1985–86 Boston Celtics season

In 1985–86, the Boston Celtics won 67 games, going 40–1 at home (37–1 at the Boston Garden, 3–0 at the Hartford Civic Center). Those 40 home wins set an NBA record which would only be matched by the San Antonio Spurs in 2016. Widely regarded among the greatest teams in NBA history, their 67 total wins were one win shy of tying their franchise record of 68 wins set in 1972–73, and tied for seventh all-time for total wins by a team in a single season.

1985–86 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachK. C. Jones
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record67–15 (.817)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Rockets 4–2)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWLVI
(Gil Santos, Bob Cousy)
SportsChannel New England
(Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
RadioWRKO
(Johnny Most, Glenn Ordway)

The Celtics were coming off of an NBA Finals loss in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers, marking the first instance the Celtics were defeated by the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Larry Bird won his third consecutive MVP award and Bill Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. The team was anchored by the "Big Three" frontcourt of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, which is frequently ranked among the best frontcourts in NBA history.

In the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Chicago Bulls in three games in the First Round, then defeated the Atlanta Hawks in five games in the Semifinals, before sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a third consecutive season. In the NBA Finals, the Celtics faced off against the Houston Rockets in a rematch of the 1981 NBA Finals, which the Celtics won in six games. The Celtics would go on to win their 16th championship and the last for 22 years, defeating the Houston Rockets in six games in the NBA Finals, and had won 82 combined regular season and playoff games, a record that stood until the Chicago Bulls racked up 87 combined wins en route to a title (the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors broke that record with 88 combined wins).

NBA Draft

The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. The lottery was put into place so teams could not intentionally lose games to receive the number one pick.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 20 Sam Vincent Guard  United States Michigan State
3 70 Andre Battle Guard  United States Loyola (IL)
4 93 Cliff Webber Forward  United States Liberty Baptist
5 116 Albert Butts Forward  United States La Salle
6 139 Ralph Lewis Guard  United States La Salle
7 162 Chris Remly  United States Rutgers

Season Synopsis

The Celtics were coming from a 6-game NBA Finals series against their arch-rival the Los Angeles Lakers. They ended with a record 63-19 during the regular season, a league-best record, earning home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

November

They started their 1985–86 season campaign with a 109-113 OT loss to the New Jersey Nets, despite a near quadruple-double performance from Larry Bird who recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 steals for the Celtics.[1] The next day, Kevin McHale's 26 points and 15 rebounds led the Celtics towards a 105-100 road win over the Cavaliers.[2] Four days later, the Celtics defeated the visiting Bucks, 117–106, with Bird, McHale, Parish and Johnson, all scoring at least 20 points.[3] They ended the month of November with a 2–1 record.

Regular season
  • Under head coach K.C. Jones, the 1985–86 Boston Celtics finished the regular season with a record of 67–15. This team is generally considered to be the best of Larry Bird's career. In addition to longtime Celtics Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, the franchise was joined on the front line by former NBA MVP Bill Walton. Despite a career plagued by a series of serious injuries to his knees, ankles and feet, Walton would win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. Walton had missed essentially the past two seasons and the Los Angeles Clippers put him on the trade bloc as his contract ran out. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Celtics were both interested, but the Lakers wanted Walton to be cleared by their team doctor before making any trade. The Celtics, on the other hand, were willing to trade former Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell for Walton-based solely on his word that he felt he was healthy enough to play. Walton appeared in a career high 80 games. The backcourt was led by the MVP of the 1979 NBA Finals, defensive stopper Dennis Johnson, and former Toronto Blue Jays baseball player, shooting guard Danny Ainge. Off the bench, the Celtics featured former All-Star Scott Wedman and recent acquisition (from the Indiana Pacers) Jerry Sichting.

