1986–87 Boston Celtics season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachK. C. Jones
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record59–23 (.720)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(lost to Lakers 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWLVI
(Gil Santos, Bob Cousy)
SportsChannel New England
(Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
RadioWRKO
(Johnny Most, Glenn Ordway)

The 1986–87 Boston Celtics season was the 41st season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics entered the season as the defending NBA Champions, having defeated the Houston Rockets in the 1986 NBA Finals in six games, winning their sixteenth NBA championship.

In the playoffs, the Celtics swept the Chicago Bulls in the First Round in three games, defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Semi-finals in seven games, and the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals in seven games to reach the NBA Finals for the fifth time in the 1980s. In the Finals, the Celtics faced off against their long time rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, in their third and final matchup in the NBA Finals in the 1980s. The Celtics would lose in six games to the Lakers, and it marked the last time the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals until 2008. Remarkably, the 1987 NBA Finals was the first playoff series for the Celtics in the Bird era in which they did not have the home court advantage, as they had played 24 consecutive series with the home court advantage starting in 1980.

NBA draft

Thanks to the 1984 trade of Gerald Henderson and the subsequent fall of the Seattle SuperSonics, at the end of the 1985–86 season the Celtics owned not only the best team in the NBA but also the second pick in the 1986 NBA draft. The Celtics drafted Len Bias with the pick and had high hopes for the young Maryland Terrapins star. The hope was that his presence would ensure that the franchise would remain a powerhouse after Bird, McHale, and Parish retired. Unfortunately, Bias died 48 hours after he was drafted, after using cocaine at a party and overdosing.[1]

Unlike the prior year, the Celtics were forced to endure major injuries to several key players including Bill Walton, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. With a road record of 20–21, the Celtics were a sub-.500 road team for the first time in the Larry Bird era and the first time since the 1978–79 season. However, they continued with the previous season's historic dominance at home with a record of 39–2 at Boston Garden.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 2 Len Bias Forward  United States Maryland
4 93 Tony Benford N/A  United States Texas Tech
5 116 Dave Colbert N/A  United States Dayton
6 139 Greg Wendt N/A  United States Detroit
7 162 Tom Ivey N/A  United States Boston University

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 5923.720–39–220–2115–9
x-Philadelphia 76ers 4537.5491428–1317–2412–12
x-Washington Bullets 4240.5121727–1415–2613–11
New Jersey Nets 2458.2933519–225–3612–12
New York Knicks 2458.2933518–236–358–16
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Boston Celtics5923.720–
2 y-Atlanta Hawks5725.6952
3 x-Detroit Pistons5230.6347
4 x-Milwaukee Bucks5032.6109
5 x-Philadelphia 76ers4537.54914
6 x-Washington Bullets4240.51217
7 x-Indiana Pacers4141.50018
8 x-Chicago Bulls4042.48819
9 Cleveland Cavaliers3151.37828
10 New Jersey Nets2458.29335
11 New York Knicks2458.29335

Record vs. opponents

1986-87 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 –3–34–24–22–02–03–31–11–13–32–01–13–35–05–13–31–11–12–02–02–02–05–0
Boston 3–3–6–03–22–02–03–22–02–05–12–00–23–34–24–23–32–02–02–02–02–01–14–2
Chicago 2–40–6–5–11–11–13–30–20–23–22–00–24–23–24–23–31–11–11–11–12–00–23–3
Cleveland 2–42–31–5–0–21–11–51–10–23–32–00–21–54–24–12–41–11–11–11–11–10–22–4
Dallas 0–20–21–12–0–4–21–15–03–30–25–03–22–02–02–02–03–22–35–14–25–03–31–1
Denver 0–20–21–11–12–4–0–24–13–31–12–30–51–12–02–00–23–23–22–45–12–32–41–1
Detroit 3–32–33–35–11–12–0–1–11–13–32–01–13–35–16–05–01–10–21–11–12–01–13–3
Golden State 1–10–22–01–10–51–41–1–4–10–26–02–40–22–02–01–11–54–24–14–14–22–30–2
Houston 1–10–22–02–03–33–31–11–4–2–04–11–40–21–11–10–23–22–35–15–11–43–31–1
Indiana 3–31–52–33–32–01–13–32–00–2–2–00–22–45–13–22–41–10–21–12–01–11–14–2
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–20–20–53–20–20–61–40–2–0–60–21–10–20–21–50–61–41–42–42–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–12–02–02–02–35–01–14–24–12–06–0–1–12–02–02–05–15–15–04–14–23–21–1
Milwaukee 3–33–32–45–10–21–13–32–02–04–22–01–1–4–24–22–32–00–22–01–12–01–14–1
New Jersey 0–52–42–32–40–20–21–50–21–11–51–10–22–4–5–13–31–10–20–20–20–21–12–4
New York 1–52–42–41–40–20–20–60–21–12–32–00–22–41–5–3–31–10–22–01–10–21–12–4
Philadelphia 3–33–33–34–20–22–00–51–12–04–22–00–23–23–33–3–1–12–02–01–12–01–13–3
Phoenix 1–10–21–11–12–32–31–15–12–31–15–11–50–21–11–11–1–2–42–32–31–54–10–2
Portland 1–10–21–11–13–22–32–02–43–22–06–01–52–02–02–00–24–2–3–24–14–23–21–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–11–11–54–21–11–41–51–14–10–50–22–00–20–23–22–3–3–32–31–51–1
San Antonio 0–20–21–11–12–41–51–11–41–50–24–11–41–12–01–11–13–21–43–3–1–42–40–2
Seattle 0–20–20–21–10–53–20–22–44–11–14–22–40–22–02–00–25–12–43–24–1–3–21–1
Utah 0–21–12–02–03–34–21–13–23–31–13–22–31–11–11–11–11–42–35–14–22–3–1–1
Washington 0–52–43–34–21–11–13–32–01–12–42–01–11–44–24–23–32–01–11–12–01–11–1—

