The Boston Celtics are possibly the best team in NBA history. Their championships speak for themselves as no other team has won more NBA titles than the Celtics aside from the Los Angeles Lakers who have as many championships as the Celtics. The Green Machine had a stranglehold in the 1960s, and though it wasn’t as successful in other decades, it was always a title contender.
The success of this team is based on an outstanding squad over the years, with several legendary players who gave their best in every game. With that said, let’s take a look at the top 10 players in Boston Celtics history.
10/10 Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett played six seasons with the Boston Celtics, averaging 15.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. KG also had a value-over-replacement player rating of 21.3 (fifth-highest in franchise history) and a player efficiency rating of 21.1 (sixth-best). Garnett came to Boston in the 2007-08 season and made an immediate impact. He helped the team win the championship, breaking a 22-year drought. Since then, the Celtics have failed to win another crown.
9/10 sam jones
Sam Jones won 10 championship rings with the Boston Celtics. He had more rings than any other team except the Los Angeles Lakers, which is crazy. Certainly, Jones had exceptional teammates, but his stats reflect that he contributed a lot to the team in that incredible era. Jones scored 17.7 points per game, ranking seventh on the Celtics’ all-time points scoring list with 15,411. Jones had a .503 true shooting percentage and 92.3 Win Shares.
8/10 Bob Cousy
Bob Cousy played for the Boston Celtics from the 1950-51 season through the ’62-63 season. He won six rings and built a phenomenal legacy. He averaged 18.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game. He is the player with the most assists (6,945) in franchise history, and is also sixth in points (16,955). Back then, it was unusual for players to post triple-double performances, but Cousy recorded 33 triple-doubles in his career, leading the league in four straight seasons.
7/10 david cowens
Dave Cowens is in the top 10 in Celtics history in total points (9th), assists (10th), rebounds (3rd), steals (10th), and blocks (6th), which is unbelievable. Cowens averaged 18.2 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. Dave the Rave was part of the ’70s generation, who had to deal with criticism from a fan base that was used to winning. Still, he helped the Celtics win two championships.
6/10 Kevin McHale
Kevin McHale played his entire 13-year NBA career in a Boston Celtics uniform. He left his mark not only on the team, but also on the sport. He wasn’t an admired player outside of Boston, in fact a lot of fans hated him and maybe they still hate him today. This is not surprising, since great players usually have many enemies, and McHale was one of the best of all time.
“Black Hole” has the fourth highest VORP in The Green Machine’s history at 34.3 and is sixth in Win Shares at 113.0. The importance of him in the team is not only reflected in the statistics, but also in the facts, since he won three rings.
5/10 Robert Parish
Robert Parish debuted with the Golden State Warriors and also played for the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls, but everyone remembers him in a Celtics uniform, and for good reason. In 14 years, he helped the team win three championships, averaging 16.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. Parish recorded a total of 18,245 points (fourth in franchise history), 11,051 rebounds (second), 1,703 blocks (first), 873 steals (fourth), and 35.7 VORP (third).
4/10 Paul Pierce
The Boston Celtics selected Paul Pierce with the 10th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, and this small forward from Kansas ended up being arguably the 10th-best pick of all time. “The Truth” played 15 seasons with the Bostonians, being the franchise player and leading the team to the championship in the 2007-08 season.
Pierce had a value of 62.6 over the replacement player, ranking second in franchise history. He is also second in points (4,021), fifth in assists (4,305), seventh in rebounds (6,651), first in steals (1,583) and fourth in blocks (668).
3/10 John Havlicek
This list would not be complete without John Havlicek. This kid was a fantastic player, a key member of the team for 16 years. He always played with intensity and put body and soul into every game. Hondo scored 20.8 points per game and is the Celtics’ all-time leader in total points with 26,395. But that’s not all, he is second in assists (6,114), fifth in rebounds (8,007) and fourth in Win Shares (131.7).
2/10 larry bird
Larry Bird is not only one of the best players in Celtics history, but also one of the best overall. “The Hick from French Lick” played 13 seasons in the NBA, all with Boston, averaging 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He was a three-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP, three-time MVP and a 12-time All-Star. In theory, Bird is the most valuable player in Celtics history, with a VORP of 77.2, although that advanced stat could not be calculated for the following player.
1/10 bill russell
The best player in the history of the Boston Celtics has to be Bill Russell. We are talking about one of the most dominant players in NBA history, his speed and power made him an unstoppable force. As proof of his dominance, he led his team to 11 championships, making him the player with the most rings in history, a record that will likely never be broken. Russell averaged 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, finishing his career with 163.5 Win Shares.