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 6715.817–40–127–1418–6
x-Philadelphia 76ers 5428.6591331–1023–1815–9
x-Washington Bullets 3943.4762826–1513–2811–13
x-New Jersey Nets 3943.4762826–1513–2811–13
New York Knicks 2359.2804415–268–335–19
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics6715.817–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks5725.69510
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers5428.65913
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5032.61017
5 x-Detroit Pistons4636.56121
6 x-Washington Bullets3943.47628
7 x-New Jersey Nets3943.47628
8 x-Chicago Bulls3052.36637
9 Cleveland Cavaliers2953.35438
10 Indiana Pacers2656.31741
11 New York Knicks2359.28044

Record vs. opponents
1985-86 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —0–65–14–21–11–14–21–11–15–12–01–13–34–25–14–12–02–02–01–11–10–21–4
Boston 6–0—5–15–11–11–14–12–02–05–12–02–05–04–25–14–21–11–11–12–02–02–05–1
Chicago 1–51–5—3–30–22–02–42–01–13–31–10–21–52–34–21–51–11–10–21–11–11–11–4
Cleveland 2–41–53–3—1–11–11–50–20–23–21–11–11–53–34–10–62–00–22–01–11–10–21–5
Dallas 1–11–12–01–1—3–30–24–11–52–02–31–40–22–01–10–25–02–33–34–23–25–11–1
Denver 1–11–10–21–13–3—1–13–23–32–04–13–22–01–11–11–14–13–23–33–32–33–32–0
Detroit 2–41–44–25–12–01–1—1–11–15–12–01–12–44–24–12–40–21–10–21–12–01–14–2
Golden State 1–10–20–22–01–42–31–1—0–51–15–12–40–21–11–11–12–41–52–32–32–42–31–1
Houston 1–10–21–12–05–13–31–15–0—2–03–21–40–21–12–01–13–23–24–25–13–23–32–0
Indiana 1–51–53–32–30–20–21–51–10–2—2–00–22–42–32–40–61–10–20–21–12–00–25–1
L.A. Clippers 0–20–21–11–13–21–40–21–52–30–2—2–41–12–02–00–22–42–45–01–43–33–20–2
L.A. Lakers 1–10–22–01–14–12–31–14–24–12–04–2—2–01–11–12–05–16–05–04–14–25–02–0
Milwaukee 3–30–55–15–12–00–24–22–02–04–21–10–2—4–26–04–11–12–02–02–02–02–04–2
New Jersey 2–42–43–23–30–21–12–41–11–13–20–21–12–4—5–12–42–02–02–01–10–22–02–4
New York 1–51–52–41–41–11–11–41–10–24–20–21–10–61–5—0–62–00–21–11–11–10–23–3
Philadelphia 1–42–45–16–02–01–14–21–11–16–02–00–21–44–26–0—2–02–02–01–11–11–13–3
Phoenix 0–21–11–10–20–51–42–04–22–31–14–21–51–10–20–20–2—2–42–33–25–11–41–1
Portland 0–21–11–12–03–22–31–15–12–32–04–20–60–20–22–00–24–2—3–21–45–12–30–2
Sacramento 0–21–12–00–23–33–32–03–22–42–00–50–50–20–21–10–23–22–3—5–15–02–41–1
San Antonio 1–10–21–11–12–43–31–13–21–51–14–11–40–21–11–11–12–34–11–5—2–32–42–0
Seattle 1–10–21–11–12–33–20–24–22–30–23–32–40–22–01–11–11–51–50–53–2—2–31–1
Utah 2–00–21–12–01–53–31–13–23–32–02–30–50–20–22–01–14–13–24–24–23–2—1–1
Washington 4–11–54–15–11–10–22–41–10–21–52–00–22–44–23–33–31–12–01–10–21–11–1—

Game log
1985–86 Game Log
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
1985–86 Schedule

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Larry Bird8280555716651211525.8
Kevin McHale6855118129134144821.3
Robert Parish8177014565116130516.1
Dennis Johnson7826845611035121315.6
Danny Ainge8023540594785510.7
Scott Wedman791928238226348.0
Bill Walton80544165381066067.6
Jerry Sichting821041885005376.5
David Thirdkill4970151131633.3
Sam Vincent5748691741843.2
Sly Williams615211172.8
Rick Carlisle77771041941992.6
Greg Kite6412817328831.3

