IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 376 
Congratulating the 2007–2008 National Basketball Association World 
Champions, the Boston Celtics, on an outstanding and historic season. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2008 
Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. NEAL of Massachu-
setts, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. OLVER, Mr. 
DELAHUNT, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. TIERNEY, and Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois) 
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Congratulating the 2007–2008 National Basketball Associa-
tion World Champions, the Boston Celtics, on an out-
standing 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) champion-
ships, more than any other team in NBA history, with 
a cast of players that, over the years, has 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 
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•HCON 376 IH 
from ‘‘high above courtside’’ by legendary Celtics sports-
caster 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; 
Whereas the Celtics finished the regular season with a 
league-best record of 66–16; 
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•HCON 376 IH 
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; 
Whereas although the Celtics were unable to defeat the 
Lakers in Game 5 despite a rally that fell just short, the 
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