A high point in NBA history
The Boston Celtics won title #18 Monday night, putting them back on top as the winningest franchise in NBA history - the Lakers had caught them when LeBron James led the team to the title in the Covid season.
Boston gets a lot of attention for the epic run in the Bill Russell era, when they won every title from 1957 to 1969 except for 1958, when Russell was hurt, and 1967, when the 76ers were just better.
And of course the Larry Bird era was spectacular, with three titles and the renewed rivalry with the Lakers (the Celtics ran into L.A. repeatedly in the 1960’s).
But the ‘70’s titles get somewhat overlooked.
Those teams were built around John Havlicek, who was a key figure on the ‘60’s teams, and Dave Cowens, a surprisingly effective center at 6-8. They also had JoJo White, an outstanding guard, Paul Silas, a terrific forward, UNC great Charlie Scott, and Don Nelson, an underrated player who later became a great coach.
The 1976 Finals featured an incredible three overtime game between Boston and the Phoenix Suns that has been called the greatest NBA game ever played. It was custom-made for Havlicek, who was a superb athlete who never seemed to tire.
This is the entire game, so try to set some time aside to see some amazing basketball.
