1985–86 Boston Celtics season

1985–86 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	K. C. Jones
General manager	Jan Volk
Owners	Don Gaston Alan N. Cohen Paul Dupee
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	67–15 (.817)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions (Defeated Rockets 4–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WLVI (Gil Santos, Bob Cousy) SportsChannel New England (Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
Radio	WRKO (Johnny Most, Glenn Ordway)

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. Arguably considered the best Celtics team ever, and 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 1973, and tied for fifth all-time.

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, winning every home game in the playoffs. 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 in 1996 (with the Golden State Warriors later breaking that record in 2016 with 88 combined wins, including a 73–9 regular season record, although they infamously lost in the finals that season after leading the series 3–1). HoopsHype later ranked this squad as the team with the 17th easiest path to the NBA Finals in 2024 due to the 30–52 record of their first round opponent, the Chicago Bulls.

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. The next day, Kevin McHale's 26 points and 15 rebounds led the Celtics towards a 105–100 road win over the Cavaliers. Four days later, the Celtics defeated the visiting Bucks, 117–106, with Bird, McHale, Parish and Johnson, all scoring at least 20 points. 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	67	15	.817	–	40–1	27–14	18–6
x-Philadelphia 76ers	54	28	.659	13	31–10	23–18	15–9
x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	28	26–15	13–28	11–13
x-New Jersey Nets	39	43	.476	28	26–15	13–28	11–13
New York Knicks	23	59	.280	44	15–26	8–33	5–19

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	67	15	.817	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	57	25	.695	10
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	54	28	.659	13
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	17
5	x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	21
6	x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	28
7	x-New Jersey Nets	39	43	.476	28
8	x-Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	37
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	.354	38
10	Indiana Pacers	26	56	.317	41
11	New York Knicks	23	59	.280	44

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	–	0–6	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	4–2	5–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4
Boston	6–0	–	5–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	4–2	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1
Chicago	1–5	1–5	–	3–3	0–2	2–0	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4
Cleveland	2–4	1–5	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–5	0–2	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–5	3–3	4–1	0–6	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	–	3–3	0–2	4–1	1–5	2–0	2–3	1–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–3	3–3	4–2	3–2	5–1	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	–	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	4–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	3–3	3–3	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	2–4	1–4	4–2	5–1	2–0	1–1	–	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	4–2	4–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–2
Golden State	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	–	0–5	1–1	5–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–5	2–3	2–3	2–4	2–3	1–1
Houston	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	3–3	1–1	5–0	–	2–0	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	3–2	4–2	5–1	3–2	3–3	2–0
Indiana	1–5	1–5	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	–	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–3	2–4	0–6	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–5	2–3	0–2	–	2–4	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	5–0	1–4	3–3	3–2	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–3	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	4–2	–	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	6–0	5–0	4–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	0–5	5–1	5–1	2–0	0–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	–	4–2	6–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
New Jersey	2–4	2–4	3–2	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	–	5–1	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–4
New York	1–5	1–5	2–4	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	4–2	0–2	1–1	0–6	1–5	–	0–6	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3
Philadelphia	1–4	2–4	5–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	6–0	2–0	0–2	1–4	4–2	6–0	–	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–4	2–0	4–2	2–3	1–1	4–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	–	2–4	2–3	3–2	5–1	1–4	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	2–0	4–2	0–6	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–2	–	3–2	1–4	5–1	2–3	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	2–0	3–2	2–4	2–0	0–5	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–3	–	5–1	5–0	2–4	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–3	1–1	3–2	1–5	1–1	4–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	4–1	1–5	–	2–3	2–4	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	0–2	4–2	2–3	0–2	3–3	2–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–5	0–5	3–2	–	2–3	1–1
Utah	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–5	3–3	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	2–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	4–2	4–2	3–2	–	1–1
Washington	4–1	1–5	4–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–0	0–2	2–4	4–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

