III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 376 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Received 

OCTOBER 2 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Congratulating the 2007–2008 National Basketball Association World Champions, the Boston Celtics, on an outstanding and historic season. 

Whereas the Boston Celtics are one of the most successful 

and respected franchises in the history of professional 

sports; 

Whereas prior to the 2007–2008 season, the Celtics had won 

16 National Basketball Association (NBA) championships, more than any other team in NBA history, with 

a cast of players that, over the years, has 


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included Hall of Famers such as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, 

Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, JoJo 

White, and other Celtic stars, whose accomplishments 

were captured from ‘‘high above courtside’’ by legendary 

Celtics sportscaster Johnny Most; 

Whereas the Celtics’ unmatched record of achievement on the 

basketball court has been further enhanced by the team’s 

creation of an organizational culture, known as ‘‘Celtic 

Pride’’, based on the values of teamwork, tenacity, and 

loyalty, which was developed and encouraged by the legendary, late Celtics’ head coach and team executive, Arnold ‘‘Red’’ Auerbach; 

Whereas the Celtics’ performance last season, in which the 

team finished with a record of 24–58, losing 18 games 

in a row at one point during the season, was a stark departure from the team’s historically high caliber of play; 

Whereas in the off-season, the Celtics’ Executive Director of 

Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, with the support of 

the team’s owners, responded quickly and aggressively to 

the disappointing season and acquired 2 NBA all-stars, 

power forward Kevin Garnett and guard Ray Allen; 

Whereas Garnett and Allen joined Celtics’ all-star forward 

Paul Pierce and formed a ‘‘Big Three’’ of outstanding 

players reminiscent of the ‘‘Big Three’’ of past Celtic 

greats Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, 

who led the Celtics to NBA championships in the 1980s; 

Whereas the combination of Garnett, Allen, and Pierce immediately sparked the most dramatic turnaround in NBA 

history, as the Celtics started the 2007–2008 season with 

an 8–0 record and kept the momentum throughout the 

season, achieving records of 20–2 and 40–9; 


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Whereas the Celtics finished the regular season with a 

league-best record of 66–16; 

Whereas the Celtics entered the NBA playoffs with home 

court advantage as a result of the team’s regular season 

performance and defeated the Atlanta Hawks in the 

Eastern Conference quarterfinals in 7 games; 

Whereas the Celtics then faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 

Eastern Conference semifinals, winning in 7 games, with 

team captain Paul Pierce scoring 41 points in a 97–92 

victory in the deciding game; 

Whereas the Celtics squared off against the Detroit Pistons 

in the Eastern Conference finals, clinching the series in 

6 games, thanks to the outstanding plays of Paul Pierce, 

James Posey, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo; 

Whereas the Celtics matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers in 

the NBA finals represented a battle of league titans, as 

the Celtics–Lakers rivalry spans decades, and either the 

Celtics or the Lakers have won half of the NBA’s 62 

championships; 

Whereas the Celtics won the first 2 games of the finals in 

Boston, including a hard-fought Game 2 during which 

Leon Powe, the Celtics’ second-year power forward, 

scored 21 points in 15 minutes off the bench, propelling 

the Celtics to a 108–102 victory; 

Whereas although the Celtics lost Game 3 in Los Angeles by 

a score of 87–81, the team overcame a 20-point deficit 

in the third quarter of Game 4 to record one of the 

greatest comebacks in NBA finals history, powered by active team defense and a tremendous performance by Celtics’ guard Ray Allen, who played all 48 minutes of the 

game on the way to a 97–91 Celtics victory; 


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Whereas although the Celtics were unable to defeat the 

Lakers in Game 5 despite a rally that fell just short, the 

Celtics responded by clinching a record 17th NBA championship in Game 6 on June 17, 2008, winning on the 

team’s home court in Boston on the storied parquet floor 

now graced with Red Auerbach’s signature by a score of 

131–92, a 39-point margin that is the largest gap ever 

for an NBA finals closeout game; 

Whereas the Celtics’ revival from a last place finish in the 

Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division last season to a 

record 17th NBA Championship this season is the greatest single-season turnaround in NBA history; 

Whereas in addition to the contributions of superstars Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, the strong, sustained efforts of 

the entire Celtics team, including Kendrick Perkins and 

a bench of tenacious and talented players such as Eddie 

House, James Posey, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Tony 

Allen, Glen Davis, and Brian Scalabrine enabled the Celtics to return to the glory that has marked much of the 

franchise’s history; 

Whereas Celtics owners Wyc Grousbeck, Steve Pagliuca, H. 

Irving Grousbeck, and Bob Epstein, along with Executive 

Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge, Head 

Coach Doc Rivers, and the entire Celtics roster and 

coaching staff have earned a special place in Boston 

sports history; and 

Whereas the Celtics have joined with the Boston Red Sox and 

New England Patriots to transform Boston from 

‘‘Beantown’’ to ‘‘Titletown’’, as the 3 teams have won a 

combined 6 championships in 6 years: Now, therefore, be 

it 


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1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) the 2007–2008 National Basketball Asso4 ciation (NBA) World Champions, the Boston Celtics, 

5 are to be congratulated for an outstanding and his6 toric season; 

7 (2) the Celtics, in winning a record 17th NBA 

8 World Championship, capped a remarkable, unprece9 dented single-season turnaround that captivated bas10 ketball fans across America and around the world; 

11 and 

12 (3) the hustle, team defense, and overall unself13 ish play of the 2007–2008 Celtics are emblematic of 

14 the ‘‘Celtic Pride’’ tradition that has been a hall15 mark of the franchise for more than half a century, 

16 and serves as a model for coaches and players every17 where. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 27, 

2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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