Top 10 Celtics

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The 10 Greatest Celtics of all time

The Celtics have had periods of dominance in the NBA. During the late 50's and early to mid 60's they were the power of the NBA. They followed that up by winning two titles in the 70's and three in the 80's. The Celtics last won an NBA title in 2008. With 17 titles, the Celtics lead all NBA franchises. It therefor stands to reason that they've had great players. Selecting a top ten isn't easy. The Celtics probably have the best top 25 players of any NBA franchise. Some great players didn't make the list. With no further ado, here are my top 10 Boston Celtics of all time.

10: Bob Cousy: For a guy to shoot .375 and still be a top 10 player he must have some serious skills in other areas. Cousey did. He led the NBA in assists for 8 straight years. Admittedly, the 50s and 60s, when Cousey played were a different time. While I don't think Bob could play into days game, he did dominate back court play in his era. Cous was a 13 time NBA all star and on 6 championship teams. It's enough to get into the top ten.

9: Paul Pierce: Some might have Paul higher on their lists, but for me Pierce slots at number 9. Of course, being considered the 9^th greatest Celtic isn't shabby. His numbers for his 15 years with the Celtics are outstanding. Paul averaged 21.8 points, 6 rebounds and 3.9 assists. In addition, Pierce was a noted clutch player. I might have ranked Pierce higher if he had played on more championship teams. I did tend to weight the number of champions a play er played on in the ratings. Pierce gets hurt by that.

8: Jo Jo White: Jo Jo played 10 years with the Celtics and was on 2 championship teams. His numbers across the board were very solid. Jo Jo's line of 18.4/4.3/5.1 reflect the balanced game Jo Jo played. White was an all star 7 times and was extremely durable. White sums up what could be said of a lot of Celtics stars, not a lot of flash, but consistent, durable and a winner.

7: Sam Jones: Before Jo Jo White, there was Sam Jones. Sam played on 10 championship teams, including 8 consecutive champions from 1959-67. Of course, playing with Bill Russell had a lot to do with that. If you're old enough to remember Sam play, you probably remember he was a n excellent practitioner of the bank shot. While Jones averaged 17.7 points in his 12 years with the Celtics, in his heyday, Sam averaged 25.9, 23.5 and 22.1 points per game. Sam. Like so many other Celtics was also a clutch performer. Sam averaged 18.9 points in playoff games. He reached his peak in the 1964-65 playoffs, where he averaged 28.6 points. Bill Russell was the biggest contributor to all those Celtics championships, but Jones played no small role.

6: Robert Parrish: Speaking of guys who were good for a long time, Robert Parrish fits that description. During the time The Chief played for the Celtics, they had a bunch of great front court players, including Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Cornbread Maxwell. The Celts won 3 championships during Parrish's tenure there. He also picker up another championship with the Bulls late in his career. Parrish's line in his 14 years with the Celtics was 16.5/10/1.5 with 2.2 blocks. Parrish was also an efficient scorer. Shooting .552 from the field and .730 from the line. A truly great Celtic.

5: Dave Cowens: As a center/power forward, Cowens played with great intensity. Cowens averaged 18.2 points and 14.0 rebounds to go with 3.9 assists. Cowens led the Celtics to championships in 1974 and 1976. Cowens frantic style may have been unorthodox, but it was certainly effective.

4: John Havlicek: Hondo played 16 seasons for the Celtics and played on 8 championship teams. John bridged the gap between Bill Russell and Dave Cowens. I'm not a huge stats guy, but one thing that jumps out about Hondo's stats are his minutes played. In 1971-72 and 1972-73 seasons he averaged 45 minutes a game. For a period of time, Havlicek was considered the best 6^th man in the game. John finished his career with 20.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Oh yea, and, 'Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!”

3: Kevin McHale: Kevin McHale was an absolute mechanic in the low post. Watching him play down there was an instructional clinic. In addition, I had forgotten what a good help defender he was. McHale was a key player on the 181, 1984 and 1984 championships. During his career, Kevin averaged right at 18 points and 7 rebounds a game. Kevin shot .554 from the field and nearly 80% from the line. Kevin McHale, number three on my list.

2: Larry Bird: Larry's number two on this list, but would be number one in a list of trash talkers. I watched Larry Bird and knew he was a great player, but sometimes you forget just how good a guy was. Larry's stats are off the charts. He averaged 24.3 points, 10 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Overall Larry shot .496 from the field and .376 from beyond the arc. In addition he shot .886 from the line. Bird was also an incredible competitor and just had a great feel for the game. Larry Legend, one of the greatest the game has ever seen.

1: Bill Russell: Simply put, Bill Russell was a winner. He was the biggest winner the NBA has ever seen. Obviously there was more to Russell game than his stats would indicate. Not that his stats are bad. Russell averaged 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds in his 13 years with that Celtics. That's right, 22.6 rebounds. Russell also averaged 4.6 assists. Of course Russell was most noted for his defense and shot blocking. While Russell started his NBA career in the 1950s, he still be a force in today's game. Bill Russell, the greatest Boston Celtic.

That's my list. Of course, I'm admittedly a Bulls fan. What's yours?


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