1985–86 Boston Celtics season

The 1985–86 Boston Celtics season was the 40th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They finished with the best record in the league at 67–15, including a 40–1 record 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
Record6715 (.817)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Rockets 4–2)

Stats at 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 Semi-finals, 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 6715.81740–127–1418–6
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 6–05–15–11–11–14–12–02–05–12–02–05–04–25–14–21–11–11–12–02–02–05–1
Chicago 1–51–53–30–22–02–42–01–13–31–10–21–52–34–21–51–11–10–21–11–11–11–4
Cleveland 2–41–53–31–11–11–50–20–23–21–11–11–53–34–10–62–00–22–01–11–10–21–5
Dallas 1–11–12–01–13–30–24–11–52–02–31–40–22–01–10–25–02–33–34–23–25–11–1
Denver 1–11–10–21–13–31–13–23–32–04–13–22–01–11–11–14–13–23–33–32–33–32–0
Detroit 2–41–44–25–12–01–11–11–15–12–01–12–44–24–12–40–21–10–21–12–01–14–2
Golden State 1–10–20–22–01–42–31–10–51–15–12–40–21–11–11–12–41–52–32–32–42–31–1
Houston 1–10–21–12–05–13–31–15–02–03–21–40–21–12–01–13–23–24–25–13–23–32–0
Indiana 1–51–53–32–30–20–21–51–10–22–00–22–42–32–40–61–10–20–21–12–00–25–1
L.A. Clippers 0–20–21–11–13–21–40–21–52–30–22–41–12–02–00–22–42–45–01–43–33–20–2
L.A. Lakers 1–10–22–01–14–12–31–14–24–12–04–22–01–11–12–05–16–05–04–14–25–02–0
Milwaukee 3–30–55–15–12–00–24–22–02–04–21–10–24–26–04–11–12–02–02–02–02–04–2
New Jersey 2–42–43–23–30–21–12–41–11–13–20–21–12–45–12–42–02–02–01–10–22–02–4
New York 1–51–52–41–41–11–11–41–10–24–20–21–10–61–50–62–00–21–11–11–10–23–3
Philadelphia 1–42–45–16–02–01–14–21–11–16–02–00–21–44–26–02–02–02–01–11–11–13–3
Phoenix 0–21–11–10–20–51–42–04–22–31–14–21–51–10–20–20–22–42–33–25–11–41–1
Portland 0–21–11–12–03–22–31–15–12–32–04–20–60–20–22–00–24–23–21–45–12–30–2
Sacramento 0–21–12–00–23–33–32–03–22–42–00–50–50–20–21–10–23–22–35–15–02–41–1
San Antonio 1–10–21–11–12–43–31–13–21–51–14–11–40–21–11–11–12–34–11–52–32–42–0
Seattle 1–10–21–11–12–33–20–24–22–30–23–32–40–22–01–11–11–51–50–53–22–31–1
Utah 2–00–21–12–01–53–31–13–23–32–02–30–50–20–22–01–14–13–24–24–23–21–1
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
Total: 67–15 (Home: 40–1; Road: 27–14)
October: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
1 October 25, 1985 @ New Jersey L 109–113 (OT) Brendan Byrne Arena 0–1
2 October 26, 1985 @ Cleveland W 105–100 Richfield Coliseum 1–1
3 October 30, 1985 Milwaukee W 117–106 Boston Garden 2–1
November: 13–1 (Home: 8–0; Road: 5–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
4 November 1, 1985
7:30 p.m. EST
Atlanta W 109–105 Bird (25) McHale (10) Johnson (9) Boston Garden
14,890
3–1
5 November 2, 1985 @ Washington W 88–73 Capital Centre 4–1
6 November 8, 1985 Phoenix W 125–101 Boston Garden 5–1
7 November 9, 1985 @ Detroit W 124–105 Pontiac Silverdome 6–1
8 November 13, 1985 Indiana W 118–114 Boston Garden 7–1
9 November 15, 1985 Washington W 118–114 Boston Garden 8–1
10 November 16, 1985 @ Indiana L 109–111 Market Square Arena 8–2
11 November 20, 1985 Utah W 115–106 (OT) Boston Garden 9–2
12 November 22, 1985 Philadelphia W 110–103 Boston Garden 10–2
13 November 23, 1985 @ New York W 113–104 Madison Square Garden 11–2
14 November 26, 1985 @ Philadelphia W 98–91 The Spectrum 12–2
15 November 27, 1985 Detroit W 132–124 Boston Garden 13–2
16 November 29, 1986 New York W 94–88 Boston Garden 14–2
17 November 30, 1985
7:30 p.m. EST
@ Atlanta W 102–97 Bird (28) McHale (8) Johnson (8) The Omni
13,101
15–2
December: 8–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 4–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
18 December 3, 1985 @ Milwaukee W 112–109 MECCA Arena 16–2
19 December 4, 1985 @ New Jersey W 130–111 Brendan Byrne Arena 17–2
20 December 6, 1985 Portland L 103–121 Boston Garden 17–3
21 December 10, 1985
7:30 p.m. EST
Atlanta
(at Hartford, CT)
W 114–110 McHale, Parish (24) Parish (10) Johnson (9) Hartford Civic Center
14,493
18–3
22 December 11, 1985 Sacramento W 118–101 Boston Garden 19–3
23 December 14, 1985 @ Cleveland L 99–109 Richfield Coliseum 19–4
24 December 15, 1985 Chicago W 109–104 Boston Garden 20–4