Playoffs
First round

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Chicago Bulls: Celtics win series 3–0

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 17): Boston 123, Chicago 104
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 20): Boston 135, Chicago 131 (2OT)
  • Game 3 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (April 22): Boston 122, Chicago 104

The Celtics steamrolled through the Eastern Conference Playoffs, sweeping the Chicago Bulls 3–0 in the first round. The highlight of the first round was the second game, which went into double-overtime. Matched up against a superior Celtics team, Michael Jordan scored 63 points at the Boston Garden (which set, and remains, the NBA record for scoring in a single playoff game) and nearly led his team to an upset. The Celtics won the game, 135–131, and closed out the series two days later in Chicago.

Conference Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks: Celtics win series 4–1

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 27): Boston 103, Atlanta 91
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 29): Boston 119, Atlanta 98
  • Game 3 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 2): Boston 111, Atlanta 107
  • Game 4 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 4): Atlanta 106, Boston 94
  • Game 5 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 6): Boston 132, Atlanta 99

Boston bested the Atlanta Hawks four games to one in the semifinals. The series was highlighted by a game 5 blowout: the final score was 132–99, and featured the Celtics hammering the Hawks in the third quarter by a score of 36–6.

Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks: Celtics win series 4–0

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 13): Boston 128, Milwaukee 96
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 15): Boston 122, Milwaukee 111
  • Game 3 @ The MECCA, Milwaukee (May 17): Boston 111, Milwaukee 107
  • Game 4 @ The MECCA, Milwaukee (May 18): Boston 111, Milwaukee 98

The Eastern Conference Finals matched the Celtics up against the Milwaukee Bucks and head coach Don Nelson. Nelson was a former Celtic player who enraged the Celtics in the 1983 NBA Playoffs by accusing Celtic guard Danny Ainge of being "a dangerous player".[4] The Celtics swept the Bucks. This was the third time in four years that the Bucks and the Celtics had met in the playoffs; the Bucks defeated the Celtics in the 1983 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and the Celtics defeated the Bucks in the 1984 Eastern Conference Finals.

NBA Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Houston Rockets: Celtics win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 26): Boston 112, Houston 100
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 29): Boston 117, Houston 95
  • Game 3 @ The Summit, Houston (June 1): Houston 106, Boston 104
  • Game 4 @ The Summit, Houston (June 3): Boston 106, Houston 103
  • Game 5 @ The Summit, Houston (June 5): Houston 111, Boston 96
  • Game 6 @ Boston Garden, Boston (June 8): Boston 114, Houston 97

Following the conclusion of the 1986 NBA Finals, a video documentary of the 1986 NBA season, known as Sweet Sixteen, was released.[5] David Perry was the narrator after Dick Stockton had narrated the last three NBA season documentaries.

Roster
Roster listing
1985–86 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 44 Ainge, Danny 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959-03-17 BYU
SF 33 Bird, Larry (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956-12-07 Indiana State
SG 34 Carlisle, Rick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1959-10-27 Virginia
PG 3 Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954-09-18 Pepperdine
C 50 Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1961-08-05 BYU
PF 32 McHale, Kevin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957-12-19 Minnesota
C 00 Parish, Robert 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953-08-30 Centenary College of Louisiana
PG 12 Sichting, Jerry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1956-11-29 Purdue
SF 45 Thirdkill, David 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1960-04-12 Bradley
PG 11 Vincent, Sam 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1963-05-18 Michigan State
C 5 Walton, Bill 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1952-11-05 UCLA
SF 8 Wedman, Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952-07-29 Colorado
SG 35 Williams, Sly 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1958-01-26 Rhode Island
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Award winners

References
  1. "Boston Celtics at New Jersey Nets Box Score, October 25, 1985". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  2. "Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers Box Score, October 26, 1985". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  3. "Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics Box Score, October 30, 1985". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  4. "Instigator or Retaliator? : Celtics' Ainge Has Learned to Live With 'Cheap Shot Artist' Label". Los Angeles Times. May 25, 1986. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  5. "Sweet Sixteen" documentary on YouTube
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