1991–92 Boston Celtics season

1991–92 Boston Celtics season
Division champions
Head coachChris Ford
General managerDave Gavitt
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record51–31 (.622)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference semifinals
(lost to Cavaliers 3–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWFXT
(Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy)
SportsChannel New England
(Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
RadioWEEI
(Glenn Ordway, Doug Brown)

The 1991–92 Boston Celtics season was the 46th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.[1] The Celtics had the 24th overall pick in the 1991 NBA draft, and selected small forward Rick Fox from the University of North Carolina.[2][3][4] This also marked the 13th and final NBA season for All-Star forward, and Celtics legend Larry Bird, who would retire after the season.[5][6][7]

With the addition of Fox, the Celtics struggled losing four of their first six games of the regular season, but then won 15 of their next 18 games. However, Bird suffered a back injury in January, and only played just 45 games;[8][9][10] also during that month, the team traded Brian Shaw to the Miami Heat in exchange for Sherman Douglas.[11][12][13] The Celtics held a 28–18 record at the All-Star break,[14] posted a seven-game winning streak between March and April, and won their final eight games of the season. The Celtics won the Atlantic Division title with a 51–31 record, and earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference;[15] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the 13th consecutive year.[16]

Bird averaged 20.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, while Reggie Lewis averaged 20.8 points and 1.5 steals per game. In addition, Robert Parish averaged 14.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, and surpassed the 20,000 point mark during the regular season,[17][18] while sixth man Kevin McHale provided the team with 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game off the bench, but only played 56 games due to a leg injury,[8][9] Kevin Gamble provided with 13.5 points per game, and second-year guard Dee Brown contributed 11.7 points and 5.3 assists per game, but only played just 31 games due to a knee injury.[19][20] Meanwhile, Fox contributed 8.0 points per game off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, Ed Pinckney averaged 7.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, John Bagley was the team's starting point guard this season, averaging 7.2 points and 6.6 assists per game, and Joe Kleine provided with 4.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.[21]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida, Bird and Lewis were both selected for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, although Bird did not participate due to injury; it was Bird's final All-Star selection, and the first and only All-Star appearance for Lewis.[22][23][24] In addition, Bird was also selected to participate in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, but withdrew due to injury, and was replaced with Dell Curry of the Charlotte Hornets.[25][26]

One of the regular season highlights for Bird was a 49-point performance in a nationally televised double-overtime win over the eventual Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers.[27][28] It was the most points for Bird since February 15, 1988, when he scored 49 against the Phoenix Suns. Bird also finished in 14th place in Most Valuable Player voting,[29] while head coach Chris Ford finished tied in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.[29]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1992 NBA playoffs, and for the second consecutive year, the Celtics faced off against the 7th–seeded Indiana Pacers, a team that featured Reggie Miller, Chuck Person, and Sixth Man of the Year, Detlef Schrempf. Despite starting the series without Bird and Brown due to injuries, the Celtics won the first two games over the Pacers at home at the Boston Garden, before winning Game 3 on the road, 102–98 at the Market Square Arena to win the series in a three-game sweep.[30][31][32]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Brad Daugherty, All-Star guard Mark Price, and Larry Nance. Despite the Celtics winning the Atlantic Division title, the Cavaliers had home-court advantage in the series, since they finished with a better regular-season record. After losing Game 1 to the Cavaliers on the road, 101–76 at the Coliseum at Richfield, the Celtics won the next two games to take a 2–1 series lead.[33][34] Bird returned to play in Game 4, in which the Celtics lost to the Cavaliers at the Boston Garden in overtime, 114–112. With the series tied at 3–3, the Celtics lost Game 7 to the Cavaliers at the Coliseum at Richfield, 122–104, thus losing in a hard-fought seven-game series.[35][36][37]

The Celtics finished 16th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 610,776 at the Boston Garden during the regular season.[21][38] Following their loss to the Cavaliers, the Celtics would not win an NBA playoff series again for another ten years.

Draft picks

Main article: 1991 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 24 Rick Fox SF  Canada North Carolina

Roster

1991–92 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
PG 5 John Bagley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1960–04–23 Boston College
SF 8 Kenny Battle 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1964–10–10 Illinois
PF 33 Larry Bird 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–12–07 Indiana State
PG 7 Dee Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1968–11–29 Jacksonville
PG 20 Sherman Douglas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1966–09–15 Syracuse
SF 44 Rick Fox 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–07–24 North Carolina
SF 34 Kevin Gamble 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–11–13 Iowa
C 53 Joe Kleine 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1962–01–04 Arkansas
SG 35 Reggie Lewis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1965–11–21 Northeastern
PF 41 Tony Massenburg 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–07–31 Maryland
PF 32 Kevin McHale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957–12–19 Minnesota
C 00 Robert Parish 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953–08–30 Centenary
PF 54 Ed Pinckney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963–03–27 Villanova
PG 12 Kevin Pritchard 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1967–07–17 Kansas
SG 4 Larry Robinson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–01–11 Centenary
C 52 Stojko Vranković 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1964–01–22 Croatia
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: March 23, 1992