25 December 17, 1985 @ Chicago L 108–116 Chicago Stadium 20–5
26 December 18, 1985 Dallas W 137–117 Boston Garden 21–5
27 December 21, 1985 @ Philadelphia L 102–108 The Spectrum 21–6
28 December 25, 1985 @ New York L 104–113 (2OT) Madison Square Garden 21–7
29 December 28, 1985 @ Utah W 110–108 Salt Palace Acord Arena 22–7
30 December 30, 1985 @ L.A. Clippers W 125–103 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 23–7
January: 12–1 (Home: 7–0; Road: 5–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
31 January 2, 1986 @ Indiana W 122–104 Market Square Arena 24–7
32 January 3, 1986 New Jersey W 129–117 Boston Garden 25–7
33 January 7, 1986 @ Detroit L 109–113 Pontiac Silverdome 25–8
34 January 8, 1986 Cleveland W 126–95 Boston Garden 26–8
35 January 10, 1986
7:30 p.m. EST
Atlanta W 115–108 Bird (29) Parish (15) Johnson (8) Boston Garden
14,890
27–8
36 January 15, 1986 Denver W 123–100 Boston Garden 28–8
37 January 17, 1986 @ Indiana W 123–105 Market Square Arena 29–8
38 January 18, 1986
7:30 p.m. EST
@ Atlanta W 125–122 (OT) Bird (41) McHale (12) Ainge (11) The Omni
16,522
30–8
39 January 22, 1986 L.A. Lakers W 110–95 Boston Garden 31–8
40 January 24, 1986 Golden State W 135–114 Boston Garden 32–8
41 January 26, 1986 Philadelphia W 105–103 Boston Garden 33–8
42 January 30, 1986 @ Chicago W 101–91 Chicago Stadium 34–8
43 January 31, 1986 @ Washington W 97–88 Capital Centre 35–8
February: 11–3 (Home: 5–0; Road: 6–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
44 February 2, 1986 Seattle W 114–101 Boston Garden 36–8
45 February 4, 1986 @ Milwaukee W 112–93 MECCA Arena 37–8
46 February 5, 1986 Washington W 103–88 Boston Garden 38–8
All-Star Break
47 February 11, 1986 @ Sacramento L 100–105 ARCO Arena 38–9
48 February 13, 1986 @ Seattle W 107–98 Seattle Center Coliseum 39–9
49 February 14, 1986 @ Portland W 120–119 (OT) Memorial Coliseum 40–9
50 February 16, 1986 @ L.A. Lakers W 105–99 The Forum 41–9
51 February 17, 1986 @ Phoenix L 101–108 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 41–10
52 February 19, 1986 @ Golden State W 115–100 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 42–10
53 February 20, 1986 @ Denver L 100–102 McNichols Sports Arena 42–11
54 February 23, 1986 Indiana W 113–98 Hartford Civic Center 43–11
55 February 25, 1986 @ New York W 91–74 Madison Square Garden 44–11
56 February 26, 1986 San Antonio W 120–100 Boston Garden 45–11
57 February 28, 1986 L.A. Clippers W 124–108 Boston Garden 46–11
March: 15–2 (Home: 11–0; Road: 4–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
58 March 2, 1986 Detroit W 129–109 Boston Garden 47–11
59 March 4, 1986 @ Chicago W 106–94 Chicago Stadium 48–11
60 March 5, 1986 Chicago W 108–97 Boston Garden 49–11
61 March 7, 1986 New York W 115–108 Boston Garden 50–11
62 March 8, 1986 @ Washington L 108–110 (OT) Capital Centre 50–12
63 March 10, 1986 @ Dallas L 115–116 Reunion Arena 50–13
64 March 11, 1986 @ Houston W 116–104 The Summit 51–13
65 March 13, 1986 @ San Antonio W 135–119 HemisFair Arena 52–13
66 March 14, 1986
7:30 p.m. EST
@ Atlanta W 121–114 Bird (26) McHale (12) Johnson (9) The Omni
16,522
53–13
67 March 16, 1986 Philadelphia W 118–101 Boston Garden 54–13
68 March 18, 1986 Cleveland W 126–96 Hartford Civic Center 55–13
69 March 19, 1986 Indiana W 127–108 Boston Garden 56–13
70 March 21, 1986 Chicago W 126–105 Boston Garden 57–13
71 March 24, 1986 Houston W 114–107 Boston Garden 58–13
72 March 26, 1986 Milwaukee W 121–115 Boston Garden 59–13
73 March 28, 1986 Washington W 116–97 Boston Garden 60–13
74 March 30, 1986 New Jersey W 122–117 Boston Garden 61–13
April: 6–2 (Home: 4–0; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Record
75 April 1, 1986 @ Cleveland W 123–105 Richfield Coliseum 62–13
76 April 2, 1986 Detroit W 122–106 Boston Garden 63–13
77 April 4, 1986 New York W 119–98 Boston Garden 64–13
78 April 6, 1986 @ Philadelphia L 94–95 The Spectrum 64–14
79 April 8, 1986 @ Milwaukee W 126–114 MECCA Arena 65–14
80 April 9, 1986 @ New Jersey L 98–108 Brendan Byrne Arena 65–15
81 April 11, 1986 Cleveland W 117–104 Boston Garden 66–15
82 April 13, 1986 New Jersey W 135–107 Boston Garden 67–15
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

