Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Boston Celtics.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Boston made history by winning their 18^th NBA Championship, giving them the sole lead.  Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics from beginning to end, giving us some significant list jumps, though no new entrants.  That will likely change next year.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Bill Russell
2. Larry Bird
3. John Havlicek
4. Bob Cousy
5. Paul Pierce

You can find the entire list here.

Jayson Tatum, who added another First Team All-NBA, moved from #15 to #12.

Al Horford inched up three spots to #19.

Jaylen Brown, who won the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals MVP vaulted to #21 from #27.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Boston Celtics.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Boston made it to their second Eastern Conference Final, and they are legit contenders to make it there again.  There were some significant jumps on the list based on last season.

As always, we present our top five, which was not affected by the last season:

1. Bill Russell

2. Larry Bird

3. John Havlicek

4. Bob Cousy

5. Paul Pierce

You can find the entire list here.

Jayson Tatum only went up two spots to #15, despite a second consecutive First Team All-NBA, but that is more due to the incredible players the franchise has had. 

Veteran Center, Al Horford, went up two spots to #22.

Jaylen Brown, who was named a Third Team All-NBA player last year, advanced five spots to #27.

Marcus Smart, who is now with Memphis did not jump from #29.  This is not a reflection on Smart’s season, but more of a commentary on how loaded this list is and how hard it is to jump.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

A member of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the entirety of his Major League career, Bill Russell began his Major League career in the Outfield, but it was when he took over for Maury Wills at Shortstop in 1972 that his value became apparent.

Russell remained L.A.’s starting Shortstop for well over a decade, and defensively he was in the upper class.  He led the NL in Defensive bWAR in 1973, and four other times was in the top ten.  Russell also led the NL in Assists in '73, with three additional years seeing him finish third.

Russell had limited power with his bat, but he collected 1,926 Hits over his career with a respectable .263 Batting Average.  A three-time All-Star, Russell was a key figure in the Dodgers' 1981 World Series win.

A legend has died.

Bill Russell, 

After his great career at the University of San Francisco where he took them to two NCAA Championships, Boston Celtics Head Coach, Red Auerbach engineered a draft-day trade to get him.  He gave up Cliff Hagen, who hadn't yet suited up for Boston as he was performing his military duty, which at the time seemed like a lot to get a Center who preferred defense first.  With all due respect to Hagen, who turned out to be a pretty good player, it turned out to be a steal.

Bill Russell is without question the greatest defensive player of all-time, he is also considered by many to be the BEST ever basketball player period!  Russell was the literal centerpiece that the Celtics dynasty was built around and his ability to run the floor and block shots out of nowhere transformed the game.  Other than his rookie season, he was named to the All-Star Game, and the only reason he was snubbed is that he arrived late that year due to his U.S. Olympic commitment.  He may not have been a great scorer, but 15.1 Points per Game is nothing to sneeze at, especially when it is complemented by that sick 22.5 Rebounds per Game Average.

Now while it can be argued that Russell was only a three-time First Team All-NBA Selection because of Wilt Chamberlain, many look back and think many more should have gone to Big Bill.  It was Russell who made his teammates better, it was Russell who won the titles, and it was Russell who wanted it more.

When it was all said and done, Bill Russell retired as an 11-time champion, five-time rebounding champion and a five-time MVP.  The more important the game, the better he was, and there is no more deserving man for the NBA Finals MVP to be named after. 

Russell later became the first African-American Head Coach in the NBA when he took over in 1969, and his off-the-court philanthropy and demeanor matched his on-the-court skills.

He would later enter the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach, and was also chosen for the College Basketball Hall of Fame and FIBA Hall of Fame.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Bill Russell.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021-22 revision of our top 50 Boston Celtics.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NBA. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Please note, that this is our first revision in three years, and despite the legends who have suited up in Boston green, we have four new entries and one slight elevation.

As always, we present our top five immediately, though nothing has changed in this upper-tier.

1. Bill Russell

2. Larry Bird

3. John Havlicek

4. Bob Cousy

5. Paul Pierce

You can find the entire list here.

Jayson Tatum, a two-time All-Star and a Third Team All-NBA Selection last year enters at #30.  

Jaylen Brown, an All-Star last year, comes in at #37.

Two players who are now no longer Celtics, Daniel Theis and Kemba Walker, debut at #46 and #49 respectively.

Marcus Smart moved up from #38 to #35.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Boston Celtics. 

Founded in 1946, the Boston Celtics are one of the original teams of the National Basketball Association, and one of the most successful.  Under the early guidance of Red Auerbach, and the on-court presence of Bill Russell and Bob Cousy, the Celtics became the first dynasty in the league.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NBA.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2018-19 Season.

The complete list can be found here, but as always we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Bill Russell

2. Larry Bird

3. John Havlicek

4. Bob Cousy

5. Paul Pierce

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

Look for or All-Time Top 50 Indiana Pacers coming next!

As always we thank you for your support.

Despite the high amount of Hall of Famers that the Boston Celtics had and how many championships that they won; you would think that there would be a glut of top considerations for the spot of the best of Celtic of all-time.

In a tweet, he said that “in ’75 I refused to be the 1^stblack player to go into” the hall as he “felt others before me should have that honor.”  He referenced Chuck Cooper in that tweet, who was chosen earlier this year.  Cooper was the first African-American to play in the NBA in 1950.

Russell mentioned that he received the ring in a private ceremony, which was attended by his wife and close friends, which included Alonzo Mourning and Bill Walton.  

Walton was an 11-time NBA Champion with the Boston Celtics, a two-time NCAA Champion with the University of San Francisco and an Olympic Gold Medalist with the United States.  He was a five-time MVP, eleven-time All-NBA selection and twelve-time All-Star.

Suddenly, the Basketball Hall of Fame seems so much more relevant.