1977–78 Boston Celtics season
Head coachTom Heinsohn
Tom Sanders
General managerRed Auerbach
Owner(s)Irv Levin
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record32–50 (.390)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Atlantic)
Conference: 8th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWBZ-TV
(Len Berman, Bob Cousy)
RadioWBZ
(Johnny Most, Bob Lobel)

The 1977–78 Boston Celtics season was the 32nd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was linked to the Buffalo Braves season. While the Braves were struggling on the court, their owner John Y. Brown brokered a deal to take over the legendary Celtics franchise. Celtics owner Irv Levin wanted to move the franchise to California; however, the NBA would not allow him to take the cornerstone franchise out of Boston.

NBA lawyer and future commissioner David Stern offered a compromise in which Levin and Brown would swap franchises, so that Levin could take over the Braves and move them to San Diego. Eventually, the owners of the 22 franchises voted 21–1 to approve the deal, and the Braves moved from Buffalo to San Diego. The deal also included a seven-player trade in which the Celtics acquired Nate Archibald, Billy Knight and Marvin Barnes in exchange for Freeman Williams, Kevin Kunnert, Kermit Washington and Sidney Wicks. The Braves would not request a draft pick in the deal, allowing the Celtics to retain the draft rights to future Hall of Famer Larry Bird.

The Braves played their last game of the season in Boston. It was one of only three seasons from 1951 to 1993 that the Celtics finished with a losing record. This was the 16th and final season for the legendary John Havlicek. Nobody has played more seasons for the Celtics than Havlicek.

Draft picks

This table only displays picks through two rounds.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 12 Cedric Maxwell SF  United States Charlotte

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G 44 United States Bing, Dave 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Syracuse
F 31 United States Boswell, Tom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) South Carolina
G 12 United States Chaney, Don 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Houston
C 18 United States Cowens, Dave 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Florida State
G 7 United States DiGregorio, Ernie 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Providence
G/F 17 United States Havlicek, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Ohio State
F 30 United States Maxwell, Cedric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Charlotte
F 41 United States Rowe, Curtis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
G 27 United States Stacom, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Providence
F 26 United States Washington, Kermit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) American
G 10 United States White, Jo Jo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas
F 12 United States Wicks, Sidney 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers 5527.671–37–418–2314–2
x-New York Knicks 4339.5241229–1214–277–9
Boston Celtics 3250.3902324–178–338–8
Buffalo Braves 2755.3292820–217–347–9
New Jersey Nets 2458.2933118–236–354–12
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Philadelphia 76ers5527.671–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5230.6343
3 x-Washington Bullets4438.53711
4 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4339.52412
5 x-New York Knicks4339.52412
6 x-Atlanta Hawks4141.50014
7 New Orleans Jazz3943.47616
8 Boston Celtics3250.39023
9 Houston Rockets2854.34127
10 Buffalo Braves2755.32928
11 New Jersey Nets2458.29331

Record vs. opponents

1977–78 NBA records
Team ATL BOS BUF CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SEA WAS
Atlanta –2–23–11–31–31–32–21–33–13–12–13–12–23–12–22–22–23–11–31–32–11–3
Boston 2–2–3–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–12–21–23–13–12–22–20–42–21–30–40–41–3
Buffalo 1–31–3–3–11–31–31–30–33–11–31–21–31–32–22–23–11–30–41–31–31–31–3
Chicago 3–13–11–3–3–12–22–21–33–13–10–42–21–31–22–21–33–02–21–32–22–22–1
Cleveland 3–13–13–11–3–3–12–22–22–22–12–22–23–13–12–23–11–31–20–40–43–12–2
Denver 3–13–13–12–21–3–2–22–23–02–22–23–13–13–13–11–31–32–23–12–11–33–1
Detroit 2–23–13–12–22–22–2–2–23–11–31–32–22–23–13–00–40–42–21–31–31–32–2
Golden State 3–12–23–03–12–22–22–2–2–13–13–10–42–23–10–42–21–32–21–33–12–22–2
Houston 1–32–21–31–32–20–31–31–2–3–12–21–31–32–21–32–22–21–32–21–30–41–3
Indiana 1–31–23–11–31–22–23–11–31–3–2–21–30–42–22–21–32–21–31–31–31–33–1
Kansas City 1–22–22–14–02–22–23–11–32–22–2–2–20–42–22–20–41–30–40–40–41–32–2
Los Angeles 1–32–13–12–22–21–32–24–03–13–12–2–3–14–02–13–12–21–30–42–21–32–2
Milwaukee 2–21–33–13–11–31–32–22–23–14–04–01–3–3–12–13–11–21–31–32–21–33–1
New Jersey 1–31–32–22–11–31–31–31–32–22–22–20–41–3–0–41–30–42–20–30–42–22–2
New Orleans 2–22–22–22–22–21–31–34–03–12–22–21–21–24–0–1–32–21–33–11–32–20–4
New York 2–22–21–33–11–33–13–02–22–23–14–01–31–33–13–1–1–31–31–32–22–12–2
Philadelphia 2–24–03–11–33–13–14–03–12–22–23–12–22–14–02–23–1–2–12–23–13–12–2
Phoenix 1–32–24–02–22–12–22–22–23–13–14–03–13–12–23–13–11–2–1–32–22–22–2
Portland 3–13–13–13–14–01–33–13–12–23–14–04–03–13–11–33–02–23–1–2–23–12–1
San Antonio 3–14–03–12–24–01–22–11–33–13–14–02–22–24–03–12–21–32–22–2–2–22–2
Seattle 1–24–03–12–21–33–13–12–24–03–13–13–13–12–22–11–31–32–21–32–2–1–3
Washington 3–13–13–11–22–21–32–22–23–11–32–22–21–32–24–02–22–22–21–22–23–1—

References

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