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 51 31 .622 — 34–7 17–24 19–9
x-New York Knicks 51 31 .622 — 30–11 21–20 20–8
x-New Jersey Nets 40 42 .488 11 25–16 15–26 15–13
x-Miami Heat 38 44 .463 13 28–13 10–31 14–14
Philadelphia 76ers 35 47 .427 16 23–18 12–29 15–13
Washington Bullets 25 57 .305 26 14–27 11–30 7–21
Orlando Magic 21 61 .256 30 13–28 8–33 8–20
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Chicago Bulls 67 15 .817 –
2 y-Boston Celtics 51 31 .622 16
3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 57 25 .695 10
4 x-New York Knicks 51 31 .622 16
5 x-Detroit Pistons 48 34 .585 19
6 x-New Jersey Nets 40 42 .488 27
7 x-Indiana Pacers 40 42 .488 27
8 x-Miami Heat 38 44 .463 29
9 Atlanta Hawks 38 44 .463 29
10 Philadelphia 76ers 35 47 .427 32
11 Milwaukee Bucks 31 51 .378 36
12 Charlotte Hornets 31 51 .378 36
13 Washington Bullets 25 57 .305 42
14 Orlando Magic 21 61 .256 46
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

1992 playoff game log
First round: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 23 Indiana W 124–113 Reggie Lewis (32) Robert Parish (14) John Bagley (9) Boston Garden
14,890 		1–0
2 April 25 Indiana W 119–112 (OT) John Bagley (35) Robert Parish (14) John Bagley (15) Boston Garden
14,890 		2–0
3 April 27 @ Indiana W 102–98 Reggie Lewis (32) Ed Pinckney (14) John Bagley (11) Market Square Arena
16,530 		3–0
Conference Semi-finals: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 2 @ Cleveland L 76–101 Kevin Gamble (22) Ed Pinckney (10) John Bagley (8) Richfield Coliseum
17,496 		0–1
2 May 4 @ Cleveland W 104–98 Robert Parish (27) Robert Parish (8) John Bagley (11) Richfield Coliseum
20,273 		1–1
3 May 8 Cleveland W 110–107 Reggie Lewis (36) Robert Parish (17) Reggie Lewis (7) Boston Garden
14,890 		2–1
4 May 10 Cleveland L 112–114 (OT) Reggie Lewis (42) Robert Parish (18) John Bagley (7) Boston Garden
14,890 		2–2
5 May 13 @ Cleveland L 98–114 Reggie Lewis (27) Joe Kleine (11) John Bagley (5) Richfield Coliseum
20,273 		2–3
6 May 15 Cleveland W 122–91 Reggie Lewis (26) Dee Brown (8) Larry Bird (14) Boston Garden
14,890 		3–3
7 May 17 @ Cleveland L 104–122 Reggie Lewis (22) Ed Pinckney (9) Bagley, Brown (5) Richfield Coliseum
20,273 		3–4
1992 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Regular season

Boston Celtics statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
John Bagley 73 59 23.9 .441 .238 .716 2.2 6.6 .8 .1 7.2
Kenny Battle† 8 0 5.8 .750 1.000 1.1 .0 .1 .0 1.8
Larry Bird 45 45 36.9 .466 .406 .926 9.6 6.8 .9 .7 20.2
Dee Brown 31 20 28.5 .426 .227 .769 2.5 5.3 1.1 .2 11.7
Sherman Douglas† 37 0 17.7 .455 .111 .680 1.5 4.1 .6 .2 7.3
Rick Fox 81 5 19.0 .459 .329 .755 2.7 1.6 1.0 .4 8.0
Kevin Gamble 82 77 30.4 .529 .290 .885 3.5 2.7 .9 .5 13.5
Rickey Green 26 0 14.1 .447 .250 .722 .9 2.6 .7 .0 4.1
Joe Kleine 70 3 14.2 .491 .500 .708 4.2 .5 .3 .2 4.7
Reggie Lewis 82 82 37.4 .503 .238 .851 4.8 2.3 1.5 1.3 20.8
Tony Massenburg† 7 0 6.6 .444 .500 1.3 .0 .0 .1 1.4
Kevin McHale 56 1 25.0 .509 .000 .822 5.9 1.5 .2 1.1 13.9
Robert Parish 79 79 28.9 .535 .772 8.9 .9 .9 1.2 14.1
Ed Pinckney 81 36 23.7 .537 .000 .812 7.0 .8 .9 .7 7.6
Kevin Pritchard 11 0 12.4 .471 .000 .778 1.0 2.7 .3 .4 4.2
Larry Robinson 1 0 6.0 .200 2.0 1.0 .0 .0 2.0
Brian Shaw† 17 3 25.6 .427 .000 .875 4.1 5.2 .7 .6 10.3
Stojko Vranković 19 0 5.8 .469 .583 1.5 .3 .0 .9 1.9

