•HCON 376 EH 
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 leg-
endary, late Celtics’ head coach and team executive, Ar-
nold ‘‘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 de-
parture 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 imme-
diately 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;
•HCON 376 EH 
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 ac-
tive team defense and a tremendous performance by Celt-
ics’ guard Ray Allen, who played all 48 minutes of the 
game on the way to a 97–91 Celtics victory;
•HCON 376 EH 
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 cham-
pionship 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 great-
est single-season turnaround in NBA history; 
Whereas in addition to the contributions of superstars Gar-
nett, 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 Celt-
ics 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
•HCON 376 EH 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the 2007–2008 National Basketball Asso-
ciation (NBA) World Champions, the Boston Celtics, 
are to be congratulated for an outstanding and his-
toric season; 
(2) the Celtics, in winning a record 17th NBA 
World Championship, capped a remarkable, unprece-
dented single-season turnaround that captivated bas-
ketball fans across America and around the world; 
and 
(3) the hustle, team defense, and overall unself-
ish play of the 2007–2008 Celtics are emblematic of 
the ‘‘Celtic Pride’’ tradition that has been a hall-
mark of the franchise for more than half a century, 
and serves as a model for coaches and players every-
where. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 27, 
2008. 
Attest: 
Clerk.
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 376 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Congratulating the 2007–2008 National Basketball 
Association World Champions, the Boston Celt-
ics, on an outstanding and historic season.