2008 Boston Celtics

Even as we say “Congratulations” to the Orlando Magic, who beat the Celtics 4 games to 3 to advance to the Conference Finals in the 2009 NBA Playoffs, we want to say a big “Thank you” to the Boston Celtics, winners of the Atlantic Division, for the exciting season they had!

Ending the season with the best record in the league and topping it off with an NBA Finals win, the Boston Celtics dominated the 2007-08 season. An argument could be made that the team has no where to go but down, but as the team remains largely unchanged, there’s no reason to think they can’t churn out a repeat performance. They did lose their most important bench player, James Posey, to the New Orleans Hornets, but the "Boston Three Party", NBA Finals MVP Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, are still on the roster, and it’s all going to come down to them. If they can stay healthy, the team has a very good chance of taking home the NBA Championship title again. Though everyone was impressed with the Big Three’s performance last season, head coach Doc Rivers thinks relative newcomers Garnett and Allen should only improve as they become more acclimated to the team. With an average attendance rate of 100%, tickets to TD Banknorth Garden won’t be around for long, so if you want to watch the Celts fight their way to the top in the 2008-09 season, get your tickets today!

Celtics in the Basketball Hall of Fame include: Nate Archibald, Larry Bird, Walter Brown, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Wayne Embry, John Havlicek, Tom Heinsohn, Bailey Howell, K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, Clyde Lovellette, Ed Macauley, Pete Maravich, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Andy Phillip, Frank Ramsey, Arnie Risen, Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, John Thompson, and Bill Walton.

In 1995, the Boston Celtics moved from the historic Boston Garden into their new home, then known as the Fleet Center, since renamed TD Banknorth Garden, in Boston, Massachusetts. There hang the jerseys of Hall of Famers such as Larry Bird, Bill Walton, and Bill Russell. Also hanging from the rafters are a record seventeen NBA Championship banners, even more than Western Conference rivals the Los Angeles Lakers. Led by legendary coach Red Auerbach, the Celtics won eight consecutive NBA Championships between 1959 and 1966. To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the NBA came up with a list of the fifty greatest players of all time. Thirteen Celtics appeared on the list, more than any other team in the league.

Boston is also home of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox, who call Fenway Park their home. The Red Sox made a late run in the summer of 2003 and made it all the way to the American League Championship Series before losing in game seven to their archrival the New York Yankees, but they made up for it with World Series wins in 2004 and 2007. The Celtics share TD Banknorth Garden with the National Hockey League's Boston Bruins, winners of five Stanley Cups. The football team of choice in Boston is the New England Patriots, playing in Gillette Stadium less than 30 miles outside of Boston. The Patriots were the Super Bowl champions in 2002, 2004 and 2005.