1985–86 game log Total: 67–15 (Home: 40–1; Road: 27–14)
October: 2–1 (home: 1–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 25, 1985 @ New Jersey L 109–113 (OT) Bird (21) Bird (12) Bird (10) Brendan Byrne Arena 13,095 0–1 2 October 26, 1985 @ Cleveland W 105–100 McHale (21) McHale (15) Johnson (5) Richfield Coliseum 20,900 1–1 3 October 30, 1985 7:30 p.m. EST Milwaukee W 117–106 McHale (25) Parish (13) Ainge, Bird (5) Boston Garden 14,890 2–1
November: 13–1 (home: 8–0; road: 5–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 November 1, 1985 Atlanta W 109–105 Bird (25) McHale (10) Johnson (9) Boston Garden 14,890 3–1 5 November 2, 1985 @ Washington W 88–73 Ainge (20) Parish (10) Bird (8) Capital Centre 17,488 4–1 6 November 8, 1985 Phoenix W 125–101 Parish (25) Parish (10) Bird (10) Boston Garden 14,890 5–1 7 November 9, 1985 @ Detroit W 124–105 Bird (29) McHale (11) Johnson (7) Pontiac Silverdome 25,148 6–1 8 November 13, 1985 Indiana W 118–114 Johnson (30) Bird (15) Bird (7) Boston Garden 14,890 7–1 9 November 15, 1985 Washington W 118–114 Ainge (24) Bird (11) Ainge (9) Boston Garden 14,890 8–1 10 November 16, 1985 @ Indiana L 109–111 Bird (33) Parish (10) Ainge (7) Market Square Arena 16,904 8–2 11 November 20, 1985 Utah W 115–106 (OT) Bird (27) Parish (17) Ainge (7) Boston Garden 14,890 9–2 12 November 22, 1985 Philadelphia W 110–103 McHale (32) Parish (12) Bird (6) Boston Garden 14,890 10–2 13 November 23, 1985 @ New York W 113–104 Parish (27) Parish (12) Bird (10) Madison Square Garden 19,591 11–2 14 November 26, 1985 @ Philadelphia W 98–91 Parish (22) McHale (13) Bird (11) The Spectrum 17,921 12–2 15 November 27, 1985 Detroit W 132–124 Bird (47) Bird (12) Ainge, Johnson (5) Boston Garden 14,890 13–2 16 November 29, 1985 New York W 94–88 Bird (31) Bird (15) Johnson (7) Boston Garden 14,890 14–2 17 November 30, 1985 @ 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) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 December 3, 1985 8:30 p.m. EST @ Milwaukee W 112–109 McHale (29) McHale (10) Ainge (6) MECCA Arena 11,052 16–2 19 December 4, 1985 @ New Jersey W 130–111 Johnson (23) Walton (13) Ainge, Bird, McHale (5) Brendan Byrne Arena 15,169 17–2 20 December 6, 1985 Portland L 103–121 Bird (20) Bird (11) Ainge (9) Boston Garden 14,890 17–3 21 December 10, 1985 Atlanta (at Hartford, Connecticut) 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 Bird (24) Bird (7) Ainge, Bird (5) Boston Garden 14,890 19–3 23 December 14, 1985 @ Cleveland L 99–109 Bird (31) McHale (12) Ainge (9) Richfield Coliseum 15,349 19–4 24 December 15, 1985 Chicago W 109–104 Bird (34) Parish (15) Ainge (9) Boston Garden 14,890 20–4 25 December 17, 1985 @ Chicago L 108–116 Johnson (25) Parish (15) Johnson (8) Chicago Stadium 13,786 20–5 26 December 18, 1985 Dallas W 137–117 Bird (35) McHale (10) Ainge (13) Boston Garden 14,890 21–5 27 December 21, 1985 @ Philadelphia L 102–108 McHale (34) McHale (10) Ainge (9) The Spectrum 17,941 21–6 28 December 25, 1985 @ New York L 104–113 (2OT) McHale (29) Parish (18) Ainge (8) Madison Square Garden 17,480 21–7 29 December 28, 1985 @ Utah W 110–108 Bird, McHale (24) Parish (10) Bird (8) Salt Palace 12,702 22–7 30 December 30, 1985 @ L.A. Clippers W 125–103 McHale (22) McHale (18) Bird (8) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 14,977 23–7
