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. Arguably considered the best Celtics team ever, and 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 1973, and tied for fifth all-time. 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, winning every home game in the playoffs. 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 in 1996 (with the Golden State Warriors later breaking that record in 2016 with 88 combined wins, including a 73–9 regular season record, although they infamously lost in the finals that season after leading the series 3–1). HoopsHype later ranked this squad as the team with the 17th easiest path to the NBA Finals in 2024 due to the 30–52 record of their first round opponent, the Chicago Bulls.

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.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

13,095 20,900 7:30p.m. EST Bird (5) 14,890 14,890 17,488 14,890 25,148 14,890 14,890 16,904 14,890 14,890 19,591 17,921 Johnson (5) 14,890 14,890 13,101 8:30p.m. EST 11,052 Bird, McHale (5) 15,169 14,890 (at Hartford, Connecticut) Parish (24) 14,493 Bird (5) 14,890 15,349 14,890 13,786 14,890 17,941 17,480 McHale (24) 12,702 14,977 14,974 14,890 17,421 14,890 14,890 14,890 16,904 16,522 8:00p.m. EST 14,890 14,890 14,890 15,207 19,123 14,890 8:30p.m. EST 11,052 Johnson (6) 14,890 10,333 14,230 12,666 3:30p.m. EST 17,505 Carlisle, Johnson (3) 14,519 15,011 17,022 (at Hartford, Connecticut) 15,124 18,329 14,890 14,890 14,890 14,172 14,890 Bird (8) 14,890 19,123 17,007 8:30p.m. EST 16,016 14,180 16,522 14,890 (at Hartford, Connecticut) 15,134 14,890 14,890 8:00p.m. EST McHale, Parish (8) 14,890 7:30p.m. EST Johnson (6) 14,890 Walton (12) 14,890 14,890 17,495 14,890 14,890 17,941 8:30p.m. EST 11,052 18,092 14,890 Johnson (4) 14,890

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Playoffs

Parish (10) 14,890 Walton (15) Johnson (8) 14,890 18,968 1:00p.m. EDT 14,890 8:30p.m. EDT 14,890 7:30p.m. EDT 12,357 1:00p.m. EDT 12,357 7:30p.m. EDT 14,890 8:00p.m. EDT 14,890 8:00p.m. EDT 14,890 2:00p.m. EDT 11,052 3:30p.m. EDT Bird (5) 11,052 3:00p.m. EDT 14,890 9:00p.m. EDT 14,890 3:30p.m. EDT 16,016 9:00p.m. EDT 16,016 9:00p.m. EDT 16,016 1:00p.m. EDT 14,890 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.

Roster

Award winners