Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics were founded in 1946 as a charter member of the league that became the NBA, and no franchise in the sport has won more. Eighteen championships, including 11 in 13 seasons between 1957 and 1969 under Red Auerbach and Bill Russell, a run of dominance that has never been approached in American team sport. The 18th arrived in 2024 and moved Boston clear of the Lakers.

Home since 1995 is TD Garden, which holds 19,156 for basketball and hangs every one of those banners, alongside more than twenty retired numbers, from the rafters. The building sits directly above North Station in the middle of the city rather than in a suburban parking lot, which gives Celtics games a different feel from most of the league.

The rivalry with the Lakers, contested in 12 Finals across seven decades, is the oldest and most valuable storyline in the NBA.

Celtics coverage here runs through the regular season and into the playoffs, where this franchise's history sets the expectation every year.

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