1971–72 Boston Celtics season

The 1971–72 Boston Celtics season was the Celtics' 26th season in the NBA. The Celtics qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons, and won the Atlantic Division for the 1st time in franchise history. The Celtics had the fifth best team defensive rating and the fifth best team offensive rating in the NBA.

Tom Heinsohn, a Celtics legend as a player, led the club in his third season as head coach. The team made its first postseason without Bill Russell since 1956, and would advance to their first conference finals before falling to the eventual runners-up and rivals New York Knicks in a five-game series.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Game log

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | March 29 | Atlanta | W 126–108 | John Havlicek (32) | Dave Cowens (16) | John Havlicek (10) | Boston Garden<br>12,815 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | March 31 | @ Atlanta | L 104–113 | John Havlicek (43) | Dave Cowens (12) | John Havlicek (4) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum<br>6,955 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | April 2 | Atlanta | W 136–113 | John Havlicek (31) | Cowens, Finkel (11) | Jo Jo White (11) | Boston Garden<br>12,094 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | April 4 | @ Atlanta | L 110–112 | Jo Jo White (32) | Steve Kuberski (13) | John Havlicek (5) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum<br>7,192 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 5 | April 7 | Atlanta | W 124–114 | John Havlicek (27) | Dave Cowens (12) | John Havlicek (9) | Boston Garden<br>15,315 | 3–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | April 9 | @ Atlanta | W 127–118 | Havlicek, Cowens (26) | Dave Cowens (20) | Jo Jo White (9) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum<br>7,192 | 4–2 |-

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 13 | New York | L 94–116 | Jo Jo White (19) | Dave Cowens (15) | Jo Jo White (5) | Boston Garden<br>14,292 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 16 | @ New York | L 105–106 | John Havlicek (29) | Dave Cowens (18) | John Havlicek (6) | Madison Square Garden<br>19,588 | 0–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 3 | April 19 | New York | W 115–109 | Jo Jo White (29) | Dave Cowens (16) | John Havlicek (11) | Boston Garden<br>15,315 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | April 21 | @ New York | L 98–116 | John Havlicek (27) | Havlicek, Nelson (9) | John Havlicek (6) | Madison Square Garden<br>19,588 | 1–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | April 23 | New York | L 103–111 | John Havlicek (32) | Dave Cowens (15) | Jo Jo White (9) | Boston Garden<br>15,315 | 1–4 |-

Awards and records

• John Havlicek, All-NBA First Team
• John Havlicek, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Don Chaney, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

References