2007–08 Boston Celtics season | |
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NBA Champions
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Conference Champions
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Division Champions
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Seventeenth NBA Championship Ray Allen's first season with the Celtics Kevin Garnett's first season with the Celtics |
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Head coach | Doc Rivers |
General manager | Danny Ainge |
Owner(s) |
H. Irving Grousbeck Wycliffe Grousbeck Stephen Pagliuca |
Arena | TD Banknorth Garden |
Results | |
Record | 66–16 (.805) |
Place |
Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern) |
Playoff finish |
NBA Champions (Defeated Lakers 4–2) |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
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Local media | |
Television | CSN New England |
Radio | WEEI |
The 2007–2008 Boston Celtics season was the 62nd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Powered by the acquisitions of perennial All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the offseason, the Celtics finished with a record of 66–16 and posted the best single-season turnaround in NBA history, improving by 42 wins from the previous season, beating the 1997–98 San Antonio Spurs in Tim Duncan's rookie season. They finished first in both the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, and achieved the league's best record. The 66 wins were also the third-most in franchise history, behind the 1972–73 Celtics’ 68 wins and the famous 1985–86 Celtics’ 67 wins including 40 at home. Kevin Garnett was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year, while Danny Ainge, who executed "the most dramatic NBA turnaround ever", was named NBA Executive of the Year. The Celtics also sold out all 41 regular-season home games.
Their two-year absence from the playoffs came to an end as they met the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2008 NBA Playoffs. Eventually, they advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987, where they met the Los Angeles Lakers, reigniting their storied rivalry. The Celtics won 4–2, capturing their first championship since 1986, and seventeenth in franchise history, the most in NBA history. However, they had a far more difficult path to this championship, playing 26 games, the most any team had ever played in a post-season.