1963–64 Boston Celtics season

{{NBA season

| team = Boston Celtics

| end_year = 1964

| ChampionshipWin = yes

| DivisionWin = yes

| wins = 59

| losses = 21

| division = Eastern

| division_place = 1

| coach = Red Auerbach

| arena = Boston Garden

| television = WHDH-TV

| radio = WHDH

| playoffs = NBA Champions
(Defeated Warriors 4–1)

| bbr_team = BOS

}}

The 1963–64 NBA season was the Celtics' 18th season in the NBA. The Celtics finished the season by winning their seventh NBA Championship.

Offseason

= NBA draft =

class="wikitable sortable sortable"
style="background:#00994d; width:10%;"\| Round ! style="background:#00994d; width:10%;"\| Pick ! style="background:#00994d; width:20%;"\| Player ! style="background:#00994d; width:15%;"\| Position ! style="background:#00994d; width:15%;"\| Nationality ! style="background:#00994d; width:20%;"\| School/Club Team
1 \| 8 \| Bill Green \| Forward \| {{flagu\|United States}} \| Colorado State

class="wikitable sortable sortable"

style="background:#00994d; width:10%;"| Round

! style="background:#00994d; width:10%;"| Pick

! style="background:#00994d; width:20%;"| Player

! style="background:#00994d; width:15%;"| Position

! style="background:#00994d; width:15%;"| Nationality

! style="background:#00994d; width:20%;"| School/Club Team

| 8

| Bill Green

| Forward

| {{flagu|United States}}

| Colorado State

Source:{{Cite web |title=1963 NBA Draft |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1963.html |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Basketball-Reference.com |language=en}}

Roster

{{NBA roster header|team=Boston Celtics|season=1963–64

}}

{{player2 | num = 17 | first = John | last = Havlicek | pos = F/G | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 203 | college = Ohio State }}

{{player2 | num = 15 | first = Tom | last = Heinsohn | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 7 | lbs = 218 | college = Holy Cross }}

{{player2 | num = 25 | first = K. C. | last = Jones | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 200 | college = San Francisco }}

{{player2 | num = 24 | first = Sam | last = Jones | dab = basketball, born 1933 | pos = G/F | ft = 6 | in = 4 | lbs = 198 | college = North Carolina Central }}

{{player2 | num = 12 | first = Willie | last = Naulls | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 6 | lbs = 225 | college = UCLA }}

{{player2 | num = 6 | first = Bill | last = Russell | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 10 | lbs = 215 | college = San Francisco }}

{{player2 | num = 16 | first = Satch | last = Sanders | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 6 | lbs = 210 | college = NYU }}

{{player2 | num = 20 | first = Larry | last = Siegfried | pos = G | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 190 | college = Ohio State }}

{{player2 | num = 18 | first = Jim |last=Loscutoff | pos = SF | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 220 | college = Oregon }}

{{player2 | num = 4 | first =Clyde| last =Lovellette | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 9| lbs = 234 | college = Kansas }}

{{player2 | num = 21 | first = Johnny | last = McCarthy | pos = PG | ft = 6 | in =1 | lbs = 185 | college = Canisius }}

{{player2 | num = 23 | first = Frank | last = Ramsey | dab = basketball | pos = G/F | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 190 | college = Kentucky }}

{{NBA roster footer

| head_coach =

Red Auerbach

| asst_coach =

}}

Regular season

The Celtics were one of the dominant teams in the leagues. The team established its legacy as one of the game's greatest dynasties ever. 1950s superstar Bob Cousy had retired, yet Red Auerbach's club barely slowed down with his absence. Cousy's replacement was a defensive specialist named K. C. Jones, who continued Auerbach's emphasis on defense along with forward Tom 'Satch' Sanders and center Bill Russell. While Boston could surely still pass and score, it was their defensive emergence, led by the incredible Russell, that was now leading a streak of NBA titles. Russell led the league in rebounds and was one of two high-volume shot blockers dominating the NBA. The Celtics had six scorers over ten-points per game and two more over eight. Auerbach's sixth man, John Havlicek, was the team's leading scorer at 20 per game. This combination of active defense and unselfish shooting got Boston a league-high 59 wins in 80 NBA games.

