How Good Were The 70s Boston Celtics? 

CORRECTION: I said two wrong things in this video.First, I said the 73 Celtics tied the greatest regular season record with 68 wins, the lakers had won 69 games the previous year. Also, Don Chaney did not get traded to the suns for Charlie Scott, Chaney went to the aba in 1976

The Celtics of the 60s and 80s set the bar so high that a very successful team in the 70s was often overlooked. Havlicek was my favorite player but Cowens was the driving force and Silas was the quiet enforcer. Silas did the dirty work inside that allowed the others to flourish. Thanks for this look back.

That group's triple OT game six of the 1976 finals vs. the Suns is the single best basketball game I have ever watched on any level. No one deserved to lose that game.

Jo Jo White & Paul Silas are two of basketball’s most underrated players!

I'm a Washington fan, but you have to just love the Celtics. Guys of unbelievable character. Undersized? Left-handed? Didnt matter. They found a way. Hard-workers? Who couldnt identify with that. They embodied everything great from top to bottom. The banners, the parkay floor. What can you say. So likeable!

Great video that deserves thousands of likes. I have always thought that the 70s Celtics needed more recognistion and praise. Thanks.

I loved that 70's team - because it was unexpected. And they had good rivalies with the Knicks which always made it exciting. Loved Dave Cowens. He was known for playing his best when he had four fouls. A beast. Any time you have a good NY - Boston riveraly in sports it makes things exciting. Back in the sixties and seventies you could always get tickets for playoff games - except when they played the knicks because of all the NY fans in boston.

❤️ 1970s boston celtics

Don Chaney is the answer to a great Celtics trivia question. He was the only Celtic to have played in the Bill Russell era, the John Havlicek era, and the Larry Bird era. If Chaney had played one more year with Bird, he would have been the only one to have won a championship with all three.

I was coming home from college when Milwaukee played Boston in game 7. I was at the Greyhound Station in Los Angeles watching the game on a tiny black and white TV. I kept feeding it quarters, hoping mom couldn't find me. She finally found me, but I told her I'm watching the game. She wasn't too happy since she was looking for me for more than an hour.

Celtics in the 70s were great. But everyone seems to forget that only one franchise made the playoffs every year in the 70: the baltimore/Washington Bullets

Imagine if John Havliceck and Jojo White extended there career till late 70s. The line up will be Cowens, Rookie Larry Bird, Havliceck, Jojo White, Maxwell, Archibald and Maravich. They were stacked in 79-80 season to beat Sixers in the ECF.

Please keep these videos coming :) I love learning about old school basketball and you do such a great job presenting the history, especially the 70's because I think that decade gets overlooked.

That was a great video! I loved watching Don Nelson dunk!!

My favorite era of Pro Hoops!💫🌟✨😁🏀🏆🏀

‘22 Celtics could use some of the 70’s Celtics grit that’s for sure.

I was 11 when Russell retired, so I didn't find out until later how great the 60s Celts were. My first Celtic teams were in the 1970s and I loved those teams. That final against the Bucks was special, including, if I remember correctly, an incredible game six as Jabbar and Havlicek kept trading baskets down the stretch. Boston lost only to win game seven.

Tommy Heinsohn was a terrific head coach.

The fifth game of that Phoenix/Boston series was the greatest NBA game I ever saw. And I saw it on TV.

The Celtics need another trophy on their list coming out. All about 18 banners, Go Celtics!

Nice vid. I’m one of your biggest supporters. Love to see your channel grow. My favorite player and most underrated at that time was probably Dave Cowens.

Uncle Hays I like you to show the Lakers and Bucks teams of the 70's, they were my favorite teams back in the 70's.

Your analysis of Havlicek is right on. His performance in game 6 of the 1974 NBA Finals vs Kareem and the Bucks, admittedly in a 2 OT loss, was amazing. Clutch shots and clutch plays throughout.

Uncle Hays you are one old school guy. Your reviews and video clips of old school 70s teams unrivaled. Thanks for bringing back so many great memories for so many. This is when basketball was at its zenith..fewer teams less players many quality players on all rosters and was a team game. These guys made peanuts but played every game with injuries playing with pride never mailing it in. A time long gone by..

