1983–84 Boston Celtics season

The 1983–84 Boston Celtics were champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA) led by regular season and finals MVP Larry Bird.

1983–84 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachK. C. Jones
General managerRed Auerbach
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record62–20 (.756)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Lakers 4–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionSportsChannel New England, WBZ, WTXX
RadioWRKO, WTIC

In the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Washington Bullets in the First Round in three games, defeated the New York Knicks in the Semifinals in seven games, and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Finals in five games, advancing to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Celtics faced their long time rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, the first time the two teams faced off against each other since 1969 in which the Celtics won 4–3, and the first time the two teams met in the Finals in the 1980s. The Celtics would go on to defeat the Lakers in seven games, winning their fifteenth NBA championship, and extending their NBA Finals victories over the Lakers to 8.

Offseason

NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 21 Greg Kite Center  United States BYU

Roster
Roster listing
Boston Celtics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 44 Ainge, Danny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) BYU
F 33 Bird, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Indiana State
G 28 Buckner, Quinn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Indiana
F 30 Carr, M. L. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Guilford
G 40 Clark, Carlos 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Mississippi
G 43 Henderson, Gerald 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Virginia Commonwealth
G 3 Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Pepperdine
C 50 Kite, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) BYU
F 31 Maxwell, Cedric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Charlotte
F 32 McHale, Kevin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Minnesota
C 00 Parish, Robert 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Centenary College of Louisiana
F 20 Wedman, Scott 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Colorado
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 6220.756–33–829–1213–11
x-Philadelphia 76ers 5230.6341032–920–2115–9
x-New York Knicks 4735.5731529–1218–2312–12
x-New Jersey Nets 4537.5491729–1216–2512–12
x-Washington Bullets 3547.4272725–1610–318–16
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics6220.756–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks5032.61012
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers5230.63410
4 x-Detroit Pistons4933.59813
5 x-New York Knicks4735.57315
6 x-New Jersey Nets4537.54917
7 x-Atlanta Hawks4042.48822
8 x-Washington Bullets3547.42727
9 Cleveland Cavaliers2854.34134
10 Chicago Bulls2755.32935
11 Indiana Pacers2656.31736
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1983-84 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —0–54–23–31–10–22–41–11–14–20–20–23–33–34–15–11–10–21–11–11–11–14–2
Boston 5–0—5–06–02–02–04–22–01–15–12–00–25–14–23–32–42–02–02–01–12–01–14–2
Chicago 2–40–5—2–41–10–21–52–00–23–31–10–22–42–42–42–31–12–00–21–10–21–12–4
Cleveland 3–30–64–2—1–10–21–51–11–12–40–20–21–52–31–52–41–11–11–11–11–10–24–1
Dallas 1–10–21–11–1—4–20–24–14–22–03–33–20–21–10–21–13–22–34–24–11–44–20–2
Denver 2–00–22–02–02–4—1–12–34–20–24–21–41–11–11–11–12–31–43–33–22–33–30–2
Detroit 4–22–45–15–12–01–1—1–11–14–21–11–13–21–44–23–32–01–11–12–01–11–13–3
Golden State 1–10–20–21–11–43–21–1—2–32–04–13–30–21–11–11–11–52–43–23–34–21–42–0
Houston 1–11–12–01–12–42–41–13–2—1–12–41–41–10–20–20–22–31–42–42–33–21–50–2
Indiana 2–41–53–34–20–22–02–40–21–1—0–21–11–51–52–40–51–11–10–21–11–11–11–4
Kansas City 2–00–21–12–03–32–41–11–44–22–0—0–50–22–00–20–22–32–35–13–21–43–32–0
Los Angeles 2–02–02–02–02–34–11–13–34–11–15–0—2–01–10–21–13–35–12–34–23–34–11–1
Milwaukee 3–31–54–25–12–01–12–32–01–15–12–00–2—4–24–12–42–01–11–11–11–11–15–1
New Jersey 3–32–44–23–21–11–14–11–12–05–10–21–12–4—3–33–32–00–20–22–01–11–14–2
New York 1–43–34–15–12–01–12–41–12–04–22–02–01–43–3—2–41–10–22–02–01–12–04–2
Philadelphia 1–54–23–24–21–11–13–31–12–05–02–01–14–23–34–2—1–11–12–02–01–12–04–2
Phoenix 1–10–21–11–12–33–20–25–13–21–13–23–30–20–21–11–1—2–45–04–22–41–42–0
Portland 2–00–20–21–13–24–11–14–24–11–13–21–51–12–02–01–14–2—4–14–24–21–41–1
San Antonio 1–10–22–01–12–43–31–12–34–22–01–53–21–12–00–20–20–51–4—4–12–34–21–1
San Diego 1–11–11–11–11–42–30–23–33–21–12–32–41–10–20–20–22–42–41–4—3–32–31–1
Seattle 1–10–22–01–14–13–21–12–42–31–14–13–31–11–11–11–14–22–43–23–3—1–41–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–02–43–31–14–15–11–13–31–41–11–10–20–24–14–12–43–24–1—1–1
Washington 2–42–44–21–42–02–03–30–22–04–10–21–11–52–42–42–40–21–11–11–11–11–1—