= Season standings =

=Record vs. opponents=

colspan=10\|1964–65 NBA records
class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center;"
width=100\|Team !style="background:#002854;color:#E45206;width=35"\|BAL !style="background:#006400;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"\|BOS !style="background:#012F6B;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"\|CIN !style="background:#012F6B;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"\|DET !style="background:#004B87;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"\|LAL !style="background:#003EA4;color:#FF8C00;width=35"\|NYK !style="background:#012268;color:#C90F2E;width=35"\|PHI !style="background:#002F6C;color:#FFC72C;width=35"\|SFW !style="background:#C90F2E;color:#FFFFFF;width=35"\|STL
style="text-align:left;" \| Baltimore	—	1–9	2–8	7–3	3–7	7–3	5–5	3–7	3–7
style="text-align:left;" \| Boston	9–1	—	5–7	7–1	6–3	10–2	10–2	5–3	7–2
style="text-align:left;" \| Cincinnati	8–2	7–5	—	7–2	4–4	11–1	9–3	5–4	4–4
style="text-align:left;" \| Detroit	3–7	1–7	2–7	—	5–7	4–5	3–5	3–9	2–10
style="text-align:left;" \| Los Angeles	7–3	3–6	4–4	7–5	—	6–2	5–4	5–7	5–7
style="text-align:left;" \| New York	3–7	2–10	1–11	5–4	2–6	—	4–8	1–8	4–4
style="text-align:left;" \| Philadelphia	5–5	2–10	3–9	5–3	4–5	8–4	—	4–4	3–6
style="text-align:left;" \| San Francisco	7–3	3–5	4–5	9–3	7–5	8–1	4–4	—	6–6
style="text-align:left;" \| St. Louis	7–3	2–7	4–4	10–2	7–5	4–4	6–3	6–6	—

