1985–86 Boston Celtics season
The 1985–86 Boston Celtics season was the 40th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They finished with the best record in the league at 67–15, including a 40–1 record at home (37–1 at the Boston Garden, 3–0 at the Hartford Civic Center). Those 40 home wins set an NBA record which would only be matched by the San Antonio Spurs in 2016. Widely regarded among the greatest teams in NBA history, their 67 total wins were one win shy of tying their franchise record of 68 wins set in 1972–73, and  tied for seventh all-time for total wins by a team in a single season. The Celtics were coming off of an NBA Finals loss in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers, marking the first instance the Celtics were defeated by the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Larry Bird won his third consecutive MVP award and Bill Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year Award. The team was anchored by the "Big Three" frontcourt of Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, which is frequently ranked among the best frontcourts in NBA history. In the playoffs, the Celtics swept  the Chicago Bulls in three games in the First Round, then defeated the Atlanta Hawks in five games in the Semi-finals, before sweeping the Milwaukee Bucks in four games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a third consecutive season. In the NBA Finals, the Celtics faced off against the Houston Rockets in a rematch of the 1981 NBA Finals, which the Celtics won in six games. The Celtics would go on to win their 16th championship and the last for 22 years, defeating the Houston Rockets in six games in the NBA Finals, and had  won 82 combined regular season and playoff games, a record that stood until the Chicago Bulls racked up 87 combined wins en route to a title (the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors broke that record with 88 combined wins). NBA Draft. The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA Draft of the "Lottery" era. The lottery was put into place so teams could not intentionally lose games to receive the number one pick. Season Synopsis. The Celtics were coming from a 6-game NBA Finals series against their arch-rival the Los  Angeles Lakers. They ended with a record 63-19 during the regular season, a league-best record, earning home court advantage throughout the playoffs. November. They started their 1985–86 season campaign with a 109-113 OT loss to the New Jersey Nets, despite a near quadruple-double performance from Larry Bird who recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 steals for the Celtics. The next day, Kevin McHale's 26 points and 15 rebounds led the Celtics towards a 105-100 road win over the Cavaliers. Four days later, the Celtics defeated the visiting Bucks, 117–106, with Bird , McHale, Parish and Johnson, all scoring at least 20 points. They ended the month of November with a 2–1 record. Player stats. "Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average" Playoffs. Following the conclusion of the 1986 NBA Finals, a video documentary of the 1986 NBA season, known as "Sweet Sixteen", was released. David Perry was the narrator after Dick Stockton had narrated the last three NBA season documentaries.