Your videos too well made to have this little recognition keep it up

Man great years, those were the years that made a Celtic fan 👏 Hondo Mr hustle, 6'9" Mr hustle.

Cowens became a taxi driver for a day and said ‘nah, I’ll go back to basketball’. Big surprise 🤣

Celtic for life

Great job with this video

Hondo was the clutchest player I think I've ever seen until Larry Bird came along. Still waiting for someone to top them.

One of the unsung hero of the 76 Championship squad was Glenn McDonalds. He helped the Cs in OT. He played in our country as an Import Player.

keep making vids, ver very good and it will catch on, great work

I LOVED THIS TEAM!!!

Cowens broke is ankle in madison sq garden. He walked off the court, on a broken ankle because he did not to give nyc fans the satisfaction of seeing him being carried off the court. After the injury cowens was never the same. He could no longer jump as high and his first step was a little slower. He was incredibly tough and strong, and he hit alot of people on the court. He had pete rose kind of hustle.

Instant sub after watching this. Superb quality

Chicago guy here, I love Bird and his teams but my favorite all time NBA team is the 1974 Celtics . Cowens, Silas, Havlicek, White and Chaney were the best chemistry lineup ever ! Havlicek, underrated was Clutch !

I'll never forget that team especially GAME 5 of the 1976 NBA FINALS. Watching it on a RCA CONSOLE TV the game was taped delayed. Because of the triple OT it didn't go off till wee hours of the morning.

I hope Havliceck extend his career till 1979-80 season. Imagine you have Cowens, Bird, Havliceck, Archibald, Maxwell and Maravich.

I LOVE....1970,s era NBA/ABA Hoops 🏀🏆

New sub. I like your videos keep it up bro

Another good one!

Liked a lot of those 70's teams.

They had a great team, had a couple of down years after Russell and S Jones, but bounced back. Went to ECF 5 years in a row and won two titles.

❤️ 1970s boston celrics

used to play ball with JoJo White, he was a great player and a really great guy

The 70's Celtics were really good. Dave Cowens was a tank at center.

This channel has hella potential

I never knew any of things you speak of in you're videos and is shocked that you don't have way more subscribers

Sub #519 here uncle Hays, good work Brother!

I remember that 74 season when the Celtics played the Bucks in the NBA finals, I was 13 years old at that time and I was a big time bucks fans and still is but I was disappointed when the Celtics won and still is to this day. That was the last great Bucks team in 74, the year when Oscar retired. The Celtics was a great team in the 70's but also they were just the better team than the Bucks in that series.

This team could really run and pass !!! It’s amazing to see

Cowens didn't win the rookie of the year award by himself. He was co rookie of the year. Along with Portlands Geoff Petrie.

How good were they in the 60s? The best. You're right about Havlicek.

The 70s Celtics teams were well coached and even though they were small.. they had a very very high basketball I q.... No surprise alot of them got into coaching later on..Dave cowens.. John havlicek.. don Nelson.. Jo Jo white.. don Chaney.. Hank finkel.. Paul silas.. Paul wesphal.. charlie Scott.. art Williams.. Steve kuberski.. Jim ard... As I say a bunch of really smart hard working guys very fun to watch and I watched them play all the time on tv as I grew up in buffalo

Cowens was awesome. I still don’t know how he was able to be such a great rebounder as a 6’8” center.

Back in the day, these guys were the best of the best. Wilt individually. But the Celtics were king for 11 rings. They played as a unified and unselfish team. Everyone knew their role and stuck with it.

One of the best combination of players was during the 1072? All star game, when the east played frazier, jojo white, hondo, debushere, and cowens. It is usually edited out. If anyone can find the uncut game, it is worth watching. That and the time chenier punched walt frazier in the back of the head. Frazier scored 19 points in a row on chenier. That was how the knicks retaliated in those days.

