1987–88 Boston Celtics season


The 1987–88 Boston Celtics season was the 42nd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. Coming from an NBA Finals defeat to their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, the Celtics finished first place in the Eastern Conference with 57 wins and 25 losses, with Larry Bird being selected to the All-NBA First Team. Bird, Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge were all selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the New York Knicks in four games. In the semifinals, the Celtics trailed 3–2 to Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks, but won the final two games. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive time, becoming the first team to do so since the 1968–69 Boston Celtics. However, they would lose to Isiah Thomas and the 2nd-seeded Detroit Pistons in six games.

Draft picks

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
122Reggie LewisSFUnited StatesNortheastern
245Brad LohausC/PFUnited StatesIowa
470Tom SheeheyUnited StatesVirginia
491Darryl KennedyUnited StatesOklahoma
5114David ButlerUnited StatesCalifornia
6137Tim NaegeliUnited StatesWisconsin–Stevens Point
7160Jerry CorcoranUnited StatesNortheastern

Roster

Depth chart

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs

Playoffs

East First Round

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks: Celtics win series 3-1
Last Playoff Meeting: 1984 Eastern Conference Semifinals

East Conference Semifinals

Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks: Celtics win series 4-3
Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Eastern Conference Semifinals

East Conference Finals

Boston Celtics vs. Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 4-2
Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Eastern Conference Finals

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

The Celtics would end up losing to the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals as an aging Celtics team was beginning to falter against a younger and fresher pistons team. This would be the first time in 5 years that the Celtics would not make it to the finals and would not return to another finals until 2008.

Awards and records