The NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary season in 1996-97. As part of the festivities, the Association announced its list of the “50 Greatest Players” which included 13 Celtics, featuring franchise stalwarts Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Sam Jones, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Tiny Archibald, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. That season’s team […]

Following a forgettable 1998-99 season, Coach and Team President Rick Pitino continued to tinker with the team during the 1999-2000 campaign. He traded leading scorer Ron Mercer and two others to the Denver Nuggets for former college star Danny Fortson and Eric Williams, whom Pitino had previously traded away in 1997. Despite Fortson missing the […]

From the time he was hired in May 2003, Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge worked to overhaul the roster by making five trades before the end of the year. One notable deal in October sent star forward Antoine Walker to the Dallas Mavericks. The December trade of Eric Williams, Tony Battie and Kedrick Brown […]

As the Celtics and the NBA celebrated their 50th anniversary season in 1996-97, Boston didn’t have much to celebrate with an injured team. Top scorers Dino Radja, Dana Barros and Dee Brown all played in 25 or fewer games, leaving young players like David Wesley, Eric Williams and rookie Antoine Walker to pick up the […]

After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002, the Celtics took a step back the following postseason. Boston dropped five games in the standings and bowed out in the second round of the 2003 NBA Playoffs. Not waiting for the season’s end, the team hired former Celtics All-Star player and Phoenix Suns Coach Danny Ainge […]