Don’t forget Bradley running hondo into a debusshere pick that separated his shoulder

Great video.....one thing though.....you said the celtics were the only team in the 70s to win more than one title.....technically thats not true....the Knicks won in 70 and 73....even the 70 championship season 'began' in 69....because the 80s lakers won 5 but their first one was the 79-80 season....

My favorite two players ever are Havlicek and Bird. Bird did have the opportunity to play with Dave Cowens and Pete Maravich for a season...

Pretty darn good!

Over the years between the Celtics and Patriots, we in the greater Boston area have been spoiled. Plus, the Red Sox with four WS titles since 2004! 😎👍

The celtics of the 70s were superb

In 1975-76, the Celtics finished 54-28, first in the Eastern Conference and 2nd best in the league to the Warriors' 59-23. What about it? you ask? That's the last time the Celtics won the championship when they didn't have the best record in the league. Their subsequent titles, in 1981, 1984, 1986 and 2008, all came with the best record in the league and HCA throughout the playoffs. In any playoff year since the merger, if the Celtics had the POSSIBILITY of playing a series without the HCA, never mind they actually had to play a series without the HCA, they kissed the championship goodbye for sure. Their 1974 championship was the last time they had to win a series without the HCA (against the Bucks), and then ended up with the championship. 1977 lost to the 76ers (without the HCA) 1987 lost to the Lakers (without the HCA) 1988 lost to the Pistons with the HCA (but had they beaten the Pistons, they would have played the Lakers in the finals without the HCA). 1989 lost to the Pistons (without the HCA) 1990 lost to the Knicks with the HCA but they would have to play the Pistons without the HCA in the next round) 1991 lost to the Pistons with the HCA (but they would have to play the Bulls without the HCA in the next round) 1992 lost to the Cavaliers (without the HCA) 1993 lost to the Hornets with the HCA (but they would have to play the Knicks without the HCA in the next round) 1995 lost to the Magic (without the HCA) 2002 lost to the Nets (without the HCA) 2003 lost to the Nets (without the HCA) 2004 lost to the Pacers (without the HCA) 2005 lost to the Pacers with the HCA (but they would have to play the Pistons without the HCA in the next round) 2009 lost to the Magic with the HCA (but they would have to play the Cavs without the HCA in the next round) 2010 lost to the Lakers (without the HCA) 2011 lost to the Heat (without the HCA) 2012 lost to the Heat (without the HCA) 2013 lost to the Knicks (without the HCA) 2015 lost to the Cavs (without the HCA) 2016 lost to the Hawks (without the HCA) 2017 lost to the Cavs with the HCA (but they would have to play the Warriors in the finals without the HCA) 2018 lost to the Cavs with the HCA (but they would have to play the Warriors in the finals without the HCA) 2019 lost to the Bucks (without the HCA) 2021 lost to the Nets (without the HCA) 2022 lost to the Warriors (without the HCA) 2023 lost to the Heat with HCA. This year is very similar to 1976. They didn't have the best record, they would not have had the HCA had they played the Bucks in 2023 (or the Warriros in 1976). However, the team with the best record got upset in an earlier round, so the Celtics ended up with the HCA throughout the playoffs. That's what they had in 1976. In 2023, the Celtics would have had the HCA had they played the Nuggets in the finals.

How did Celtics beat kreem and the bucks, wouldn’t the centers be way outmatched? Our guy must have been real good defenseman

Dont get me wrong, I loved Chief, but a prime 1974 Dave Cowens with a prime 1985 Larry Bird and cast - UNSTOPPABLE!

Nice

Correction. Chaney signed with the ABA St Louis Spirits. Paul Westphal was traded to Phoenix for Charlie Scott. Scott was an All Star and Westphal became an even better player than Scott.

The Celtics fast break was just as effective and entertaining as the Lakers fast break and I disliked them both (SIXERS FAN) but I respected both of them they were GREAT Teams!

John Havlicek was Bird before Bird flew in Boston. This was my favorite Celtics team and Hondo it's best player. Also no center I've ever seen could out hustle Dave Cowens. He was relentless and completely fearless on the court. Paul Silas was a monster on the boards and Jo Jo White a top flight guard. I liked Charlie Scott, but wished they hadn't traded Paul Westphal. It really opened up his opportunity to star though and he became The Suns' go to guy. Anyone who would understate Hondo just doesn't know the game. He was one it's greatest stars ever and would be just as great a player in any era. He never stopped moving. My favorite player of all time!