Game log

Regular season
1983–84 game log: 62–20 (Home: 33–8; Road: 29–12)
October: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
November: 11–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 4–3)
December: 12–3 (Home: 5–2; Road: 7–1)
January: 11–1 (Home: 6–0; Road: 5–1)
February: 8–6 (Home: 4–3; Road: 4–3)
March: 13–4 (Home: 7–2; Road: 6–2)
April: 6–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 2–1)
1984 regular season schedule

Playoffs
1984 playoff game log: 15–8 (Home: 12–1; Road: 3–7)
Eastern Conference First round: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 4–0; Road: 0–3)
Eastern Conference Finals: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
NBA Finals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
1984 playoff schedule

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 Bird7979652014469190824.2
Robert Parish8085713955116152019.0
Kevin McHale8261010423126151118.4
Dennis Johnson802803389357105313.2
Cedric Maxwell80461205632495511.9
Gerald Henderson781473001171490811.6
Danny Ainge711161624143845.4
Scott Wedman68139672773274.8
Quinn Buckner791372148433244.1
M.L. Carr6075491741853.1
Greg Kite3562715651.9
Carlos Clark31171781541.7

Playoffs

Eastern Conference First Round

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) Washington Bullets: Celtics win series 3-1

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 17): Boston 91, Washington 83
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 19): Boston 88, Washington 85
  • Game 3 @ Capital Centre, Landover (April 21): Washington 111, Boston 108 (OT)
  • Game 4 @ Capital Centre, Landover (April 24): Boston 99, Washington 96

Last Playoff Meeting: 1982 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Boston won 4-1)

Boston defeats the Washington Bullets three games to one (3-1) in a best of five series.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (5) New York Knicks: Celtics win series 4-3

Last Playoff Meeting: 1974 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston won 4-3)

Boston defeats the New York Knicks four games to three (4-3) in a best of seven series.

Eastern Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Milwaukee Bucks: Celtics win series 4-1

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 15): Boston 119, Milwaukee 96
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 17): Boston 125, Milwaukee 100
  • Game 3 @ The MECCA, Milwaukee (May 19): Boston 109, Milwaukee 100
  • Game 4 @ The MECCA, Milwaukee (May 21): Milwaukee 122, Boston 113
  • Game 5 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 23): Boston 115, Milwaukee 108 (Bob Lanier's final NBA game)

Last Playoff Meeting: 1983 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Milwaukee won 4-0)

Boston defeats the Milwaukee Bucks four games to one (4-1) in a best of seven series.

NBA Finals
Main article: 1984 NBA Finals

(E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) Los Angeles Lakers: Celtics win series 4-3

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 27): Los Angeles 115, Boston 109
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 31)*: Boston 124, Los Angeles 121 (OT; Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass and made a layup to tie the game with 13 seconds left and eventually force OT)
  • Game 3 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 3): Los Angeles 137, Boston 104 (Magic Johnson gives out a Finals record 21 assists)
  • Game 4 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 6): Boston 129, Los Angeles 125 (OT; Kevin McHale clotheslined Kurt Rambis; Larry Bird hits the clutch jumper over Magic with 16 seconds left in OT; M. L. Carr steals James Worthy's inbound pass and dunks it with 6 seconds left in OT)
  • Game 5 @ Boston Garden, Boston (June 8): Boston 121, Los Angeles 103 (The Heat Game)
  • Game 6 @ The Forum, Los Angeles (June 10): Los Angeles 119, Boston 108
  • Game 7 @ Boston Garden, Boston (June 12): Boston 111, Los Angeles 102

Last Playoff Meeting: 1969 NBA Finals (Boston won 4-3)

Game One

The Lakers opened the series with a 115-109 victory at Boston Garden.

Game Two

In Game 2, the Lakers led 113-111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup and the Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124-121.

Game Three

In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists. After the game, Larry Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates.

Game Four

In Game 4, the Lakers had a five-point lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's takedown of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would go after Larry Bird later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter.

Game Five

In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead as Larry Bird scored 34 points. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97-degree heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. The Celtics did not warm up with their sweat pants on because of extreme heat, and oxygen tanks were provided to give air to exhausted players.

Game Six

In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. In the game the Lakers answered the Celtics' rough tactics when Laker forward James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war."

Game Seven

In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not so bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91 degrees during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). The Celtics were led by Cedric Maxwell who had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as they came away with a 111-102 victory. In the game the Lakers rallied from a 14-point-deficit to three with one minute remaining when Cedric Maxwell knocked the ball away from Magic Johnson. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. Larry Bird was named MVP of the series.

The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time.

Award winners
  • Larry Bird, NBA Free Throw Percentage Leader (88.8%)
  • Larry Bird, NBA Most Valuable Player
  • Larry Bird, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
  • Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
  • Kevin McHale, Sixth Man of the Year Award

References
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