Game log

1986-87 game log
October
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
1Fri. Oct. 31Washington Bullets120-102Boston Garden1-0
November
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
2Sat. Nov. 1@ Milwaukee Bucks105-111Milwaukee Arena (MECCA)1-1
3Wed. Nov. 5Indiana Pacers133-102Boston Garden2-1
4Fri. Nov. 7@Washington Bullets88-86Capital Centre3-1
5Tue. Nov. 11@ New Jersey Nets110-114Brendan Byrne Arena3-2
6Wed. Nov. 12Milwaukee Bucks124-116Boston Garden4-2
7Fri. Nov. 14@ Chicago Bulls124-105Chicago Stadium5-2
8Sat. Nov. 15@ Detroit Pistons118-111Pontiac Silverdome6-2
9Wed. Nov. 19Atlanta Hawks111-107Boston Garden7-2
10Fri. Nov. 21Golden State Warriors135-120Boston Garden8-2
11Sat. Nov. 22@ Atlanta Hawks96-97The Omni8-3
12Tue. Nov. 25@ Philadelphia 76ers100-102The Spectrum8-4
13Wed. Nov. 26New York Knicks101-90Boston Garden9-4
14Fri. Nov. 28San Antonio Spurs111-96Boston Garden10-4
December
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
15Tue. Dec. 2Washington Bullets109-117Hartford Civic Center10-5
16Wed. Dec. 3Denver Nuggets119-113Boston Garden11-5
17Fri. Dec. 5Philadelphia 76ers108-106Boston Garden12-5
18Sat. Dec. 6@ Cleveland Cavaliers86-88Richfield Coliseum12-6
19Wed. Dec. 10New Jersey Nets108-98Boston Garden13-6
20Fri. Dec. 12Los Angeles Lakers110-117Boston Garden13-7
21Sat. Dec. 13@ Washington Bullets105-98Capital Centre14-7
22Tue. Dec. 16@ New York Knicks107-96Madison Square Garden15-7
23Wed. Dec. 17Indiana Pacers113-101Boston Garden16-7
24Fri. Dec. 19@ Philadelphia 76ers100-122The Spectrum16-8
25Sat. Dec. 20@ Milwaukee Bucks100-120Milwaukee Arena (MECCA)16-9
26Fri. Dec. 26@ Phoenix Suns122-112Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum17-9
27Sat. Dec. 27@ Los Angeles Clippers114-101L.A. Sports Arena18-9
28Mon. Dec. 29@ Sacramento Kings119-102ARCO Arena I19-9
29Tue. Dec. 30@ Seattle SuperSonics104-102Seattle Center Coliseum20-9
January
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
30Fri. Jan. 2Chicago Bulls113-99Boston Garden21-9
31Wed. Jan. 7Milwaukee Bucks119-92Boston Garden22-9
32Fri. Jan. 9Sacramento Kings109-99Boston Garden23-9
33Sat. Jan. 10@ Detroit Pistons101-118Pontiac Silverdome23-10
34Tue. Jan. 13@ New Jersey Nets123-117Brendan Byrne Arena24-10
35Wed. Jan. 14Dallas Mavericks117-108Boston Garden25-10
36Fri. Jan. 16Cleveland Cavaliers133-128 (OT)Boston Garden26-10
37Sun. Jan. 18Houston Rockets122-99Boston Garden27-10
38Mon. Jan. 19@ New York Knicks109-111Madison Square Garden27-11
39Wed. Jan. 21Indiana Pacers130-100Boston Garden28-11
40Fri. Jan. 23Atlanta Hawks126-106Boston Garden29-11