January: 12–1 (home: 7–0; road: 5–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 2, 1986 @ Indiana W 122–104 Johnson (29) Bird (13) Bird (8) Market Square Arena 14,974 24–7 32 January 3, 1986 New Jersey W 129–117 Bird (29) Bird (10) Johnson (8) Boston Garden 14,890 25–7 33 January 7, 1986 @ Detroit L 109–113 McHale (29) Bird (12) Bird (8) Pontiac Silverdome 17,421 25–8 34 January 8, 1986 Cleveland W 126–95 Bird (25) McHale (13) Bird (7) Boston Garden 14,890 26–8 35 January 10, 1986 Atlanta W 115–108 Bird (29) Parish (15) Johnson (8) Boston Garden 14,890 27–8 36 January 15, 1986 Denver W 123–100 McHale (33) Bird (14) Bird (9) Boston Garden 14,890 28–8 37 January 17, 1986 @ Indiana W 123–105 McHale (28) Bird (9) Bird (8) Market Square Arena 16,904 29–8 38 January 18, 1986 @ Atlanta W 125–122 (OT) Bird (41) McHale (12) Ainge (12) The Omni 16,522 30–8 39 January 22, 1986 8:00 p.m. EST L.A. Lakers W 110–95 Johnson (22) Bird (12) Ainge (8) Boston Garden 14,890 31–8 40 January 24, 1986 Golden State W 135–114 Bird (25) Wedman (13) Johnson (7) Boston Garden 14,890 32–8 41 January 26, 1986 Philadelphia W 105–103 Bird (28) Bird (14) Bird (6) Boston Garden 14,890 33–8 42 January 30, 1986 @ Chicago W 101–91 Bird (26) Parish (16) Johnson (8) Chicago Stadium 15,207 34–8 43 January 31, 1986 @ Washington W 97–88 Wedman (24) Parish (14) Ainge (9) Capital Centre 19,123 35–8
February: 11–3 (home: 5–0; road: 6–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 44 February 2, 1986 Seattle W 114–101 Johnson (24) Bird (11) Johnson (7) Boston Garden 14,890 36–8 45 February 4, 1986 8:30 p.m. EST @ Milwaukee W 112–93 Bird (24) Bird (9) Johnson (8) MECCA Arena 11,052 37–8 46 February 5, 1986 Washington W 103–88 Bird (26) Walton (17) Bird, Johnson (6) Boston Garden 14,890 38–8 All-Star Break 47 February 11, 1986 @ Sacramento L 100–105 Bird (29) Parish (15) Johnson (5) ARCO Arena 10,333 38–9 48 February 13, 1986 @ Seattle W 107–98 Bird (31) Bird (15) Bird (11) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,230 39–9 49 February 14, 1986 @ Portland W 120–119 (OT) Bird (47) Bird (14) Ainge (12) Memorial Coliseum 12,666 40–9 50 February 16, 1986 3:30 p.m. EST @ L.A. Lakers W 105–99 Johnson (23) Bird (18) Bird (7) The Forum 17,505 41–9 51 February 17, 1986 @ Phoenix L 101–108 Johnson (24) Parish (11) Bird, Carlisle, Johnson (3) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 14,519 41–10 52 February 19, 1986 @ Golden State W 115–100 Bird (36) Parish (13) Bird (11) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 15,011 42–10 53 February 20, 1986 @ Denver L 100–102 Bird (27) Bird (16) Ainge (8) McNichols Sports Arena 17,022 42–11 54 February 23, 1986 Indiana (at Hartford, Connecticut) W 113–98 Bird (30) Parish (15) Bird (12) Hartford Civic Center 15,124 43–11 55 February 25, 1986 @ New York W 91–74 Bird (24) Bird (18) Bird (13) Madison Square Garden 18,329 44–11 56 February 26, 1986 San Antonio W 120–100 Parish (27) Parish (10) Bird (9) Boston Garden 14,890 45–11 57 February 28, 1986 L.A. Clippers W 124–108 Parish (26) Bird (13) Bird (12) Boston Garden 14,890 46–11
