1962–63 Boston Celtics season

1962–63 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coachRed Auerbach
ArenaBoston Garden
Results
Record58–22 (.725)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA champions
(Defeated Lakers 4–2)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWHDH-TV
RadioWHDH

The 1962–63 Boston Celtics season was the Celtics' 17th season in the NBA. The Celtics finished the season by winning their sixth NBA Championship. In 2024, HoopsHype would list this squad as the team with the 25th easiest route to an NBA Finals championship due primarily to their first round opponent they faced off against in the Cincinnati Royals.[1]

This would be the last NBA Title for Bob Cousy, who retired after the season.

Offseason

NBA draft

The 1962 NBA draft results were:

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team
1 7 John Havlicek Forward/Guard  United States Ohio State
2 16 Jack Foley Guard  United States Holy Cross
3 25 Jim Hadnot  United States Providence
4 34 Roger Strickland  United States Jacksonville University
5 43 Gary Daniels  United States The Citadel
6 52 Jim Hooley Boston College
7 60 Clyde Arnold Duquesne
8 69 Chuck Chevalier Boston College
9 78 Mike Cingiser Brown

Roster

1962–63 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 14 Bob Cousy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Holy Cross
F 20 Gene Guarilia 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) George Washington
G/F 17 John Havlicek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Ohio State
F 15 Tom Heinsohn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Holy Cross
G 25 K. C. Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) San Francisco
G/F 24 Sam Jones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) North Carolina Central
SF 18 Jim Loscutoff 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Oregon
C 4 Clyde Lovellette 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Kansas
F 12 Willie Naulls 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
C 6 Bill Russell 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) San Francisco
F 16 Satch Sanders 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) NYU
G/F 23 Frank Ramsey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kentucky
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Boston Celtics 58 22 .725 – 25–5 21–16 12–1 25–11
x-Syracuse Nationals 48 32 .600 10 23–5 13–19 12–8 21–15
x-Cincinnati Royals 42 38 .525 16 23–10 15–19 4–9 20–16
New York Knicks 21 59 .263 37 12–22 5–28 4–9 6–30