The New York Knicks also won 2 NBA World Championships in the 1970’s.

The 1972 Lakers had the best record of all time (69-13) until the Bulls’ 1996 record of 72-10.

70s Celtics won 2 titles and are never talked about its always Russell's ,Birds and the Big 3 Cs

I was and still am an LA Lakers fan. So I was always watching what was going on with the Celtics. Game #5 of the NBA finals - both teams could have won that game. But the Suns put themselves in a hole getting behind by over 20 points in the first half. I still think Havlicek charged and the basket after the first or second overtime should not have counted. I do not understand why the Celtics did not win the east in the 1974-75 season.

They won 68 games in 72-73 but Havlicek got hurt in the Eastern Conference finals & they lost to the Knicks in 7. Thatd be 3 titles in the 70s.

In the 1973 ECF Havlicek injured his shoulder(essentially a dislocation) in Game #3, not Game #6. They managed to beat NY in Games 5 and 6 with Hondo essentially playing with one arm. If he hadn't gotten hurt the Celts win another title.

3:30 John Havlicek, Don Nelson Dave Cowens

Details matter. The Celtics traded Paul Westphal to the Phoenix Suns for Charlie Scott. Don Chaney jumped leagues to the ABA. You need to do better with your facts.

The best thing about the 1970s Celtics were the green Converse shoes.

2:38 Dave wasn't a lot shorter than Bill, and both had long reach for their height and PLAYED taller. Also consider how he compared to Wes Unseld, who was even shorter.

👍🏻

Cowens did break his ankle against the knicks and walked off the court. He refused to be carried off the in a stretcher. I saw the game

Hard to say if they were the team of the decade tho. The NBA was fading a bit during that time

Good video. A lot of people forget how good they were. One reason is they were not good between 1977-1979 and then Larry Bird and others came around and we forgot about 70s Celtics. By the way you need to be better at speaking. You have no inflection in voice, you rarely pause. It just seems like you're reading without really caring about the topic. That's my opinion

I would say hondo was like pippin. Bird was like bob Pettit

they were strong team havlicek cowens the best playes and jo jo white

They were damn good they won 2 titles and should have won three but havlicek hurt his shoulder in 1973....havlicek was a legendary superstar he white and cowens were hall of famers..and Don chaney Don nelson Hank finkal and art Williams Steve kuberski were all smart role players ..paul silas was a great rebounder and Paul wesphal was there for awile another hall of famer too I believe they were well coached very smart and ran all day well conditioned but they were a small team

I'm kin to SAM JONES #24

Auerbach admitted, it's a mistake not keeping Westphal.

Um in 1973 the record was 69-13 as set by wilt and the lakers in 1972 so um they infact did not die the standing record was which the record in 1967 slight correction.

Even better was they all played in Chuck Taylors!!!

Cowens was first traded to Bucks in 1980 before retiring

Correction, Paul Westphal was traded to the Suns.Don Chaney went to the ABA.

JOHN HONDO HAVLICEK INVENTED MOVING WITH OUT THE BALL STAYED MOVING ALLWAYS MOVING THE MAN WAS A BEAST!!! MY FAVORED CELTIC FOR ALL TIME NUMBER 17 😉😉😉

The Celtics Teams in the 1980's were better Teams then 1970's Celtics Teams The Celtics 1970 Teams were more entertaining then The 1980 Teams.

A great team, no doubt, but Celtics only beat the Knicks when the Knicks were without Reed. Both teams at their best the Knicks were far and away the better team as were the Lakers.

Paul Silas goes into basketball hall of fame before Dennis Rodman Dennis Rodman was a very dirty basketball player

the 1970's celtics were elite and i'll be COMPLETELY unbiased and admit that jojo white and john havlicek were more elite than dave cowens

Actually, it was five

They won A....A....championship. SO WHAT?