1997–98 Boston Celtics season
The 1997–98 NBA season was the 52nd season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. In the 1997 NBA draft, the Celtics selected Chauncey Billups from the University of Colorado with the third overall pick, and selected Ron Mercer from the University of Kentucky with the sixth pick. Billups only spent half of his rookie season in Boston, and was traded along with Dee Brown to the Toronto Raptors for Kenny Anderson at midseason. In the off-season, the team acquired second-year forward Walter McCarty from the New York Knicks, and signed free  agents Travis Knight, Andrew DeClercq and Bruce Bowen. Despite finishing with the NBA's second worst record in 1996–97, the Celtics were back in the headlines after hiring University of Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino as their new coach. Pitino's Celtics career had an auspicious beginning on opening night when the Celtics upset Michael Jordan, and the 5-time defending NBA Champion Chicago Bulls, 92–85 at the FleetCenter on October 31. After a 1–5 start to the season, the Celtics held a 16–14 record as of January 3, but then lost eight of their next nine games, and later  posted a six-game losing streak in March. Although the Celtics did not make the playoffs, they improved their win total by 21 games from the previous season, finishing sixth in the Atlantic Division with a 36–46 record. Second-year star Antoine Walker averaged 22.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and was selected for the 1998 NBA All-Star Game, while Mercer averaged 15.3 points and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. In addition, McCarty provided the team with 9.6 points and 1.3 steals per game, and Dana Barros  contributed 9.8 points and 3.6 assists per game off the bench. Following the season, Knight was traded back to the Los Angeles Lakers.