March: 15–2 (home: 11–0; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 58 March 2, 1986 Detroit W 129–109 Bird (35) Bird (9) Johnson (8) Boston Garden 14,890 47–11 59 March 4, 1986 @ Chicago W 106–94 McHale (23) Parish (11) Johnson (8) Chicago Stadium 14,172 48–11 60 March 5, 1986 Chicago W 108–97 Bird (26) Parish (15) Ainge (10) Boston Garden 14,890 49–11 61 March 7, 1986 New York W 115–108 McHale (20) Walton (12) Ainge, Bird (8) Boston Garden 14,890 50–11 62 March 8, 1986 @ Washington L 108–110 (OT) Bird (24) Parish (25) Bird (8) Capital Centre 19,123 50–12 63 March 10, 1986 @ Dallas L 115–116 Bird (50) Parish (16) Johnson (6) Reunion Arena 17,007 50–13 64 March 11, 1986 8:30 p.m. EST @ Houston W 116–104 Bird (31) Walton (16) Bird (10) The Summit 16,016 51–13 65 March 13, 1986 @ San Antonio W 135–119 Bird (33) Bird (11) Johnson (7) HemisFair Arena 14,180 52–13 66 March 14, 1986 @ Atlanta W 121–114 Bird (26) McHale (12) Johnson (9) The Omni 16,522 53–13 67 March 16, 1986 Philadelphia W 118–101 Bird (36) Bird (14) Johnson (7) Boston Garden 14,890 54–13 68 March 18, 1986 Cleveland (at Hartford, Connecticut) W 126–96 Bird (43) Parish (12) Johnson (11) Hartford Civic Center 15,134 55–13 69 March 19, 1986 Indiana W 127–108 Parish (28) Parish (17) Johnson (8) Boston Garden 14,890 56–13 70 March 21, 1986 Chicago W 126–105 Bird (32) Parish (14) Johnson (9) Boston Garden 14,890 57–13 71 March 24, 1986 8:00 p.m. EST Houston W 114–107 Bird (36) Johnson, McHale, Parish (8) Johnson (12) Boston Garden 14,890 58–13 72 March 26, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST Milwaukee W 121–115 Bird (35) Bird (12) Bird, Johnson (6) Boston Garden 14,890 59–13 73 March 28, 1986 Washington W 116–97 Bird (27) Bird, Walton (12) Johnson (9) Boston Garden 14,890 60–13 74 March 30, 1986 New Jersey W 122–117 Bird (40) Parish (14) Johnson (10) Boston Garden 14,890 61–13
April: 6–2 (home: 4–0; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 75 April 1, 1986 @ Cleveland W 123–105 Johnson (21) Walton (11) Johnson (7) Richfield Coliseum 17,495 62–13 76 April 2, 1986 Detroit W 122–106 Parish (30) Parish (18) Bird (13) Boston Garden 14,890 63–13 77 April 4, 1986 New York W 119–98 McHale (25) McHale (11) Bird (8) Boston Garden 14,890 64–13 78 April 6, 1986 @ Philadelphia L 94–95 Johnson (22) Parish (11) Bird (10) The Spectrum 17,941 64–14 79 April 8, 1986 8:30 p.m. EST @ Milwaukee W 126–114 Walton (22) Bird (14) Bird (7) MECCA Arena 11,052 65–14 80 April 9, 1986 @ New Jersey L 98–108 McHale (18) Bird (10) McHale (8) Brendan Byrne Arena 18,092 65–15 81 April 11, 1986 Cleveland W 117–104 McHale (30) Parish (9) Bird (8) Boston Garden 14,890 66–15 82 April 13, 1986 New Jersey W 135–107 Bird (26) Parish (13) Ainge, Johnson (4) Boston Garden 14,890 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 Bird	82	805	557	166	51	2115	25.8
Kevin McHale	68	551	181	29	134	1448	21.3
Robert Parish	81	770	145	65	116	1305	16.1
Dennis Johnson	78	268	456	110	35	1213	15.6
Danny Ainge	80	235	405	94	7	855	10.7
Scott Wedman	79	192	82	38	22	634	8.0
Bill Walton	80	544	165	38	106	606	7.6
Jerry Sichting	82	104	188	50	0	537	6.5
David Thirdkill	49	70	15	11	3	163	3.3
Sam Vincent	57	48	69	17	4	184	3.2
Sly Williams	6	15	2	1	1	17	2.8
Rick Carlisle	77	77	104	19	4	199	2.6
Greg Kite	64	128	17	3	28	83	1.3

