There are no teams in the history of the NBA to have more titles than the Boston Celtics — at least not yet — so it makes sense there are no other franchises with more retired numbers to honor the players over the decades who earned and hung those banners.
In fact, there are no teams in any sport with more retired jersey numbers at 24 overall, a reflection of the excellence behind the Celtics mystique built by franchise architect Red Auerbach. From his signing with the team as coach and general manager onward, Boston became one of the premier teams of the greatest basketball league on the planet.
But who were the players for which those jerseys were retired? Let’s take a look at them all as of Oct. 2022.
Before he was a Boston Celtic, a baby-faced Jayson Tatum wowed fans at Peach Jam https://t.co/xuBTRok2oi
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) October 2, 2022
LOSCY - Jim Loscutoff - 1955-64
Loscutoff was with Boston for seven titles in his tenure with the Celtics and asked his name be retired instead of his jersey.
00 - Robert Parish - 1980-94
While ‘only’ with the Celtics for three titles, Chief (as he is called) was part of the bedrock of the last great era of Celtics history before their most recent title, the anchor of one of the greatest frontcourts in history.
35 - Reggie Lewis - 1987-93
The lone Celtic with a retired number who didn’t win a title, Lewis is honored for a promise unfulfilled after his untimely death due to heart failure; by all accounts his early accolades had him headed for greatness before his loss.
34 - Paul Pierce - 1998-2013
Though Pierce won one title with Boston, he carried the club through its “wilderness era” after the end of the so-called original big three of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, hanging Banner 17 with a new big three of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
33 - Larry Bird - 1979-92
Widely regarded as one of the best to play the game for any team, Bird led the Celtics to three titles in a decade dominated by their rival Los Angeles Lakers — and perhaps would have been in the running for more if a bad back hadn’t cut his career short.
32 - Kevin McHale - 1980-93
Starting as the ultimate sixth man off the bench behind teammate Cedric Maxwell and finishing a three-time champ regarded as one of the greatest power forwards of all time, the Minnesota product’s jersey belongs among his fellow Celtic greats.
31 - Cedric Maxwell - 1977-85
A two-time champ with Boston, Maxwell is perhaps best known for putting the team on his back in the run to the 1984 championship — and won Finals Most Valuable Player in 1981.
25 - KC Jones - 1957-67
Part of the catalyst of players who sparked the Celtics’ run of titles stretching from the late 1950s to the late 1960s, he won a ring for all but one of his nine seasons in the league.25 – KC Jones – 1957-67
24 - Sam Jones - 1957-69
Another from that legendary cohort, Jones won 10 rings with the Celtics, a feat only bested by teammate Bill Russell.
23 - Frank Ramsey - 1954-64
The original sixth man of the NBA, Ramsey was instrumental in seven of the Celtics’ first historic run of titles between 1957 and 1964.
22 - Ed Macauley - 1950-56
While “Easy Ed” would win his titles elsewhere later in his career, he was also part of the bedrock of the team that the later success was built from, leaving the team just before the titles started flowing.
21 - Bill Sharman - 1951-61
Another Celtic pioneer, Sharman played for Boston for all but one season of his career, winning four titles with the Celtics.
19 - Don Nelson - 1965-76
One of the few bridges between the Celtics’ heyday of the 1960s and their two titles in the 1970s, Nelson won five banners with Boston in his 11-season career with the team.
18 - Dave Cowens - 1970-80
The successor to Loscy’s No. 18 jersey, Cowens would win a pair of championships in Boston, and among the greatest rebounders to play for a team that rostered Bill Russell.
17 - John Havlicek - 1962-78
The other primary bridge from the decade of nine titles to the 1970s, Hondo hung eight banners with the Celtics between 1963 and 1976, another giant of the game in green and white.
16 - Tom Sanders - 1960-73
Satch also won eight titles with the Celtics, a key part of Boston’s frontcourt alongside Bill Russell from 1961 onwards, and would later coach the team as well, one of the league’s first Black head coaches, along with Russell.
15 - Tommy Heinsohn - 1956-65
Heinsohn was the only Celtics involved in all 17 of the team’s titles over the years in some capacity and won eight of them as a player — and two as head coach.
14 - Bob Cousy - 1950-63
Another part of Boston’s title foundations, the Cooz rose to prominence with Red and would go on to win five championships with the Celtics before retiring.
10 - Jo Jo White - 1969-79
White was the heart and soul of the team in one of its tougher eras and still managed to hang two banners in the 1970s. He also won the league Most Valuable Player award in 1976.
6 - Bill Russell - 1957-69
No player in NBA history has won more than Russell — nor had a greater impact off the court with his support of civil rights. Vocal in the defense of his achievements in both arenas to the end, Russell was truly among the greatest to play the game.
No. 5 - Kevin Garnett - 2007-13
There would be no Banner 17 without the Big Ticket, one of the NBA’s first true unicorns with the ball-handling skills and mobility of a guard added to the strength and size of a center. One of the greatest defenders and competitors in the history of the game, his number belongs in Boston’s rafters.
3 - Dennis Johnson - 1983-90
A two-time champion with the Celtics in the 1980s, DJ was the engine that fed the “original” big three of Parish, Bird, and McHale for their latter two titles.
2 - Red Auerbach - 1950-2006
The most instrumental figure to Celtic greatness in a career with the team spanning nearly six decades, his prowess and professionalism as a coach and later manager and president laid the foundation for all that followed.
1 - Walter Brown - 1946-64
The founder and owner of the team from its early days in the Basketball Association of America to the preeminent NBA powerhouse it became, everything after was possible because of the team Brown was brave enough to create.
He averaged a point and 0.8 rebounds per contest over that stretch.
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