# 1964–65 Boston Celtics season

The 1964–65 NBA season was the Celtics' 19th season in the NBA. The Celtics finished the season by winning their eighth NBA Championship, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. In 1996, the team was named one of the 10 greatest teams in NBA history. In addition five players were inducted into the Hall of Fame - K. C. Jones, Sam Jones, Tom Heinsohn, Bill Russell, and John Havlicek. Sam Jones, Havlicek, and Russell were selected as among the NBA's 50 greatest players. Both Red Auerbach and John Thompson were elected into the Hall of Fame as coaches.
This season is best noted for Havlicek's heroic "steal" of the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Division final, immortalized in a commentary by Johnny Most where he exclaims that "Havlicek stole the ball." This is considered one of the greatest NBA moments, and its importance over time was overshadowed by the subsequent finals between the Celtics and Lakers (of which there were many played in that era). Despite this, HoopsHype would rank this squad as the team with the tenth-easiest route to the NBA Finals championship in 2024 due to the record that the 76ers had at the time they met in the Playoffs.

## Offseason
### NBA draft

The 1965 NBA draft took place on May 4, 1964.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
| 1 | 7 | Mel Counts | Center / Forward | United States | Oregon State |
| 2 | 16 | Ron Bonham | Forward | United States | Cincinnati |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Eastern Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| x-Boston Celtics | 62 | 18 | .775 | – | 27–3 | 27–11 | 8–4 | 20–10 |
| x-Cincinnati Royals | 48 | 32 | .600 | 14 | 25–7 | 17–21 | 6–4 | 16–14 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 40 | 40 | .500 | 22 | 13–12 | 9–21 | 18–7 | 14–16 |
| New York Knicks | 31 | 49 | .388 | 31 | 15–20 | 9–21 | 7–8 | 10–20 |

### Record vs. opponents

1964-65 NBA Records :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CIN | DET | LAL | NYK | PHI | SFW | STL |
| Baltimore | — | 3–7 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 2–8 | 4–6 | 7–3 | 5–5 |
| Boston | 7–3 | — | 8–2 | 10–0 | 7–3 | 7–3 | 5–5 | 9–1 | 9–1 |
| Cincinnati | 4–6 | 2–8 | — | 6–4 | 6–4 | 8–2 | 6–4 | 8–2 | 8–2 |
| Detroit | 4–6 | 0–10 | 4–6 | — | 3–7 | 5–5 | 4–6 | 8–2 | 3–7 |
| Los Angeles | 6–4 | 3–7 | 4–6 | 7–3 | — | 10–0 | 7–3 | 8–2 | 4–6 |
| New York | 8–2 | 3–7 | 2–8 | 5–5 | 0–10 | — | 5–5 | 7–3 | 1–9 |
| Philadelphia | 6–4 | 5–5 | 4–6 | 6–4 | 3–7 | 5–5 | — | 6–4 | 5–5 |
| San Francisco | 3–7 | 1–9 | 2–8 | 2–8 | 2–8 | 3–7 | 4–6 | — | 0–10 |
| St. Louis | 5–5 | 1–9 | 2–8 | 7–3 | 6–4 | 9–1 | 5–5 | 10–0 | — |

### Game log
## Playoffs

1965 playoff game log :
Division Finals: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 4
Philadelphia
W 108–98
Tom Heinsohn (23)
Bill Russell (32)
Bill Russell (6)
Boston Garden 13,909
1–0
2
April 6
@ Philadelphia
L 103–109
Sam Jones (40)
Bill Russell (16)
Bill Russell (5)
Municipal Auditorium 9,790
1–1
3
April 8
Philadelphia
W 112–94
S. Jones, Havlicek (24)
Bill Russell (26)
Bill Russell (8)
Boston Garden 13,909
2–1
4
April 9
@ Philadelphia
L 131–134 (OT)
Sam Jones (36)
Bill Russell (25)
K. C. Jones (10)
Municipal Auditorium 9,294
2–2
5
April 11
Philadelphia
W 114–108
Sam Jones (29)
Bill Russell (28)
K. C. Jones (9)
Boston Garden 13,909
3–2
6
April 13
@ Philadelphia
L 106–112
Tom Sanders (25)
Bill Russell (21)
Russell, K. C. Jones (5)
Municipal Auditorium 11,182
3–3
7
April 15
Philadelphia
W 110–109
Sam Jones (37)
Bill Russell (8)
K. C. Jones (10)
Boston Garden 13,909
4–3 :
NBA Finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 18
Los Angeles
W 142–110
Sam Jones (25)
Bill Russell (28)
K. C. Jones (8)
Boston Garden 13,909
1–0
2
April 19
Los Angeles
W 129–123
John Havlicek (24)
Bill Russell (25)
Bill Russell (10)
Boston Garden 13,909
2–0
3
April 21
@ Los Angeles
L 105–126
Sam Jones (35)
Bill Russell (19)
Larry Siegfried (5)
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 14,243
2–1
4
April 23
@ Los Angeles
W 112–99
Sam Jones (37)
Bill Russell (23)
Russell, K. C. Jones (5)
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 15,217
3–1
5
April 25
Los Angeles
W 129–96
S. Jones, Russell (22)
Bill Russell (30)
K. C. Jones (9)
Boston Garden 13,909
4–1 :
1965 schedule :

## Awards and honors

* Bill Russell, NBA Most Valuable Player Award
* Red Auerbach, NBA Coach of the Year Award
* Bill Russell, All-NBA First Team
* Sam Jones, All-NBA Second Team