41Sun. Jan. 25Philadelphia 76ers111-96Boston Garden30-11
42Tue. Jan. 27@ Chicago Bulls105-97Chicago Stadium31-11
43Wed. Jan. 28Chicago Bulls132-103Boston Garden32-11
44Fri. Jan. 30@ Indiana Pacers100-94Market Square Arena33-11
February
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
45Tue. Feb. 3@ Atlanta Hawks123-126 (OT)The Omni33-12
46Wed. Feb. 4Cleveland Cavaliers104-102Boston Garden34-12
47Tue. Feb. 10@ Denver Nuggets119-105McNichols Sports Arena35-12
48Thu. Feb. 12@ Golden State Warriors134-112Oakland Coliseum36-12
49Fri. Feb. 13@ Portland Trail Blazers131-116Memorial Coliseum37-12
50Sun. Feb. 15@ Los Angeles Lakers103-106The Forum37-13
51Mon. Feb. 16@ Utah Jazz89-109Salt Palace37-14
52Wed. Feb. 18@ Dallas Mavericks113-96Reunion Arena38-14
53Thu. Feb. 19@ Houston Rockets99-92The Summit39-14
54Sat. Feb. 21@ San Antonio Spurs121-113HemisFair Arena40-14
55Mon. Feb. 23New Jersey Nets116-103Hartford Civic Center41-14
56Wed. Feb. 25Portland Trail Blazers122-116Boston Garden42-14
57Fri. Feb. 27@ Atlanta Hawks105-115The Omni42-15
March
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
58Sun. Mar. 1Detroit Pistons112-102Boston Garden43-15
59Wed. Mar. 4Utah Jazz123-105Boston Garden44-15
60Fri. Mar. 6Los Angeles Clippers132-111Boston Garden45-15
61Sun. Mar. 8@ Detroit Pistons119-122 (OT)Pontiac Silverdome45-16
62Wed. Mar. 11Phoenix Suns118-109Boston Garden46-16
63Fri. Mar. 13@ Indiana Pacers109-116Market Square Arena46-17
64Sun. Mar. 15New York Knicks113-104Boston Garden47-17
65Tue. Mar. 17@ Milwaukee Bucks115-123Milwaukee Arena (MECCA)47-18
66Wed. Mar. 18Milwaukee Bucks120-102Boston Garden48-18
67Fri. Mar. 20Seattle SuperSonics112-108Boston Garden49-18
68Sun. Mar. 22New Jersey Nets116-104Boston Garden50-18
69Tue. Mar. 24Cleveland Cavaliers111-88Hartford Civic Center51-18
70Thu. Mar. 26@ Washington Bullets103-106Capital Centre51-19
71Fri. Mar. 27@ Chicago Bulls111-106Chicago Stadium52-19
72Sun. Mar. 29Philadelphia 76ers118-100Boston Garden53-19
73Tue. Mar. 31@ New York Knicks120-128Madison Square Garden53-20
April
GameDateOpponentScoreLocationRecord
74Wed. Apr. 1Washington Bullets103-86Boston Garden54-20
75Fri. Apr. 3Detroit Pistons119-115 (OT)Boston Garden55-20
76Sun. Apr. 5@ Philadelphia 76ers104-106 (OT)The Spectrum55-21
77Tue. Apr. 7@ Cleveland Cavaliers83-107Richfield Coliseum55-22
78Fri. Apr. 10@ New Jersey Nets108-117Brendan Byrne Arena55-23
79Sun. Apr. 12New York Knicks119-107Boston Garden56-23
80Wed. Apr. 15@ Indiana Pacers108-85Market Square Arena57-23
81Fri. Apr. 17Chicago Bulls108-105Boston Garden58-23
82Sun. Apr. 19Atlanta Hawks118-107Boston Garden59-23
1986-87 Schedule