Game log

1962–63 game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 20 New York W 149–116 Sam Jones (25) 1–0
2 October 26 @ New York W 133–108 Bill Russell (25) 2–0
3 October 27 Syracuse W 118–98 Heinsohn, S. Jones, Sanders (17) 3–0
4 October 30 @ St. Louis L 97–98 Sam Jones (23) 3–1
5 October 31 @ Detroit W 115–100 Tom Heinsohn (24) 4–1
6 November 2 @ Chicago W 107–97 Bob Cousy (23) 5–1
7 November 3 Detroit W 125–114 Tom Heinsohn (21) 6–1
8 November 7 @ Cincinnati W 106–105 Sam Jones (23) 7–1
9 November 9 Los Angeles L 120–133 Sam Jones (23) 7–2
10 November 11 vs. New York W 117–98 Tom Heinsohn (24) 8–2
11 November 12 Cincinnati W 137–126 Tom Heinsohn (25) 9–2
12 November 13 @ New York W 116–102 Tom Heinsohn (26) 10–2
13 November 16 @ Syracuse L 105–113 Tom Heinsohn (27) 10–3
14 November 17 San Francisco W 127–109 Tom Heinsohn (28) 11–3
15 November 20 vs. Chicago W 113–106 Heinsohn, Russell (20) 12–3
16 November 21 St. Louis W 115–106 Bill Russell (26) 13–3
17 November 22 vs. Syracuse L 120–130 Frank Ramsey (23) 13–4
18 November 23 vs. Chicago W 116–104 Satch Sanders (27) 14–4
19 November 24 @ St. Louis L 95–97 Satch Sanders (21) 14–5
20 November 27 vs. Detroit W 125–115 Tom Heinsohn (24) 15–5
21 December 1 Syracuse W 129–110 Heinsohn, S. Jones, Russell (22) 16–5
22 December 2 @ Cincinnati W 128–127 (OT) Sam Jones (27) 17–5
23 December 5 @ Detroit W 106–93 Sam Jones (20) 18–5
24 December 7 Los Angeles W 126–112 Bill Russell (24) 19–5
25 December 8 @ Syracuse L 97–102 Tom Heinsohn (20) 19–6
26 December 11 @ New York L 87–95 Bill Russell (18) 19–7
27 December 12 St. Louis W 111–98 Sam Jones (27) 20–7
28 December 13 vs. Detroit W 103–93 Tom Heinsohn (26) 21–7
29 December 15 Cincinnati L 120–124 Bill Russell (23) 21–8
30 December 22 New York L 106–120 Sam Jones (24) 21–9
31 December 26 San Francisco W 116–113 Sam Jones (20) 22–9
32 December 27 vs. San Francisco W 108–102 Sam Jones (32) 23–9
33 December 28 @ Cincinnati W 121–113 John Havlicek (31) 24–9
34 December 29 @ St. Louis L 100–102 Tom Heinsohn (23) 24–10
35 January 2 @ San Francisco W 135–120 (OT) Tom Heinsohn (41) 25–10
36 January 4 @ Los Angeles L 123–125 Tom Heinsohn (29) 25–11
37 January 5 @ Los Angeles L 104–106 John Havlicek (24) 25–12
38 January 8 @ San Francisco W 118–112 Bob Cousy (19) 26–12
39 January 9 @ Chicago L 123–131 John Havlicek (20) 26–13
40 January 10 @ Cincinnati L 121–130 Bill Russell (31) 26–14
41 January 11 Syracuse W 134–117 John Havlicek (27) 27–14
42 January 13 Chicago W 143–99 Clyde Lovellette (24) 28–14
43 January 17 vs. Chicago W 110–93 Tom Heinsohn (18) 29–14
44 January 18 Cincinnati W 122–114 Tom Heinsohn (25) 30–14
45 January 19 @ Syracuse W 149–148 (OT) Sam Jones (37) 30–15
46 January 20 Los Angeles W 133–121 S. Jones, Russell (29) 31–15
47 January 22 @ New York W 124–100 Bob Cousy (19) 32–15
48 January 23 @ Cincinnati L 133–138 Tom Heinsohn (25) 32–16
49 January 24 vs. St. Louis W 111–109 Sam Jones (27) 33–16
50 January 25 St. Louis W 113–98 Sam Jones (21) 34–16
51 January 27 New York W 123–110 John Havlicek (26) 35–16
52 January 29 vs. Chicago W 100–99 Sam Jones (23) 36–16
53 January 30 San Francisco W 125–111 Bill Russell (23) 37–16
54 January 31 vs. Cincinnati W 128–125 Sam Jones (22) 38–16
55 February 1 Syracuse L 111–125 Satch Sanders (22) 38–17
56 February 3 Detroit W 137–128 Sam Jones (35) 39–17
57 February 5 @ Cincinnati W 106–96 Sam Jones (27) 40–17
58 February 6 @ Syracuse L 109–126 Sam Jones (22) 40–18
59 February 8 @ New York W 129–97 John Havlicek (19) 41–18
60 February 9 San Francisco W 118–112 Cousy, S. Jones (22) 42–18
61 February 10 New York W 129–123 Sam Jones (21) 43–18
62 February 12 vs. Los Angeles W 120–93 Sam Jones (25) 44–18
63 February 13 Los Angeles L 128–134 Satch Sanders (25) 44–19
64 February 15 vs. Syracuse W 123–114 Tom Heinsohn (33) 45–19
65 February 16 @ St. Louis W 114–94 Sam Jones (34) 46–19
66 February 17 @ Chicago W 110–107 Sam Jones (28) 47–19
67 February 19 Cincinnati W 126–129 Heinsohn, S. Jones (25) 48–19
68 February 20 @ Detroit W 117–113 John Havlicek (24) 49–19
69 February 21 @ San Francisco W 135–118 Bill Russell (25) 50–19
70 February 22 @ Los Angeles L 105–113 Sam Jones (24) 50–20
71 February 24 @ Los Angeles W 119–109 Sam Jones (28) 51–20
72 February 26 @ San Francisco L 112–128 Bill Russell (20) 51–21
73 March 2 New York W 122–117 John Havlicek (32) 52–21
74 March 3 @ New York W 102–95 Sam Jones (17) 53–21
75 March 7 @ Detroit W 115–104 Sam Jones (31) 54–21
76 March 8 @ Chicago L 109–110 Bill Russell (24) 54–22
77 March 10 Cincinnati W 149–117 Tom Heinsohn (29) 55–22
78 March 13 Chicago W 121–108 Tom Heinsohn (37) 56–22
79 March 16 @ Syracuse W 125–121 Tom Heinsohn (21) 57–22
80 March 17 Syracuse W 125–116 Tom Heinsohn (28) 58–22