1986 playoff game log
First round: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 April 17, 1986 Chicago W 123–104 Larry Bird (30) McHale, Parish (10) Larry Bird (8) Boston Garden
14,890
1–0
2 April 20, 1986 Chicago W 135–131 (2OT) Larry Bird (36) McHale, Walton (15) Bird, Johnson (8) Boston Garden
14,890
2–0
3 April 22, 1986 @ Chicago W 122–104 Kevin McHale (31) Bill Walton (9) Larry Bird (8) Chicago Stadium
18,968
3–0
Conference Semi-finals: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 April 27, 1986
1:00 p.m. EDT
Atlanta W 103–91 McHale (24) Bird (12) Johnson (14) Boston Garden
14,890
1–0
2 April 29, 1986
8:30 p.m. EDT
Atlanta W 119–108 Bird (36) McHale (9) Johnson (9) Boston Garden
14,890
2–0
3 May 2, 1986
7:30 p.m. EDT
@ Atlanta W 111–107 Bird (28) Parish (14) Bird (12) The Omni
12,357
3–0
4 May 4, 1986
1:00 p.m. EDT
@ Atlanta L 94–106 McHale (26) McHale (12) Bird (5) The Omni
12,357
3–1
5 May 6, 1986
7:30 p.m. EDT
Atlanta W 132–99 Bird (36) Parish (13) Johnson (8) Boston Garden
14,890
4–1
Conference Finals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 May 13, 1986 Milwaukee W 128–96 Larry Bird (26) Danny Ainge (10) Jerry Sichting (8) Boston Garden
14,890
1–0
2 May 15, 1986 Milwaukee W 122–111 Larry Bird (26) Robert Parish (9) Larry Bird (9) Boston Garden
14,890
2–0
3 May 17, 1986 @ Milwaukee W 111–107 Kevin McHale (29) Larry Bird (16) Larry Bird (13) MECCA Arena
11,052
3–0
4 May 18, 1986 @ Milwaukee W 111–98 Larry Bird (30) Kevin McHale (11) Ainge, Bird (5) MECCA Arena
11,052
4–0
NBA Finals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance
Series
1 May 26 Houston W 112–100 Robert Parish (23) Dennis Johnson (11) Larry Bird (13) Boston Garden
14,890
1–0
2 May 29 Houston W 117–95 Larry Bird (31) Larry Bird (8) Larry Bird (7) Boston Garden
14,890
2–0
3 June 1 @ Houston L 104–106 Kevin McHale (28) Larry Bird (15) Larry Bird (11) The Summit
16,016
2–1
4 June 3 @ Houston W 106–103 Robert Parish (22) Robert Parish (15) Larry Bird (10) The Summit
16,016
3–1
5 June 5 @ Houston L 96–111 Kevin McHale (33) Kevin McHale (8) Danny Ainge (5) The Summit
16,016
3–2
6 June 8 Houston W 114–97 Larry Bird (29) Larry Bird (11) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890
4–2
1986 schedule

Following the conclusion of the 1986 NBA Finals, a video documentary of the 1986 NBA season, known as Sweet Sixteen, was released.[4] David Perry was the narrator after Dick Stockton had narrated the last three NBA season documentaries.

Roster

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. "Sweet Sixteen" documentary on YouTube
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