=Game log=

colspan=11 style="background:#008040; color:white;" \| 1963–64 Game log
class="toccolours collapsible" width=50% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center"
align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd" \| #	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 1	October 16	@ Baltimore	109–95	John Havlicek (24)	1–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 2	October 17	@ Cincinnati	93–92	Sam Jones (24)	2–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 3	October 26	Baltimore	108–123	John Havlicek (24)	3–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 4	October 30	@ Detroit	108–102	John Havlicek (22)	4–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 5	November 1	@ Philadelphia	119–102	Sam Jones (28)	5–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 6	November 2	Detroit	109–117	Bill Russell (25)	6–0
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 7	November 6	Cincinnati	121–139	Sam Jones (28)	7–0
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 8	November 8	@ Cincinnati	115–116	John Havlicek (28)	7–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 9	November 9	@ St. Louis	113–91	Sam Jones (34)	8–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 10	November 11	St. Louis	110–116	Bill Russell (20)	9–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 11	November 13	N Los Angeles	110–114	Tom Heinsohn (31)	10–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 12	November 15	New York	116–133	Tom Heinsohn (24)	11–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 13	November 19	@ New York	126–98	Sam Jones (19)	12–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 14	November 27	Los Angeles	78–114	Sam Jones (20)	13–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 15	November 29	N Philadelphia	78–112	Tom Heinsohn (18)	14–1
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 16	November 30	San Francisco	96–109	Sam Jones (27)	15–1
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 17	December 5	@ Cincinnati	108–118	John Havlicek (22)	15–2
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 18	December 6	Cincinnati	107–112	Sam Jones (30)	16–2
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 19	December 7	@ Baltimore	114–97	John Havlicek (30)	17–2
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 20	December 10	@ New York	132–113	Havlicek, Heinsohn (27)	18–2
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 21	December 11	St. Louis	95–104	John Havlicek (33)	19–2
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 22	December 13	@ Philadelphia	111–84	Willie Naulls (30)	20–2
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 23	December 14	Cincinnati	108–105	John Havlicek (35)	20–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 24	December 17	N Baltimore	131–114	John Havlicek (43)	21–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 25	December 18	New York	111–133	John Havlicek (27)	22–3
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 26	December 19	N New York	140–143	Sam Jones (36)	23–3
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 27	December 21	@ New York	117–127	Clyde Lovellette (24)	23–4
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 28	December 26	Los Angeles	110–126	Satch Sanders (21)	24–4
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 29	December 27	@ Cincinnati	87–91	Sam Jones (20)	24–5
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 30	December 28	@ St. Louis	107–100	Sam Jones (22)	25–5
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 31	January 3	@ San Francisco	111–101	Sam Jones (25)	26–5
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 32	January 4	@ Los Angeles	118–125 (OT)	Frank Ramsey (28)	26–6
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 33	January 5	@ Los Angeles	95–97	Sam Jones (25)	26–7
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 34	January 7	@ San Francisco	89–92	Sam Jones (23)	26–8
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 35	January 10	Cincinnati	92–109	Sam Jones (28)	27–8
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 36	January 11	@ Philadelphia	108–115	John Havlicek (26)	27–9
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 37	January 12	Philadelphia	112–123	Willie Naulls (23)	28–9
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 38	January 15	@ Baltimore	113–108	Satch Sanders (18)	29–9
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 39	January 17	Los Angeles	79–99	John Havlicek (27)	30–9
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 40	January 18	@ Detroit	121–115	John Havlicek (30)	31–9
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 41	January 19	San Francisco	105–108	Tom Heinsohn (27)	32–9
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 42	January 21	@ St. Louis	114–116	Sam Jones (20)	32–10
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 43	January 22	@ Cincinnati	92–109	John Havlicek (29)	32–11
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 44	January 23	N St. Louis	104–110	John Havlicek (28)	33–11
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 45	January 24	St. Louis	99–119	Satch Sanders (16)	34–11
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 46	January 26	New York	102–115	Willie Naulls (20)	35–11
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 47	January 28	@ New York	127–133	Sam Jones (32)	35–12
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 48	January 29	San Francisco	100–92	Sam Jones (25)	35–13
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 49	January 31	Philadelphia	97–114	Tom Heinsohn (24)	36–13
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 50	February 1	@ Philadelphia	119–111	John Havlicek (31)	37–13
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 51	February 2	Cincinnati	119–117 (OT)	John Havlicek (40)	37–14
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 52	February 4	N St. Louis	101–113	Bill Russell (28)	38–14
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 53	February 6	N Baltimore	94–92	John Havlicek (20)	39–14
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 54	February 7	New York	112–133	Willie Naulls (27)	40–14
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 55	February 8	@ New York	135–114	Sam Jones (35)	41–14
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 56	February 9	Philadelphia	109–120	Sam Jones (27)	42–14
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 57	February 11	Los Angeles	113–109	Bill Russell (26)	42–15
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 58	February 12	@ Los Angeles	104–97 (OT)	Tom Heinsohn (23)	43–15
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 59	February 13	@ San Francisco	95–106	Sam Jones (19)	43–16
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 60	February 15	@ San Francisco	96–87	John Havlicek (25)	44–16
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 61	February 16	@ Los Angeles	92–90	John Havlicek (21)	45–16
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 62	February 18	N Philadelphia	93–103	Frank Ramsey (22)	46–16
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 63	February 20	N Baltimore	129–113	Sam Jones (25)	47–16
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 64	February 21	@ Philadelphia	119–144	Willie Naulls (21)	47–17
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 65	February 22	@ St. Louis	88–95	John Havlicek (23)	47–18
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 66	February 24	@ Detroit	113–115	Tom Heinsohn (27)	47–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 67	February 25	@ New York	114–102	Tom Heinsohn (23)	48–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 68	February 26	@ Baltimore	100–87	Bill Russell (20)	49–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 69	February 28	San Francisco	92–107	Havlicek, Russell (16)	50–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 70	February 29	N Detroit	108–115	Sam Jones (35)	51–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 71	March 1	Philadelphia	93–108	Sam Jones (20)	52–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 72	March 3	N Philadelphia	94–108	Tom Heinsohn (23)	53–19
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 73	March 4	Cincinnati	108–112	John Havlicek (28)	54–19
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 74	March 5	@ Cincinnati	101–111	Bill Russell (19)	54–20
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 75	March 7	@ Detroit	112–94	John Havlicek (24)	55–20
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 76	March 8	Detroit	118–128	John Havlicek (34)	56–20
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 77	March 12	N Detroit	120–140	Clyde Lovellette (21)	57–20
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 78	March 15	Baltimore	105–129	Clyde Lovellette (24)	58–20
align="center" bgcolor="ccffcc" \| 79	March 17	New York	121–127	Sam Jones (26)	59–20
align="center" bgcolor="ffcccc" \| 80	March 18	@ Baltimore	95–108	Tom Heinsohn (25)	59–21