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Sam Jones 76 396 241 0 0 1499 19.7
Tom Heinsohn 76 596 95 0 0 1440 18.9
Bill Russell 78 1843 348 0 0 1309 16.8
John Havlicek 80 534 179 0 0 1140 14.3
Bob Cousy 76 193 515 0 0 1003 13.2
Frank Ramsey 77 288 95 0 0 839 10.9
Thomas "Satch" Sanders 80 576 95 0 0 864 10.8
K.C. Jones 79 263 317 0 0 572 7.2
Clyde Lovellette 61 177 27 0 0 395 6.5
Dan Swartz 39 88 21 0 0 175 4.5
Jim Loscutoff 63 157 25 0 0 210 3.3
Gene Guarilia 11 14 2 0 0 26 2.4

[2]

Playoffs

1963 playoff game log
Division Finals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 28 Cincinnati L 132–135 Sam Jones (30) Bill Russell (24) Bob Cousy (9) Boston Garden
13,798 		1–0
2 March 29 @ Cincinnati W 125–102 Bill Russell (26) Bill Russell (24) — Cincinnati Gardens
11,102 		1–1
3 March 31 Cincinnati L 116–121 Tom Heinsohn (28) Bill Russell (28) Bob Cousy (7) Boston Garden
13,909 		1–2
4 April 3 @ Cincinnati W 128–110 Bill Russell (26) Bill Russell (21) — Cincinnati Gardens
3,498 		2–2
5 April 6 Cincinnati W 125–120 Tom Heinsohn (34) Bill Russell (26) Bob Cousy (8) Boston Garden
13,909 		3–2
6 April 7 @ Cincinnati L 99–109 Sam Jones (22) Bill Russell (23) — Cincinnati Gardens
7,745 		3–3
7 April 10 Cincinnati W 142–131 Sam Jones (47) Bill Russell (24) Bob Cousy (16) Boston Garden
13,909 		4–3
NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 14 Los Angeles W 117–114 Sam Jones (29) Bill Russell (29) Bob Cousy (11) Boston Garden
13,909 		1–0
2 April 16 Los Angeles W 113–106 Sam Jones (27) Bill Russell (38) Bob Cousy (11) Boston Garden
13,909 		2–0
3 April 17 @ Los Angeles L 99–119 Sam Jones (30) Bill Russell (19) Bill Russell (5) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
15,493 		2–1
4 April 19 @ Los Angeles W 108–105 Tom Heinsohn (35) Bill Russell (19) three players tied (5) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
16,382 		3–1
5 April 21 Los Angeles L 119–126 Sam Jones (36) Bill Russell (27) Bob Cousy (14) Boston Garden
13,909 		3–2
6 April 24 @ Los Angeles W 112–109 Tom Heinsohn (22) Bill Russell (24) Bill Russell (9) Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
15,652 		4–2
1963 schedule

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Urbina, Frank (June 17, 2024). "Ranking the easiest paths to an NBA title ever". HoopsHype. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "1962 Boston Celtics". databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2009.
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