Head coach K. C. Jones | Record 67–15 (.817) | |
Arena Boston GardenHartford Civic Center Playoff finish NBA Champions(Defeated Rockets 4-2) | ||
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), which would be tied 30 years later by the San Antonio Spurs in 2016, and were one win shy of tying their franchise record of 68 wins set in 1972–73. Larry Bird won his third consecutive MVP award and Bill Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. McHale missed an 18-game stretch during the season due to injury, and during his absence the Celtics record was 15–3. They won 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 did it 10 years later.
Contents
The team's season roster is featured in the video games NBA 2K16 and NBA 2K17.
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.
Regular season
Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
Playoffs
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Chicago Bulls: Celtics win series 3–0
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.
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks: Celtics win series 4–1
Boston bested the Atlanta Hawks four games to one in the semifinals. The series was highlighted by a game 5 blow-out. The final score was 132–99, and featured the Celtics hammering the Hawks in the third quarter by a score of 36–6.
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks: Celtics win series 4–0
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 "dirty" play. 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.
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Houston Rockets: Celtics win series 4–2
Following the conclusion of the 1986 NBA Finals, a video documentary of the 1986 NBA season, known as Sweet Sixteen, was released. David Perry was the narrator after Dick Stockton had narrated the last three NBA season documentaries.