Playoffs

{{NBA game log start|Boston Celtics|end_year=1964|playoffs=yes|}}

{{NBA game log section|Boston Celtics|color=#008040|bgcolor=white|Division Finals|playoffs=yes|first=yes|show=no

| home_wins = 3

| home_losses = 0

| road_wins = 1

| road_losses = 1

}}

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 1

| March 31

| Cincinnati

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196403310BOS.html W 103–87]

| Sam Jones (27)

| Bill Russell (31)

| K. C. Jones (9)

| Boston Garden
13,909

| 1–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 2

| April 2

| Cincinnati

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404020BOS.html W 101–90]

| Tom Heinsohn (31)

| Bill Russell (28)

| K. C. Jones (8)

| Boston Garden
13,909

| 2–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 3

| April 5

| @ Cincinnati

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404050CIN.html W 102–92]

| Bill Russell (22)

| Bill Russell (28)

| K. C. Jones (6)

| Cincinnati Gardens
11,850

| 3–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 4

| April 7

| @ Cincinnati

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404070CIN.html L 93–102]

| Sam Jones (33)

| Bill Russell (24)

| K. C. Jones (5)

| Cincinnati Gardens

| 3–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 5

| April 9

| Cincinnati

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404090BOS.html W 109–95]

| Sam Jones (23)

| Bill Russell (35)

| Russell, K. C. Jones (7)

| Boston Garden
13,909

| 4–1

{{NBA game log section|Boston Celtics|color=#008040|bgcolor=white|NBA Finals|playoffs=yes|show=no

| home_wins = 3

| home_losses = 0

| road_wins = 1

| road_losses = 1

}}

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 1

| April 18

| San Francisco

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404180BOS.html W 108–96]

| Sam Jones (28)

| Bill Russell (25)

| K. C. Jones (7)

| Boston Garden
13,909

| 1–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 2

| April 20

| San Francisco

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404200BOS.html W 124–101]

| Sam Jones (31)

| Bill Russell (24)

| Bill Russell (9)

| Boston Garden
13,909

| 2–0

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"

| 3

| April 22

| @ San Francisco

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404220SFW.html L 91–115]

| John Havlicek (22)

| Bill Russell (32)

| K. C. Jones (8)

| Cow Palace
10,981

| 2–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 4

| April 24

| @ San Francisco

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404240SFW.html W 98–95]

| Tom Heinsohn (25)

| Bill Russell (19)

| K. C. Jones (5)

| Cow Palace
14,862

| 3–1

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"

| 5

| April 26

| San Francisco

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/196404260BOS.html W 105–99]

| Tom Heinsohn (19)

| Bill Russell (26)

| Bill Russell (6)

| Boston Garden
13,909

| 4–1

Awards and honors

Bill Russell, All-NBA Second Team
Tom Heinsohn, All-NBA Second Team
John Havlicek, All-NBA Second Team

References

[https://web.archive.org/web/20071121063418/http://www.databasebasketball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=BOS&lg=N&yr=1963 Celtics on Database Basketball]
[https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1964.html Celtics on Basketball Reference]

Category:Boston Celtics seasons

Category:NBA championship seasons

Boston Celtics

Category:1960s in Boston