1966 Boston Celtics

For the first time in years, Boston did not finish first. The Philadelphia 76ers won the East at 55-25, one game ahead of the Celtics' 54-26. Auerbach had announced before the season that he would retire from the bench when it ended.

Sam Jones set a Celtics single-game scoring record with 51 points against Detroit in October, a mark that lasted until Larry Bird broke it in 1983. Russell anchored the defense, with Havlicek and Sanders around him and a deeper bench than most title teams carried.

The Lakers stole Game 1 in Boston in overtime. After that, Auerbach announced Russell would coach the team the next season, making him the first Black head coach in a major American league. Boston took a 3-1 lead, lost the next two, then won Game 7 at home, 95-93, holding off a late Los Angeles run.

Auerbach walked off as a champion in his last game on the bench. Russell took over while still playing center, and the titles kept coming.

The league was smaller than it is today, but the 1966 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.

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 Willie Naulls (veteran forward); Woody Sauldsberry (1958 Rookie of the Year).

The 1966 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, 1963, 1964, 1965, 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, the 1965-66 Celtics won their eighth straight championship, a record no North American team has matched. They finished second in their own division during the regular season, then beat the Los Angeles Lakers in seven. It was Red Auerbach's last game as coach, and he had already named Bill Russell as his replacement.

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.