The Boston Celtics are the winningest organization in NBA history. Upon researching and reviewing Celtics news, the franchise has collected 17 titles and made the playoffs a total of 57 times.
To win 17 rings, you have to have Hall of Fame players to work with. However, having the right coach to lead the team is crucial as well and the Celtics have been fortunate to have some of the best coaches in league history.
For this piece, we ranked the top-five coaches in Celtics franchise history, starting off with a guy who led the organization to its last championship.
5. Doc Rivers
Rivers coached the Celtics from 2005-2013. Boston went 416-305 under Rivers during the regular season and 59-47 in the playoffs.
The Celtics won the 2008 championship over the Los Angeles Lakers. Rivers ranks third in Boston history in regular-season wins and third in postseason wins. He changed the culture in Beantown when he came in 2005 and helped the franchise win banner No. 17.
Thanks to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen, Rivers' record with the Celtics was stellar. Doc's early years with Boston were rough, though, as he coached the second-worst team in the history of the franchise.
4. Bill Russell
Russell is one of the greatest Celtics players ever. He just so happens to be one of the top coaches in franchise history, too.
After Red Auerbach stepped down as the head coach of the Celtics after the 1966 championship season, he gave the job to Russell, who was serving as player-coach. Bill became the first black head coach in any of the major sports.
The Celtics won 162 games in the regular season with Russell at the helm. He has the eighth-most wins in Boston franchise history and his 60.9 winning percentage in the playoffs ranks second in franchise history.
Boston won back-to-back titles in 1968 and 1969 with Russell.
3. K.C. Jones
Jones coached the Celtics from 1984-1988. Boston won two championships during his tenure, going 308-102 in the regular season and 65-37 in the playoffs.
Between the 1984-1987 seasons, Jones coached the Celtics to four straight finals appearances. K.C. has the fifth-most wins as head coach in franchise history. He's also got the best postseason winning percentage at 63.7.
The 1985-86 Celtics team made a great case as being one of the best squads in league history. Jones was the man in charge of that Boston club which won the title over the Houston Rockets.
Larry Bird, who got his third and final NBA title that year, won Finals MVP after averaging 24.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 9.5 assists.
2. Tom Heinsohn
Heinsohn currently does TV for the team for NBC Sports Boston. Celtics fans love him and he'll always be a legend in Beantown. After all, he has the second-most wins as head coach in franchise history with 427.
Boston won two titles with Heinsohn at the helm. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1986 and as a coach in 2015. The Celtics won 47 games in the playoffs with Heinsohn, claiming the fourth-most playoff wins in franchise history.
Heinsohn captured five division titles in his eight seasons with the Celtics. He also won the 1973 Coach of the Year Award.
1. Red Auerbach
This was an easy pick. Red won 795 regular-season games with the Celtics. That's the most in franchise history by a wide margin. Auerbach also won 90 postseason games and nine titles with Boston.
Auerbach bagged 50 or more victories in each of his last eight seasons with Boston. Red and Russell dominated the league together and we may not see that type of success ever again.
Only legends Jerry Sloan and Gregg Popovich have coached one franchise to as many victories as Auerbach did with the Celtics. He's considered by many to be the best head coach in NBA history.
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