The Boston Celtics have won an NBA-record 17 titles in the nearly eight-decade history of the storied ball club, putting their players in a great position in terms of the percentage of games they have won in the postseason.
And while the bulk of those titles came to Boston in the epic run of the Celtics as the dynasty of NBA dynasties in the late 1950s and early 1960s under the tenure of Hall of Fame Celtics Bill Russell and Sam Jones, a fair amount of playoff series were won in the Boston resurgence of the 1980s during the “Original Big Three” era of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin McHale, John Havlicek nearly bridging the gap between the two reigns.
Let’s dive into which Boston alumni had the best winning percentages in the playoffs (h/t Hoops Hype for the data).
The Hick From French Lick (as Larry Bird was lovingly called as a nickname) could get in his opponent’s head with trash talk. https://t.co/ZQQarV2FGi
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 3, 2023
Robert Parish - Out of 37 series played: 67.6%
Kevin McHale - Out of 33 series played: 69.7%
Shaquile O'Neal - Out of 45 series played: 71.1%
Dennis Johnson - Out of 35 series played: 71.4%
Larry Bird - Out of 32 series played: 71.9%
Danny Ainge - Out of 37 series played: 73.0%
John Havlicek - Out of 31 series played: 83.9%
Sam Jones - Out of 27 series played: 92.6%
Bill Russell - Out of 29 series played: 93.1%
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