Playoffs

1986 playoff game log
Eastern Conference First Round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 17, 1986 Chicago W 123–104 Bird (30) McHale, Parish (10) Bird (8) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 April 20, 1986 Chicago W 135–131 (2OT) Bird (36) McHale, Walton (15) Bird, Johnson (8) Boston Garden 14,890 2–0 3 April 22, 1986 @ Chicago W 122–104 McHale (31) Walton (9) Bird (8) Chicago Stadium 18,968 3–0
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location 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
Eastern Conference Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 13, 1986 8:00 p.m. EDT Milwaukee W 128–96 Bird (26) Ainge (10) Sichting (8) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 May 15, 1986 8:00 p.m. EDT Milwaukee W 122–111 Bird (26) Parish (9) Bird (9) Boston Garden 14,890 2–0 3 May 17, 1986 2:00 p.m. EDT @ Milwaukee W 111–107 McHale (29) Bird (16) Bird (13) MECCA Arena 11,052 3–0 4 May 18, 1986 3:30 p.m. EDT @ Milwaukee W 111–98 Bird (30) McHale (11) Ainge, Bird (5) MECCA Arena 11,052 4–0
NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 26, 1986 3:00 p.m. EDT Houston W 112–100 Parish (23) Johnson (11) Bird (13) Boston Garden 14,890 1–0 2 May 29, 1986 9:00 p.m. EDT Houston W 117–95 Bird (31) Bird (8) Bird (7) Boston Garden 14,890 2–0 3 June 1, 1986 3:30 p.m. EDT @ Houston L 104–106 McHale (28) Bird (15) Bird (11) The Summit 16,016 2–1 4 June 3, 1986 9:00 p.m. EDT @ Houston W 106–103 Parish (22) Parish (15) Bird (10) The Summit 16,016 3–1 5 June 5, 1986 9:00 p.m. EDT @ Houston L 96–111 McHale (33) McHale (8) Ainge (5) The Summit 16,016 3–2 6 June 8, 1986 1:00 p.m. EDT Houston W 114–97 Bird (29) Bird (11) 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. 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. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 44 Ainge, Danny 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959-03-17 BYU SF 33 Bird, Larry 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 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 6 ft 11 in (2.11 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 K. C. Jones Assistant coach(es) Ed Badger Chris Ford Jimmy Rodgers Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Award winners

• Larry Bird, Associated Press Athlete of the Year
• Larry Bird, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
• Larry Bird, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
• Kevin McHale, All-NBA Defensive First Team
• Dennis Johnson, All-NBA Defensive Second Team
• Bill Walton, NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award
• Larry Bird, NBA 3-Point Shootout champion
• Larry Bird, three-point field goal leader

References

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference
• NBA documentary about the 1985–86 Boston Celtics on YouTube