past Oscar Robertson and the Cincinnati Royals in a seven-game Eastern final, then handled the Lakers in six. Cousy hurt his ankle in the clinching game in Los Angeles, came back, and the Celtics closed it out 112-109.

Cousy retired after the season. Havlicek would take over as the team's engine for the next sixteen years.

The league was smaller than it is today, but the 1963 playoffs still required beating the best teams in the division and then the other side of the bracket. Title paths from this era are shorter on paper than a modern run, yet the Finals still decided the champion.

Looking back, bob Cousy played his last season in 1962-63 and went out a champion. The Celtics went 58-22 and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six for their fifth straight title. A rookie named John Havlicek arrived that year and led the team in minutes off the bench.

The starting five was Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Tom Sanders, and K.C. Jones. Red Auerbach coached the group with Don Nelson as the primary bench scorer.

This was title number 4 in a Boston Celtics run that stretched across consecutive or near-consecutive seasons. Repeat winners carried continuity from one year to the next.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Bob Cousy (champion in his farewell season); Clyde Lovellette (veteran scoring center).

The 1963 playoffs ran through divisional rounds before the Finals. The Boston Celtics still needed four series wins in many years, but the league had fewer teams than the 30-franchise map used today.

The Boston Celtics share a lineage with other banners from 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008, 2024. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, bob Cousy played his last season in 1962-63 and went out a champion. The Celtics went 58-22 and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in six for their fifth straight title. A rookie named John Havlicek arrived that year and led the team in minutes off the bench.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Boston Celtics titles, use the franchise hub linked below.