Playoffs

Boston Celtics statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
John Bagley 10 10 30.8 .442 .250 .703 2.7 8.5 .9 .1 11.1
Larry Bird 4 2 26.8 .500 .000 .750 4.5 5.3 .3 .5 11.3
Dee Brown 6 0 20.0 .500 .000 .667 2.0 5.2 .2 .7 8.0
Sherman Douglas 6 0 10.8 .360 .000 .500 .7 1.7 .0 .0 3.2
Rick Fox 8 0 8.4 .478 .500 1.000 .8 .5 .3 .3 3.6
Kevin Gamble 10 10 33.5 .473 .000 .800 4.2 2.3 1.2 .6 13.6
Joe Kleine 9 0 9.1 .409 .000 1.000 2.4 .1 .0 .1 2.2
Reggie Lewis 10 10 40.8 .528 .333 .762 4.3 3.9 2.4 .8 28.0
Kevin McHale 10 0 30.6 .516 .000 .795 6.7 1.3 .5 .5 16.5
Robert Parish 10 10 33.5 .495 .714 9.7 1.4 .7 1.5 12.0
Ed Pinckney 10 8 31.4 .603 .000 .839 8.4 .7 1.2 .9 9.6
Stojko Vranković 1 0 3.0 1.000 .0 1.0 .0 .0 2.0
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Celtics only.

Player statistics citation:[21]

Awards and records

References

  1. ^ 1991-92 Boston Celtics
  2. ^ "UNLV's Johnson Is No. 1: NBA Draft: Coaches' Attempts in Charlotte and New Jersey to Select Billy Owens Are Overruled. Three UNLV Players Are Taken in the First Round". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 27, 1991. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  3. ^ "As Expected, Hornets Select Johnson No. 1". Deseret News. Associated Press. June 27, 1991. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  4. ^ "1991 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  5. ^ Brown, Clifton (August 19, 1992). "BASKETBALL; Bird Unlaces His Sneakers and Says Goodbye". The New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Heisler, Mark (August 19, 1992). "LARRY BIRD RETIRES: It Was Just a Hate-Love Relationship: Basketball: The Lakers Wanted to Kill the Mocking Bird, Until They Got to Know Him. Then They Just Wanted to Beat Him". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  7. ^ Arace, Michael (August 19, 1992). "A Final Buzzer Bird Can't Beat". Hartford Courant. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  8. ^ a b "PRO BASKETBALL; Bird Is Placed on Injured List". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 7, 1992. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Bird Is Put on Injured List, Because of Inflammed Back". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 7, 1992. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  10. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Bird Begins Therapy and Hopes for Best". The New York Times. July 7, 1992. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  11. ^ "Celtics Trade Shaw to Heat for Douglas". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. January 11, 1992. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  12. ^ Winderman, Ira (January 11, 1992). "Douglas to Celtics for Shaw". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  13. ^ Brown, Clifton (January 12, 1992). "PRO BASKETBALL; Injured Celtics Send Shaw to the Heat for Douglas". The New York Times. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 6, 1992". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  15. ^ "1991–92 Boston Celtics Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  16. ^ "Boston Celtics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  17. ^ "BASKETBALL; For Parish, 20,000 Points and Counting". The New York Times. January 18, 1992. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  18. ^ Aldridge, David (April 29, 1992). "Parish a Chief at Peace". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  19. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Walter Davis Waived by Trail Blazers". The New York Times. October 30, 1991. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  20. ^ Arace, Michael (November 1, 1991). "Ready or Not, Here Come the Celtics". Hartford Courant. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  21. ^ a b c "1991–92 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  22. ^ Heisler, Mark (February 9, 1992). "Comeback or Farewell, a Magical All-Star Game". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  23. ^ "1992 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  24. ^ "1992 NBA All-Star Game: West 153, East 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  25. ^ "Adams Replaces Bird on All-Star Team". United Press International. February 4, 1992. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  26. ^ "Pro Basketball". Gadsden Times. February 8, 1992. p. D2. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  27. ^ "Results Plus". The New York Times. March 16, 1992. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  28. ^ Hafner, Dan (March 16, 1992). "NBA ROUNDUP: Bird Gets 49; Celtics Win in Two Overtimes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "1991–92 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
  30. ^ "PRO BASKETBALL; One Down, How Many to Go? Depleted Celtics Sweep Pacers". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 28, 1992. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  31. ^ Arace, Michael (April 29, 1992). "Look Who's Talking". Hartford Courant. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  32. ^ "1992 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Pacers vs. Celtics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  33. ^ "BASKETBALL; Late Rally Puts Celtics One Up on the Cavaliers". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 9, 1992. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  34. ^ Arace, Michael (May 9, 1992). "Bird Still Needs Time, But Brown Going Strong". Hartford Courant. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  35. ^ George, Thomas (May 18, 1992). "BASKETBALL; Cavalier Youth Serves Up a Blowout of Aging Celtics". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  36. ^ "Cavaliers Step Up Into Conference finals: NBA Playoffs: Daugherty Scores 16 Points in the First Quarter as Cleveland Beats Celtics". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 18, 1992. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  37. ^ "1992 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: Celtics vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  38. ^ "1991–92 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
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