Roster

1986–87 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
SG 44 Ainge, Danny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959-03-17 BYU
SF 33 Bird, Larry (C) 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
SF 20 Daye, Darren 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960-11-30 UCLA
SG 43 Henry, Conner 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963-07-21 UC Santa Barbara
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 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953-08-30 Centenary
PF 31 Roberts, Fred 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1960-08-10 BYU
PG 12 Sichting, Jerry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1956-11-29 Purdue
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
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
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Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Scoring Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Larry Bird7468256613570207628.1
Kevin McHale7776319838172200826.1
Robert Parish8085117364144140317.5
Dennis Johnson792615948738106213.4
Danny Ainge7124240010114105314.8
Jerry Sichting78911874014485.7
Fred Roberts731906222204025.5
Darren Daye61124752572363.9
Sam Vincent4627591311713.7
Greg Kite741692717461231.7
Conner Henry36272761982.7
Rick Carlisle42303580801.9
Bill Walton10319110282.8
David Thirdkill1719220251.5
Scott Wedman69622203.3
Andre Turner3210041.3

Playoffs

1987 playoff game log
First round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 23 Chicago W 108–104 Kevin McHale (21) Robert Parish (11) Larry Bird (13) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–0
2 April 26 Chicago W 105–96 Larry Bird (29) McHale, Parish (10) Larry Bird (8) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–0
3 April 28 @ Chicago W 105–94 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (14) Dennis Johnson (10) Chicago Stadium
18,122		 3–0
Conference Semi-finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 5 Milwaukee W 111–98 Larry Bird (40) Robert Parish (12) Bird, Johnson (7) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–0
2 May 6 Milwaukee W 126–124 Bird, Ainge (30) Larry Bird (10) Dennis Johnson (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–0
3 May 8 @ Milwaukee L 121–126 (OT) Dennis Johnson (32) Robert Parish (16) Dennis Johnson (14) MECCA Arena
11,052		 2–1
4 May 10 @ Milwaukee W 138–137 (2OT) Larry Bird (42) Kevin McHale (11) Dennis Johnson (12) MECCA Arena
11,052		 3–1
5 May 13 Milwaukee L 124–129 Robert Parish (30) Robert Parish (16) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890		 3–2
6 May 15 @ Milwaukee L 111–121 Dennis Johnson (25) Kevin McHale (16) Dennis Johnson (14) MECCA Arena
11,052		 3–3
7 May 17 Milwaukee W 119–113 Larry Bird (31) Robert Parish (19) Dennis Johnson (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 4–3
Conference finals: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 19 Detroit W 104–91 Robert Parish (31) Larry Bird (16) Larry Bird (11) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–0
2 May 21 Detroit W 110–101 Larry Bird (31) Bird, Parish (9) Larry Bird (12) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–0
3 May 23 @ Detroit L 104–122 Sam Vincent (18) Larry Bird (11) Dennis Johnson (8) Pontiac Silverdome
23,525		 2–1
4 May 24 @ Detroit L 119–145 Sam Vincent (18) Kevin McHale (9) Sam Vincent (7) Pontiac Silverdome
27,387		 2–2
5 May 26 Detroit W 108–107 Larry Bird (36) Larry Bird (12) Larry Bird (9) Boston Garden
14,890		 3–2
6 May 28 @ Detroit L 105–113 Larry Bird (35) Kevin McHale (12) Dennis Johnson (11) Pontiac Silverdome
28,383		 3–3
7 May 30 Detroit W 117–114 Larry Bird (37) Robert Parish (11) Dennis Johnson (11) Boston Garden
14,890		 4–3
NBA Finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 June 2 @ L.A. Lakers L 113–126 Larry Bird (32) Larry Bird (7) Dennis Johnson (13) The Forum
17,505		 0–1
2 June 4 @ L.A. Lakers L 122–141 Larry Bird (23) Robert Parish (14) Dennis Johnson (9) The Forum
17,505		 0–2
3 June 7 L.A. Lakers W 109–103 Larry Bird (30) Larry Bird (12) Ainge, McHale (5) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–2
4 June 9 L.A. Lakers L 106–107 Kevin McHale (25) Kevin McHale (13) Dennis Johnson (14) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–3
5 June 11 L.A. Lakers W 123–108 Dennis Johnson (25) Kevin McHale (14) Dennis Johnson (11) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–3
6 June 14 @ L.A. Lakers L 93–106 Dennis Johnson (33) Johnson, McHale (10) Danny Ainge (6) The Forum
17,505		 2–4
1987 schedule

Award winners

  • Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
  • Kevin McHale, All-NBA First Team
  • Kevin McHale, All-NBA Defensive First Team

References

  1. ↑ "All-American Basketball Star, Celtic Choice, Dies Suddenly". The New York Times. June 20, 1986.
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